Recently I wrote about giving that unsatisfactory answer to trainees in leadership trainings I hold. The questions usually circles around the fact that one, or multiple trainees, ask what tool to use in which situation in order to solve them best.
And in most, but the very simplest situations, my answer is this:
it’s not so much about the tool, it’s more about the attitude.
What do I mean by attitude? I mean how you approach leadership, in all its facets.
That includes:
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how leaders think about other people, their team in particular, and also colleagues, other leaders, suppliers, etc..
- for example: Do you work on the premise that everyone is trying their best?
- or: How easy or hard to you find it to trust others?
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what leadership means to you as a leader?
- for example: is it more about a topical approach and driving that topic forward (sales, innovation, people management, operations…) or something else?
- or: Is your main job as a leader to ensure your team can do their best?
- or even: does the organisation or structure you work in support your way of leading?
- and maybe: is it about the power you can get as a leader (cause, let’s face it, even if power is a “dirty” word in the German context I work in sometimes, that is still part and parcel of being in leadership).
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how leaders approach getting things done, with their teams, colleagues, suppliers, etc…
- for example: how you approach role and task allocations?
- or: how comfortable are you delegating?
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how leaders communicate with their teams, colleagues, suppliers, etc…
- for example: What is you natural communication style?
- and: how does that affect you as a leader?
- as well as: how could it affect their teams, colleagues, suppliers, etc…?
Everyone will have slightly different answers to these questions, depending on their experience, formative influences and what they have learned in their line of work as leaders.
And as times, fashions and the world around us changes, so does the understanding of what good leadership constitutes. Mostly it will move, eventually, towards what is considered beneficial, productive and efficient for all involved. While Taylor’s approach may have served Henry Ford well, organisational psychology, and frankly, humanity, has moved on since then, having to deal with more complex environments, issues, organisations and at the same time continuously discovering what type of leadership works well, where and for whom.
If this has piqued your interest and you want to find out more about what your authentic leadership style is, drop me a line and get in touch. I look forward to hearing from you.
