As part of my ongoing series to make business psychology models more simple and practical, I seek to address the question:
What is Leadership?
Ask ten random people in the street to define “effective leadership” and you’ll get ten different answers. Ask Google the same question and you’ll get nearly 150 million hits! But, despite the many (often confusing) ways that leadership can be defined, there are a number of core components that are central to most definitions.
Firstly, leadership is a process. It is something that is influenced by but not dependent on the characteristics and personality of the leader. We may be born with some innate traits that give us the potential to be good leaders, but that’s not the whole story. In fact, it is an interactive process in which the leader affects followers, follows affect leaders and the environment affects both. Secondly, and perhaps obviously, leadership involves influence in a group context. It is concerned with how a leader engages, inspires and motivates others. Thirdly, leadership is focused on accomplishing a collective goal. Leaders rally the collective energies, needs and motives of those around them to achieve something great.
So, while it may not be the snazziest of definitions, leadership is a process by which an individual influences a group to achieve a common goal.
Yeah, yeah but “what does that look like in practice?”, I hear you cry.
Having worked with hundreds of organisations over the last twenty years, I have seen countless models, competency frameworks and role profiles that seek to answer that very question; some more successfully than others. Academics are also prone to push a new ‘definitive model of leadership’ on an almost monthly basis, giving them fancy titles like “leader-member exchange”, “transformational leadership” and “authentic leadership”.
In real-life however, most of these models boil down to the same stuff. Leaders need to be able to direct the activity of others. They plan, organise, monitor and drive achievement of goals. They welcome responsibility, cope with setbacks, maintain focus and delegate thoughtfully. They are the people who get things done.
Beyond the day to day management aspects, effective leaders are also those who know how and when to get the best out of their people. They understand and support their people. They invest time in getting to know their needs and drivers. And they use this understanding to engage, inspire and motivate them to work together to achieve success. They are the people who harness the potential of those around them.
And finally, effective leaders are those who scan the environment, adapt to emerging trends, drive and shape change, take risks and make the big decisions. They are the people who know and shape the future.
Now, clearly context is all important as well. It’s no use driving achievement of specific goals if those goals are misaligned with the bigger picture. It’s no use implementing a big change, if you can’t bring people along for the ride. Effective leaders are the people who adapt their style and approach to meet the needs of the business.
Whether you’re drafting a competency framework, reshaping your recruitment process or considering cultural change, these are the things that should be top of your list.
Want to know more? Give us a call on 07768 464680.