Skip to main content

Art of Leadership #1

The Image of Leadership

Whenever I think of the vital aspects of leadership I think of a cartoon sheep with a red tie: the Leadersheep (google it!). Words like values, vision, mission, purpose and all those ingredients flare up in my mind. I think of principles, role models, charismatic people and of Barack Obama. In fact 'What would Obama do?' is a question I sometimes ask myself - first off he would start a sentence and then in the middle pause for a minute.

Only when we have to put leadership into action do we realize the first hurdle: communication. For instance change management, admittedly one of the more challenging fields of leadership, is virtually all about the right communication strategy.

Mindset of an Agile Leader

To be an agile leader you have to be prepared to improve on a daily basis. Take every opportunity and everyone you encounter - every client, colleague, mentor, memo, every email, every pitch, every conversation, status meeting, project kick-off, and so on. Sometimes a bad example can teach you more than a role model - embrace every opportunity fully and openly.

In my office at home I have a large poster on the wall. The headline reads 'The Art of Leadersheep' and the poster depicts some crucial principles of leadership. It is a great reminder and I regularly challenge myself to abide by those rules on a daily basis. For example, I consider myself as tolerant to making mistakes in certain environments (more about that in an earlier post see here). This means, even though I try not to, I make mistakes from time to time. I always try to be the first to admit my biggest mistakes, even in case nobody else has noticed (yet). It's not so much the fear that others might notice my blunder eventually, but rather the desire to live up to my own standards at all times, that drives me. On the other hand, when I face a problem, I analyze it and make an attempt to describe it as well as possible, so other people may quickly be aware and understand the core issue. Pointing and shouting out the problem is fine. However in 99,9% of the time I don't just stop there, but I also offer some advice towards some kind of solution.

Don't Play the Blame-Game

Here's the beer problem: Every time someone spills beer at a party you can usually witness two kinds of reactions: One: people start to giggle and to point out the accident. Two: people quickly pick up the bottle and immediately rush to the kitchen to return with cleaning tissues to limit the damage and to clean up the mess. The more the party has progressed, the obvious the difference between those two types will be displayed. Type one is the 'bystander': she's not much help in that situation. Worst case some of these bystanders even crack some jokes about the accident or even the culprit. Type two is the 'helper': she is way more useful to solve the problem. In work we regularly encounter both of these types of people. 

Key Takeaways

  1. Be a helper and don't play the blame game.
  2. Surround yourself with trustworthy allies and you'll be invincible in whatever you do. 
  3. Build a network of helpers - people who don't feast on other peoples' mistakes, but fight for the best outcome, regardless of their personal short term reward.
  4. Have the courage to make and to admit mistakes.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Learn To Unlearn

Be Brilliant Subject matter expertise has its perks. Being an expert on any field requires deep learning as well as deliberate practice over years and years. The more professional experience you gain the more you'll swap a minimum principle mindset ('What do I need to do to achieve XY?') for a maximum principle ('How much can I possibly achieve with my available resources?'). When I started as a consultant I had a very basic and fragmented knowledge in most of the technical aspects in my subject matter. At the time I was already a certified and experienced supply chain management expert with some merits. However, as the branch I had worked in (military and defence) neither used the latest technology nor had a business model that promoted short development or change cycles in leadership or management, I did not feel 100% competitive. Therefore I faced some serious challenges when I started my career in the private sector.  At the time when I joined a consulting compa...
Post a Comment
Read more

Happiness And Anxiety

Just A Feeling Despite all the drawbacks caused by the pandemic I have to admit that ever since the kids were born I have been feeling more happy in general. To set the stakes even higher, I have already been pretty damned happy ever since I met my wife several years earlier. Maybe it is because the kids fill me with hope that all is good and is steadily improving. Also they give a whole new purpose to everything in my life. I have only really had a few significant stretches where I felt so beaten down or lethargic, that I had issues to motivate myself. There were only three significant times I was struggling with my decisions and had serious doubts that I made the right choices.  Freaking Out In The Barracks The first time was in 1998, when I signed a contract as a contract soldier for 12 years. During my first couple of days with the military the magnitude of my decision sank with the utmost brutality. It totally freaked me out. I spent the first night in some spartan barracks in...
Post a Comment
Read more

Plans and Principles

Why is it that plans can, sometimes even need to change over time? At the same time: Should guiding principles be designed to live long term and to be resistant to short term change? To both questions my answer is a firm yes. Here's why: The principle of the benefit of long lasting habits is one that fascinated me early on. The imagination that any person can improve to levels beyond their own imagination by merely sticking to a habit over a long period still strikes me. One of my oldest habits is sports. I started swimming as a member of a club -and later also as one of a competitive team- as a young teenager and have stuck to some kind of sports habit ever since. When I started first I went to training sessions twice a week. At my peak I did six to eight training sessions a week and most of my school holidays were spent either on training camps or competitions. So my first serious habit was established during those early years. After school I was not always able to swim due to re...
Post a Comment
Read more