Category: Leadership Insights

All pumped up to go nowhere

We’re only three hours into the Authentic Leadership Course and I have a moment of reflection. We all know that adrenalin is a killer, so to speak, but console ourselves that it’s useful in getting ourselves moving/presenting/whatever.

I’m not so sure. This course has started and will continue I am sure without the use of that drug. Already, deep connections are being made and we are speaking of the trust that is already building. Building because we are all being ourselves. There’s no adrenalin-pumping stunts that seem to fill much of our business life – presumably to impress others and “get the point across”.

Get the point across. That’s it – feeding out stuff to unsuspecting and eventually unreceptive audiences – whether that be a class, a team or a board.

Three hours can get you to Sydney. It can also get you connecting in places you never thought possible with people you’ve never met before.

Imagine what you could do at work if you relaxed, trusted and lost the mask.  Now there’s a leader’s vision.


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Hey Mr Tiger, what do you bring to the table this year?

The Auckland Lantern Festival is a feast for the eyes and the mouth.  Inside the entrance to Albert Park is a brightly lit glass tiger, representing the animal that Chinese mythology prescribes for this year – the year of the tiger. So if are born in 2010 or going back, in multiples of 12 then the year of the tiger is your year. Like me!

Strolling around the Festival last night sporting the AUTCIL’s trademark “What makes you a leader?” T-shirt a group of teenagers called out “hey what makes you a leader”.  “What do you think?” I responded. “Oh this beautiful face” responded a girl.  “What is it?” said another.  “It’s what you have inside that makes you a leader” I said.  Still enthusiastic, Ms self-proclaimed Beautiful Face declared “It’s what you bring to the table”.

Well said.

What will you bring to the table during this year of the tiger?


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Be selfish and give!

“What makes you happy?” I asked a business leader today. 

I love asking this question.  In my experience there is nothing more rewarding and likely to lead to happiness than growing others.  

Open for giving?

 

The thing about growing others that you give what you have, so you don’t have to learn much (other than how to give), there’s always back up when you need it, and those you grow, well they grow and become happier.  And so will you. 

No-one openly disagrees with this scenario in my experience, but putting it into practice is not always that simple. Some functional managers  jealously guard what they have learned, protecting their patch for the next promotion. Sometimes it’s even rewarded, reinforcing the behaviour. 

Therein lies the dilemma.  If I share I lose my personal competitive advantage. On function you might, and if that’s you then leadership might not be your gig (yet).  

So what did my business leader say in response?  “It sounds selfish you know, but I get so much happiness from giving to grow others”. 

So be selfish, look after your own happiness and give.  I don’t think anyone will criticise you for that sort of selfishness!

Excuse me Sir, what do you think about loyalty?

When Prince William visited New Zealand this week he made it known that he didn’t want to be referred to as Your Royal Highness.  Just Sir was okay. One of the duties he performed was to open the new Supreme Court building, the building that houses our final court of appeal, replacing the Privy Council sitting in London.  Another tie with England as the “mother country” slips away.  He might one day be our head of state but, like his father and grandmother – our current head of state – he shows no more inclination to meddle in our affairs than the head of any other state.

I had a chat with a friend the other day about loyalty. Loyalty was being demanded in a low trust situation. Since then I seem to see the word everywhere – I even get American Express Card Miles for being loyal. Thank you for your loyalty it states on the bottom of an invoice received today. What I realised from the chat to my friend is that loyalty and leadership have a (sometimes) uneasy relationship.

When we’re in a great team with high trust and high commitment it’s a pretty good bet that we’ll be loyal. But what about the boss who demands loyalty from his or her people.  You know: “Anyone who wants to  be in my team better be loyal”. Why would you say such a thing?  Or why would you need to say such a thing? Well you might if you were at war, or you were scared of something that those in your team might do.  At war? Scared? Yes, if you were actually at war. But otherwise I reckon you’ve lost it – you’ve got the right people on the bus, the bus is going in the right direction, you have a strategy, a team charter, as the leader you’ve let go. Or so you think. Actually if you’re worried about loyalty and demanding it or any compromises that goes with such a demand, you might as well leave the bus and jump on the one-seater motorbike.

We saw the sort of adoration of Prince William that we haven’t seen for a royal in years. It might be he’s handsome (hey I’ve got more hair!), but it might also be that his family aren’t demanding any sort of loyalty. Rather they think we will do the right thing. There’s a good chance we’ll be loyal to England for many reasons – historical, our familial links, our membership of the Commonwealth and our mutual acceptance of secular values of honesty, transparency, freedom and democracy.

Nothing was demanded but plenty was given. It was a pleasure to have you visit Sir.


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