I was thinking, now that the British & Irish Lions squad has finally arrived in New Zealand, it’s a good time to talk about leadership. But then when I thought about what’s going on in political leadership circles both at home, in the UK, in the US….It is always a good time to talk about leadership.
My fundamental premise is that in order to be a great leader you have to pursue a lifelong commitment to personal development; a commitment to continually learn about yourself, how people experience you, and the impact that you have on others.
The right leadership presence gains trust
As I think about British and Irish Lions’ captains, and other leaders I’ve known, I think about leadership presence. What is it about a great leader’s presence that makes people want to follow them, and makes them feel safe and stronger for their being there and gets them to be the best they can be? And when I’m talking about leadership presence I often use Paul O’Connell, former captain of the British & Irish Lions, as an example of how a leader can show care and empathy for team members, but also challenge them when they fall short of their personal standards.
I may also quote an article by one of his former team mates, Alan Quinlan from The Irish Independent on 14th October 2015. In the piece Quinlan says that O’Connell’s care for the individual is a huge part of his “greatness”, but also, that when he’d challenge you, he did it in such a way “that somehow gave you belief”.
Why is this important? Well it’s important if you want to generate trust in your leadership and Stephen Covey (author of 7 Habits of Highly Successful People) gives us a very accessible model for understanding how leaders inspire trust. He says:
“The first job of any leader is to inspire trust. Trust is confidence born of two dimensions: character and competence. Character includes your integrity, motive, and intent with people. Competence includes your capabilities, skills, results, and track record. Both dimensions are vital. With the increasing focus on ethics in our society, the character side of trust is fast becoming the price of entry in the new global economy.”
Showing authenticity
And your Character comes from your Intent and your Integrity. If your intent is authentic care and empathy for your team mates coupled with a fair and honest assessment of their performance, then you’re starting to build the foundation for trust in your leadership. But, and there’s a big but, you’d better start showing your intent and your integrity in your words, actions, body language and presence. In other words you need to ‘live and be’ this way. And in order to live your life this way, it has to be authentic.
Leaders therefore need to understand what’s really important to them, they need to understand their core values, and they need to lead from these values, using them as both guides and anchors.
So this is why leaders need to pursue that lifelong commitment to personal development. They need to understand themselves, how people experience them and the impact they have on others. If leaders want to be as good as they can be, and want to help their people and teams to be as good as they can be, then they need to be open to learning about themselves from others and they need to aspire to be the best role model they can be for their people.
In today’s rapidly changing disrupted world we all need to be agile and open to learning as individuals and as organisations. We need more of Carol Dweck’s Growth Mindset. Leaders need to role model this love of learning and for people who are trusted with the responsibility of leading, learning about themselves is critical. They need to be masters of their competence and their character.
I love what Peter Senge (author of The Learning Organisation) says when he describes personal mastery, he says:
“People with a high level of ‘personal mastery’ live in a continual learning mode – they never ‘arrive’…..are acutely aware of their ignorance, their incompetence, their growth areas – and they are deeply self-confident. Paradoxical? Only for those who do not see the journey is the reward”
