Aha!

We all recognise how crucial energy, passion and inspiration are, as leadership qualities. I don’t think there is a leader out there who wouldn’t like to be more inspirational in their world! Indeed ‘being more inspirational’ is often an area that many of my clients want to develop.

Considering the pressures put upon us, these days; constantly sapping our energy, passion, drive and determination perhaps it’s no surprise that inspiration is such a hot topic. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if there was a medicine labelled ‘Instant Inspiration’ and with just one spoonful you become more creative, passionate, excited, energetic, driven and determined; in short, inspired and inspirational.

Unfortunately, and to the best of my knowledge, ‘Instant Inspiration’ isn’t available in bottle format. However, it is available in a package called “The Heart of Leadership”. And rather than a spoon, The Heart of Leadership is delivered as a one day course. It might not be as quick but the The Heart of Leadership will give leaders a huge hit of long-lasting inspiration so that they can make a real difference in their world.

To find out more about this unique course please take a look at this clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyyAqlXxBi8&feature=player_detailpage

I was in a workshop recently with some senior executives and we were discussing leaders and role models in their organisation. It became apparent that they were somewhat disappointed and uninspired by the ’so called’ leaders in their organisation. What dawned upon the group was that many of their senior people didn’t ‘walk the talk’ – they weren’t Authentic Leaders.

I was intrigued to find out more about what Authentic Leadership is. Bob Taylor, a well know author in the field, defines it as this:

“Authenticity is knowing, and acting on, what is true and real inside yourself, your team and your organization AND knowing and acting on what is true and real in the world. It is not enough to walk one’s talk if one is headed off, or leading one’s organization, community or nation, off a cliff!”

On further research I found an article by Andrew Cohen, in which he says in order for us to be come Authentic Leaders, we must be willing to:

• Stan alone
• Live fearlessly
• Act heroically
• Want to be free and true more than anything else
• Take unconditional responsibility for oneself
• Face everything and avoid nothing
• At all time see things impersonally
• Live for a higher purpose

Now I don’t know about you but to me that’s a pretty intimidating list. It strikes me that to become a truly Authentic Leader (measuring up to all the criteria in that list) is, quite literally, extraordinary. I almost get the impression that it’s the search for ‘perfection’, in a leadership context. So if those executives in the workshop were thinking of their bosses, along these lines, then it’s not surprising that they came up short.

The way I see it, becoming a Authentic Leader is a continuous journey of learning and development without an end. For me, seeing it this way is motivating without be intimidating – I draw comfort from the subtext that “no one’s perfect, we all make mistakes”.

Most of us are aware that if we overuse a strength it can become a weaknesses. Again, continuing my recent theme, it is all about ‘balance’. Not ‘too much’, not ‘too little’ but ‘just right’ is what we are aiming for.

So how does this apply to our leadership styles. Daniel Goldman, a well known researcher and author about leadership and Emotional Intelligence, identified 6 key leadership style: Commanding, Visionary, Affiliative, Democratic, Pacesetting and Coaching.

Commanding is a “do as I tell you” style that demand immediate compliance. It’s great in a crisis or in a period of change but if overused can have negative impact on people and the climate.

Visionary is a”come with me” style that moblises people towards a vision. Great for engaging people behind a clear vision such as a change in direction. Not so good if overused in a team of experts or experience colleagues where the direction is already clearly defined.

Affiliative is a “people come first” style that create harmony and builds emotional bonds. It’s great for healing rifts or motivating people but if used in isolating can lack direction and purpose.

Democratic is a “what do you think?” style that forges consensus through harmony. It’s great for getting buy-in or consensus but it overused can be a long and frustrating process that can feel leaderless.

Pacesetting is “do as I do, now” style that is good for setting high standards of performance. Great for getting quick results from a highly motivated team but can be overwhelming and oppressive if used over long-periods of time

Coaching is a ‘try this” style for developing people for the future. Great for helping employees to improve performance and developing strengths. It’s not appropriate in time-pressured situations or with people who don’t want to be developed.

As leaders, we naturally have a leaning to one or two of these styles and it is clear that our leadership strengths can become weaknesses if we overuse them or use them on the wrong occasions (I’m assuming that we are unlikely to underuse our strengths). Goldman asserts that leaders who have mastery of four or more of the styles, especially Visionary, Affiliative, Democratic and Coaching, develop the best working climate and achieve the highest levels of business performance.

What are your strongest leadership styles? And are you overusing them?