2806, 2011

Leadership – why would anyone be led by you ?

By |June 28th, 2011|Leadership|0 Comments

My post last week on leadership got me thinking again.

You will remember that I told the story of the CEO in a US company who had a special elevator installed which went straight to his office so he didn’t have to talk to the staff.

The thing is – having worked for a global US Investment bank and dealt with some very rich and powerful Private Equity, CLO and Hedge Fund Managers … I can absolutely see this being the case. One might say, that it is a question of time and not spreading yourself too thin. Granted. But there is an attitude behind every action like this. And in this case I would argue it is ego. Thinking you’re better than the staff below you. If I asked the question ‘Why would anyone be led by you’ to that CEO, I wonder what his answer would be ?

You will also recall that I mentioned in my last post how leadership is about INFLUENCE. Plain and simple. Forget particular personality traits. Forget particular leadership styles. You can judge a leader by their INFLUENCE. After all, didn’t Mother Theresa or nelson Mandella have as much influence as Winston Churchill ?

Well let me build on that. You influence others based on:

  1. The past – your reputation
  2. The present – your personal example and demonstrated behaviour
  3. The future – the trust and confidence that those you are leading have in you / your leadership / your strategy

Some of these are personal leadership traits (character, consistency, integrity, belief in your own decisions, what you’re driven by – are you self-actualised or driven by something else like ego, fear, power etc).

Some of these are leadership characteristics (vision, communication, servant heart, teamwork etc)

But don’t get too hung up on the detail. Leadership is about influence. So ask yourself this one question and the rest will take care of itself …

Why would anyone be led by you ?

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2106, 2011

Leadership – do you have your own elevator ?

By |June 21st, 2011|Leadership|0 Comments

I heard an interesting story the other day of a CEO in a US company who had a special elevator installed which went straight to his office so he didn’t have to talk to the staff.

And then I thought about the TV show sensation ‘Undercover Boss’ (which I love btw) which is all about company leaders/CEOs going undercover to get to know staff at lower levels of the business and find out what is really happening in their organisation at the grass roots.

So with those examples in mind, here’s a few thoughts on leadership …

  • Do we really need a camera crew and a disguise before we can find out what is happening in our organisation? Aren’t the best leaders all about theie people and realise that people are their greatest resource. Think about some of the best leaders in the world today.
  • When you ask people that love working for their company, invariably one of the reasons they’ll say is that the leadership and management is amazing. Perhaps that they provided direction, that they listened and understood, that they appreciated their staff and they had strong relationships with the rest of the company. And if I asked you the same – think about the best team environment you’ve ever worked in and tell me why it was so good – I bet you’d mention the people and the leadership amongst your reasons for why that was such a great team / company also.
  • It is funny isn’t it how some people see themselves above the rest of their organisation, whereas others are completely the opposite ? They mix and learn and have deep relationships with the people in the organisation. They are not ego driven, position driven or power driven. They are part of the team.
  • Which leader would you follow into battle or sacrifice for – the CEO who has his own lift or the opposite ?

It brings me to a key point about leadership.

Leadership is about INFLUENCING others attitudes and behavior. It doesn’t have to have a particular style and you don’t have to have a certain type of personality. Quiet people can influence just as well as extroverts. Hands off leaders can influence just as much as inspirational leaders as much as hands on, involved leaders. The key is INFLUENCE.

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