The last 4 lessons of the absolute greatest leaders
Harvard Business School - What makes a leader
Let's jump ahead, a long way ahead, probably many years. You have learnt your lessons well and you are no longer so concerned with leadership skills, such being second nature. What are the last few challenges, the final lessons that will make al the difference?
Robert Goffee and Gareth Jones studied in detail leaders who really captured the hearts and minds of people inspiring both the companies they lead, and their customers. In "Why should anyone be led by you?" they discuss the four qualities that build on all the traditional leadership skills. These can only be used when all others are mastered, but in line with 'starting with the end in mind', here is a brutal summary of the four qualities.
A leader that is perfect can be seen to not need any followers, to not be real or human. A great leader needs leaders around them who can see their value in what they bring to the company leadership team. A weakness makes a person out of a leader. Its even said if there is no weakness, someone will make on up for you! The key is to select the right weakness. It needs to be something that you are clearly aware of and able to manage. A classic, that frankly I feel may have had its day, is being a workaholic. While it is generally considered bad for the individual, it's seen as still great for the company. This particular weakness is likely to appear not genuine and do more harm than good. My feeling is this needs to be very carefully and then how it is disclosed, well that a black art for sure.
Strong and reliable perceptive skill is the next quality. In their words "Become a sensor". We probably all know leaders who are so close to the pulse, they just know the right action at the right time. No one tells them, they just feel it in their bones. This is a combination of knowing your business and company as well as intuition and confidence. They have a passion for the work being done or the market that tunes their personal radar to just the right frequency. Unlike many qualities of leadership, this cannot be learned; it must be organically grown, from the inside out with no artificial enhancers. This is a good example of where the supporting skills need to be in place first. Things like; relationship and trust building, working in your field of passion, confidence to be brave, self awareness, and the ability to remove yourself and look in as a third party. Each of these is complex and difficult skill that is built up over years of experience.
The third lesson is 'tough empathy'. Before we all switch off, empathy is defined as "Identification with and understanding of another's situation, feelings, and motives". It is not give into peoples wants. It is simply identification and understanding of the impact on others. This being only part of the information taken into account when making decisions. The article talks about giving people what they need rather than what they want. I am concerned I will continue to struggle with the balance of understanding people feelings and providing what they need. I have a tendency to either; understand and do what they want, or totally ignore them. For me this is a personal tendency, and just one of the many poor habits I need to address.
Dare to be different. This last quality of great leaders is probably the most interesting. It is about standing out in the crowd as much as sending the message to co-workers of a degree of separateness. A key point is anything can be a difference. It's very symbolic. It can be appearance, language or social background. The danger is to be simply too different and lose contact.
It is time to remind us all that these qualities are on top of being great leaders already. If there are imperfections in basic leadership skills some of these qualities will be unachievable. Others, such as the last, would simply be a disaster. It is however good to consider these and have some initial thoughts around how these may look. It also highlights the fact that there is always going to be more to learn in this profession.
For now, I'm content to dare to be brave.
Cheers
Steve.
PS: This is just a very short discussion of some of the insightful content in this Harvard book
Let's jump ahead, a long way ahead, probably many years. You have learnt your lessons well and you are no longer so concerned with leadership skills, such being second nature. What are the last few challenges, the final lessons that will make al the difference?
Robert Goffee and Gareth Jones studied in detail leaders who really captured the hearts and minds of people inspiring both the companies they lead, and their customers. In "Why should anyone be led by you?" they discuss the four qualities that build on all the traditional leadership skills. These can only be used when all others are mastered, but in line with 'starting with the end in mind', here is a brutal summary of the four qualities.
A leader that is perfect can be seen to not need any followers, to not be real or human. A great leader needs leaders around them who can see their value in what they bring to the company leadership team. A weakness makes a person out of a leader. Its even said if there is no weakness, someone will make on up for you! The key is to select the right weakness. It needs to be something that you are clearly aware of and able to manage. A classic, that frankly I feel may have had its day, is being a workaholic. While it is generally considered bad for the individual, it's seen as still great for the company. This particular weakness is likely to appear not genuine and do more harm than good. My feeling is this needs to be very carefully and then how it is disclosed, well that a black art for sure.
Strong and reliable perceptive skill is the next quality. In their words "Become a sensor". We probably all know leaders who are so close to the pulse, they just know the right action at the right time. No one tells them, they just feel it in their bones. This is a combination of knowing your business and company as well as intuition and confidence. They have a passion for the work being done or the market that tunes their personal radar to just the right frequency. Unlike many qualities of leadership, this cannot be learned; it must be organically grown, from the inside out with no artificial enhancers. This is a good example of where the supporting skills need to be in place first. Things like; relationship and trust building, working in your field of passion, confidence to be brave, self awareness, and the ability to remove yourself and look in as a third party. Each of these is complex and difficult skill that is built up over years of experience.
The third lesson is 'tough empathy'. Before we all switch off, empathy is defined as "Identification with and understanding of another's situation, feelings, and motives". It is not give into peoples wants. It is simply identification and understanding of the impact on others. This being only part of the information taken into account when making decisions. The article talks about giving people what they need rather than what they want. I am concerned I will continue to struggle with the balance of understanding people feelings and providing what they need. I have a tendency to either; understand and do what they want, or totally ignore them. For me this is a personal tendency, and just one of the many poor habits I need to address.
Dare to be different. This last quality of great leaders is probably the most interesting. It is about standing out in the crowd as much as sending the message to co-workers of a degree of separateness. A key point is anything can be a difference. It's very symbolic. It can be appearance, language or social background. The danger is to be simply too different and lose contact.
It is time to remind us all that these qualities are on top of being great leaders already. If there are imperfections in basic leadership skills some of these qualities will be unachievable. Others, such as the last, would simply be a disaster. It is however good to consider these and have some initial thoughts around how these may look. It also highlights the fact that there is always going to be more to learn in this profession.
For now, I'm content to dare to be brave.
Cheers
Steve.
PS: This is just a very short discussion of some of the insightful content in this Harvard book
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