Module 6 – Good Leadership

Hopefully, now you are really starting to make some headway in thinking about leadership theory and models and how those apply to you in your work situation. What we’re doing today is starting to pull that together to start thinking about what is it that gives you the right to lead?

Looking at what the results of good leadership really are. So what we’ve covered today is that about having the right qualities, skills, behaviors and values. All of those, to some extent will be intrinsic, but all of those can learned and developed. And hopefully you are now thinking of some ways in which you can develop those in yourself. If you’ve got those and you’ve got them right, then you’re able to lead your team, to delegate your team, to motivate your team. To connect the strategic, the operational and the tactical.

You’re able to analyse, decide and deliver. And you’re able to, at the end of the day, inspire and motivate your team to do greater things, for you the leader but ultimately, for your business so that all of you as individuals, and as a team, can be really successful.

Now, leadership is about those skills, behaviors, and qualities. But it’s also about character and integrity. These may sound old-fashioned but there is always, underlying everything, an element of, “Is that person truly who they say they are? Is there an integrity about them? Are they thinking and living and acting all their thoughts in alignment? Are they a whole trustworthy person?” As human beings we tend to innately feel that about others, and sometimes you just say, “There’s just something about that person I don’t trust.” And if your team were thinking that, then whatever you do in terms of everything we’ve talked about so far can be undermined. You must be somebody who has absolute integrity. You think and you say, and you act in alignment. and the character is there. You’re true: you’re true to your word, you’re true to your purpose, you’re true to your feelings.

And what we want to do is to get to a situation where your team want to emulate you. They want to be like you. They see you as somebody that holds them to a higher value, a higher standard and they want to be like you, to be you. And that’s where we want to them to be. There has to be that element that allows you to earn the right to lead.

Leadership may be something that has been given to you, you’ve been appointed to it, but there is, as far as your team are concerned, you’ve got to earn the right for them to follow you. And so you need to work hard at that. It can’t be taken for granted. Although your boss might have given you the authority to do whatever it is you meant to do, your team will be seeing that you need to earn that authority. And they will decide whether they’re going to respect that or not.

So, leadership comes with responsibilities. Leadership is something that needs to be worked hard at. Leadership has that magic ingredient, above all those things that we can learn, all those procedural things. There’s something deep, innate about it, about character and integrity, having the right values, as well as learning the right behaviors, skills and developing the right qualities in ourselves.

The task for today is to start thinking about what are the results that your relationship with others is achieving. Leadership, you will see has the actions, the decisions of your subordinates. Now maybe you will be able to see that clearly but look around at everybody else. See what’s going on and see how actions are results of leadership behaviors. And remember, that leadership is seen not just in your team. Leadership is seen in the responses of customers, suppliers, your staff, but other stakeholders within the business. Think about how they’re acting and reacting to a leadership of you and your colleagues. And remember that leadership can be measured in the short, medium and long-term. And ask yourself, “Are the things I am doing now as a leader, are they all for the short-term gain, or are some of it, and hopefully, a good part of it for the medium term and long-term?”

So have a reflection on what you see in terms of results being achieved by you and your colleagues and think about where that good or bad results are coming from and the decisions and actions of leaders.

So that draws this segment to a close. Start to reflect on that, and then in the next segment, we’ll start to over on and talk about change.