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Leaders function in relationship to others

In all that’s written and spoken about leadership, there’s a danger of the effective leader being portrayed as a solitary figure who gains power from that very isolation, and of their team being presented as disconnected from them. Of course, the truth is that – like all human beings – the leader can only function in relationship with others – in other words, in a set of interconnecting systems. Their relationships are with other human beings as well as with the issues and factors that affect their existence and effectiveness – career path, organisational agenda and culture, economic and financial environment, emotional climate and many others.

Leaders’ effectiveness is linked to their capacity to listen and connect

One definition of a leader is ‘someone who gets things done through others’ – someone whose team is achieving the leader’s vision. We see around us a whole patchwork of leadership styles and team identities, and I’m noticing more profile being given to the effectiveness of a leader being linked to their capacity to collaborate and listen rather than to their position as an isolated figure. I’m hearing more stories of leaders who listen to their teams – and who see in return greater engagement, better retention rates and bigger, more long-lasting results. This is a tough call for leaders who urgently want to or need to get things done fast, or who have no patience or time to listen to others. However, ultimately, without that kind of truly connecting and collaborative approach, the leader’s results will be limited by their own capacity. The alternative is the creation of results through synergies and connections – creating more out of the available resources.

Mandela’s leadership was collaborative

Much has been written about that icon of leadership and champion of team working, Nelson Mandela, who died on 5^th December. Among the commentators on his legacy, Semhar Araia, founder and executive director of the Diaspora African Women’s Network, wrote in 2012: ‘His actions showed that real leadership is collaborative, collective and inclusive – exactly the opposite of authoritative, corrupt or inflexible approaches. It is having steadfast focus on the common goal with forgiving flexibility, inclusiveness and the vision to adjust to human conditions’.

The power and reach of such a collaborative approach is highlighted by Geoff Thompson, a former martial arts world champion, who has written: ‘Nelson Mandela created, fostered and even demanded a collaborative, inclusive culture within the new South African government. It was this cultivation and expectation of collaboration, modelled by Mandela himself, that allowed the country’s decision-makers to let go of their original mentality: “my people’s agenda vs. yours” — a mentality that was palpable at every turn when Mandela took office in 1994. Beyond all else, Mandela’s fostering of a collaborative and inclusive culture (and country) was the key to avoiding a civil war — a war that had seemed almost inevitable’.

A collaborative style of leadership strengthens the team

This kind of collaboration means spending time not only listening, but also understanding, connecting and engaging: through an approach like this (which I’ve seen in my coaching clients – see for example this case study), a team’s targets become sustainable, and cohesion between team members is strengthened. Not only do targets become more meaningful and more energising, but team members become more committed to each other, so – like a spider’s web – the whole system is strengthened because its internal connections are more resilient.

How sustainable are organisations with autocratic leaders?

I continue to observe with interest those organisations who feature an autocratic leader at their helm: many can boast success, but how long will that success last and what will its cost be in financial and human terms?

Image by John ‘K’ via Compfight

Teams, listening and connection

Leaders are sometimes solitary and lonely figures, disconnected from their team . Leaders who who listen to their teams see in return greater engagement, better retention rates and bigger, more long-lasting results.

Extremes of uncertainty in coaching

Lindsay's article on extremes of uncertainty in coaching has been published in Coaching at Work magazine, November-December 2013 issue. The article explores what works when clients find themselves adrift, or when the foundations of their careers or their lives have seemed to disintegrate.

Optimism: a route to high performance

Humans tend to overestimate the likelihood of positive events, and underestimate the likelihood of negative events. Optimists work harder and longer hours than pessimists, which may account for their higher pay - and optimism has been linked to achievement in education, business, sport and electoral politics. This doesn't seem to fit with our society's tendency to drive for perfectionism, condemn mistakes, and focus on what's gone wrong.

Resilience, the bottom line and Ordinary Magic

Research has shown that engaged organisations experienced 11.74% quarterly revenue growth compared to a 6.30% decline in revenue at organisations with less engagement - and resilience helps build engagement. resilience is often the backdrop to my executive coaching, Success isn’t about travelling a smoother road but rather about climbing out of the pothole and bouncing back – and the key to being able to do that isn’t just to keep going, but to keep learning. Also relevant is the work of Ann Masten, on Ordinary Magic: children’s resilience is linked to: connection with competent and caring adults, cognitive and self-regulation skills, positive views of the self, and motivation to be effective - just like leaders in many ways.

Article on coaching that's free of the coach's ego

When I’ve been truly present, when I’m delivering a deep level of listening, when I’m in a relationship of ‘connected separateness’ with my executive coaching clients - without an attachment to the coaching objectives, albeit holding those objectives in focus - the quality of their development and transformation has sometimes been startling.

Self-awareness: the heart of executive coaching

My belief is that leadership is about creating momentum for a better world by inspiring and engaging other people: in other words, enabling human flourishing. If leaders are to get things done through other people they need to create and nurture trusting, vibrant relationships, to inspire with a vision, to persuade and energise, and to engage with other people’s perspectives. This ability to connect with others is crucially dependent on the ability to connect with self: to become aware of one’s own behaviours and thinking, drivers and blockers. Equipping a client to become deeply self-aware is at the heart of executive coaching.

Chaos and organisational life

In the chaos and confusion that sometimes is the hallmark of life at work, while their organisations are demanding big results, what leaders really need is the simplicity and peace to know who they are and that they have the resources to sustain and nourish themselves.

Creativity, innovation and leadership

David Bowie, pop artist and visual artist, was a creative and innovative pioneer. The leaders we need in our turbulent and fast-changing climate likewise value experimentation, creativity and innovation, they read the market and the system, and they have the courage to pioneer.

Career refocus: stepping off the treadmill

Several of my executive coaching clients feel like they're on a treadmill, stressed and under pressure. And yet it's exceptional for any of them to choose to get off the treadmill. Instead, they make career decisions based on a fuller sense of awareness, within a context of well thought-through perspectives, rather than being based on emotion, stress, exhaustion or just not seeing broader horizons

Development and transformation as coaching outcomes

Development is the release of more of an individual's potential and transformation is a fundamental shift in thinking, feeling or behaving. In my experience the shift is often around a previously unresolved issue that an individual has kept carefully guarded for a very long time. When they make their peace with that old issue in a transformational way, the change sticks and the chances are higher that they will become a transformational leader.

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