The Leadership Edge
Posted online August 1999
Leadership today is about leading ourselves and those with whom we work to a different place, a place centered in the realization of our wholeness. It is about creating workplaces that trust, honor and empower the full expression of ourselves. It is about supporting one another in the experiences and risks, doubts and certainties, and in the sadness and the joys.
What Style Is Most Effective?
Supportive. Supportive leadership is the only kind of leadership there is...otherwise it is not leadership. Supportive leadership is leadership from the heart...with a heart.
Leadership today requires that we be willing and desirous of building our team members. It requires that we are willing to step out of the comfort zone to risk and change in order to grow. We do not have the luxury of staying with what we've always done, even though it may have worked well in the past. If we try to maintain what has always been, we will inevitably begin the process of decline.
Leadership is a shift from management in order to control to bringing out the best in people. It means, literally, leading the way for our team members by creating and nurturing the environment that encourages quality performance, as well as rewards it. It is not about prodding or getting others to do things one doesn't want to do, and it isn't about authority. The reward for this leadership is loyalty, commitment, and quality from team members; greater satisfaction personally and professionally; and increased profits for the business.
Key to leadership is empowerment and encouragement. There is a direct correlation between satisfied employees and those employees who are supported, encouraged and inspired to become the very best they are capable of becoming. Where we have held employees accountable for their work, but not allowed them to make necessary decisions or changes to do it well, we hinder the process, limit creativity and actually demotivate.
Leaders are team builders who foster the desire in team members to produce results that not only satisfy their own individual desires, but also produce results that satisfy customers. The old management by intimidation, or power, or authority, no longer works. It stifles creativity, causes people to act out of fear rather than desire, and eliminates the possibilty of teamwork. Leaders create an atmosphere that eliminates fear and gives team members the enouragement, support, training and resources they need to do the job right...and well. Other qualities becoming more recognized at the center of true leadership are the deeply rooted concerns for compassion, kindness and a sincere interest in the well-being of others. Strong leaders know that people are led by example, not driven by dictate. They never ask anything of their people they are not willing to do themselves.
Ultimately, leadership is not about having power over others, but about doing a job together. A leader is not superior, but a part of the team. Leadership has nothing to do with ego that demands passive obedience, but everything to do with mutual respect and trust. The leader who leads from the heart is open and radiates a powerful flow of energy. As a result, this leader becomes unlimited and transforming of self, as well as opening the way for transformation of others.
Leadership also requires loyalty. Wise leaders know they will accomplish through others only to the extent that the team is strong, and strength will be in direct response to the support by leadership. Without loyalty from the leader there will be little commitment from the team, and commitment is critical to create the synergism necessary for maximum results. Commitment, it must be understood, cannot be dictated, commanded or regulated...it must be inspired.
Many people have gone through life with one foot on the gas and the other on the brake. Leadership can be the key to release the brakes. A leader sets the tone for the business or organization. Whatever happens is a direct reflection of leadership abilities. With leadership comes privilege and responsibility. The responsibility is yours to do what you need to do to become a leader of people. Realize there is no getting" there" in leadership...it is an ongoing process...and a continuous learning process. The time is now to awaken more fully to our resources. It is a time for new priorities and for disciplining ourselves. What example are you setting? What kind of leader are you? It's time to make a path, not necessarily follow one. As a result the workplace will be happier, relationships stronger, fulfillment deeper, and profitability will be greater.
©1995-2001 Cheryl Matschek.
