The sun is beginning to feel warmer, flowers are beginning to bloom and my willow tree is laden with leaves about to burst... it's Spring!
So as Nature wakes up again, what kind of leadership do we need this coming year? Please complete the sentence:
A leader is someone who...
To help your sap to rise, below is a list of response to my question "What three words sum up the kind of leadership we need for 2010?" on Linked In (and there is more on my blog here too):
- Murad Salman Mirza: persevering, invigorative, visionary
- Mark Orr: Honesty, integrity, definition
- Ger Bargerbos: integrity, empathy, visionary
- Dean Fygetakes: duty, honor, country
- Josh Chernin: imaginative, open-minded, decisive.
- Jørgen Brøndum: determination, will, hard work (believe that is one too many, but found it relevant enough to take the risk...)
- Trevor Durnford: Host Not Hero (This originates from a powerful article written by Mark McKergow of Solutions Focus Fame (www.sfwork.com)
- Adrian Snook: not Gordon Brown
- Michaela Kassar: honesty, integrity, innovation (of a longer list)
- Abdul Rahim Hasan: lead by example
- Phil Johnson: authenticity, service
- Samir Sharma: creative, connected, collaborative
- Rajib Lochan Pathak: passionate, humility, flexibility
- Raju Swamy: country, business, productivity
- Michel Langelier: strategic, committed, enabler
- Rohail Alam: basics, trust, communities
- Souri: empathy, integrity, ability
- Wayne Patterson: responsible leaders needed
- Gaurav Bhargava: vision, integrity, commitment
- Sam Whitten: innovative, proactive, impressive
- Lou Storiale: integrity, accountability, performance
- Wallace Jackson: creativity, optimization, applicability
- Dave Maskin: listen, learn, open to change (OK, so #3 isn't one word)...
- Judy B. Margolis: decisive, diplomatic, wise
- Peter B. Giblett: collaboration, brand intervention, revenue opportunities
- Larry Ellis: humble, accountable, experienced
- Kevin Kuhl: adaptable, humble, aware
- Kenneth Strong: ethical, proficient, action
(Thanks to all those people)
So again, here we are at the beginning of Spring 2011:
A leader is someone who.....
Always amazed how you manage to crowdsource so widely and so meaningfully! Equally amazing but perhaps not surprising is how much "integrity" comes up.I will throw in a provocative suggestion from Umair Haque, Director of Havas Media Labs and who I'd recommend following on Twitter. He argues that "today's biggest human challenge isn't leading broken organizations slightly better. It's building better organizations in the first place" or in the case of public services perhaps, rebuilding.The examples given show the difference between improving broken systems like banking or journalism and building new ones like microfinance and social reporting. I wonder how much autonomy leaders have in local government, who may show strong integrity and very good at building relationships, but now face the tension that these two attributes may be in contradiction. The relationships they built with communities may be under threat with the cuts and may undermine the trust that has been built up (not that those local leaders have been untrustworthy, but that with a much reduced budget, those relationships will suffer). The question is, how can leaders in local government work with people locally to build new systems while sustaining or even rebuilding relationships and showing integrity about the situation everyone faces over the next few years and that all scenarios are possible?
ReplyDeleteSo true Noel - it is very tough challenge to reinvent while simultaneously carrying on, while maintaining integrity! Leadership is never either/or - it is always 'and/while' in my experience.Perhaps a leader is someone who can keep themselves in balance...Here is a tweet from net - in response to my crowd sourcing (although I would prefer to call it engagement!)
ReplyDeleteand another:
ReplyDeleteDo effective leaders engage their customers?Effective leaders need demonstrate, what I would describe as the quality of 'ordinariness'. The function of leading requires the willingness of others to engage and its more than unquestioning adhereance. It requires honest engagement and willingness to seek a shared understanding about the challenges and possible solutions. Servitude is a value that might characterise an effective leader.Developing a shared vision also demands respect for the customer, integrity, and willingness to listen. As a "customer" buying a product or service I am concerned about whether or not it is what I was promised. I tend to be disappointed if I am taken for granted or angry if treated in a way that diminishes me. I wonder am so different from people who, as "customers" rely on public services for their support It seems to me that we should be clear about our customers expectations and strive to keep our promises. We should never knowling over sell or underdeliver.
ReplyDeleteLeadership is as much about building a virtuous circle based on understanding the importance of "followership", what its characteristics are and what it takes to maintain the thread between the two as it is about determining what has to be done.
ReplyDeleteI am a bit late in this conversation, but I rerally like Noel's Umair Haque quote "today's biggest human challenge isn't leading broken organizations slightly better. It's building better organizations in the first place". Building on this I think better organisations are about collective rather than individual leadership capability. I believe great leaders will be remarkable not for what you notice about them but what is happening around them
ReplyDeleteA word cloud or your responses would be interesting (e.g. Wordle or Tagzedo).
ReplyDeleteNo more superhero leaders. But having said that, I think we need people who have a strong and radical vision and can bring others along with them but are also consultative, personal and prepared to show vulnerability.The main things for me are radicalism and being prepared to show vulnerability. I think these two qualities have traditionally been supressed in leaders in our society. Showing some vulnerability is usually seen as weakness or lack of stamina, a symptom of the "superhero" leadership model. Radicalism has been in short supply as risk-taking is generally frowned upon and we often seem to remain committed to preserving old ideas and traditions.I totally agree with the Umair Haque quote above.
ReplyDelete