There is an age-old
debate regarding leadership, great leadership, what makes a great leader, how
to distinguish between better and not so good, criteria, success factors, and
more. This will never end.
In the current state the
world and our beloved South Africa is in, we know that we will not move
forward, grow and improve if our leadership, at all levels, does not change
what they do. It will take brave
leadership to change this country, to face the retaliation from inefficient and
crooked leaders and their henchmen when change is demanded. It will take brave leadership from all walks
of life, all levels of business and all components of government.
Yes, we can develop
leadership skills. We can teach that
there are different types of leadership roles – for example, leading from the
front, being supportive of being interactive.
We can discuss that you have a natural tendency to be a directive,
process orientated, creative of facilitative leader. We can spend many hours developing your
self-awareness, defining what you like, what your preferences are, what your
goals are, how other people perceive you and your goals, how motivated you are
to achieve them and how you communicate.
We can warn you not to emulate other leaders too closely because
leadership behaviour comes from within.
However, what is it that
we need? This country needs leaders who
can unite and inspire people to perform at their best. We need leaders with clear values and
principles – authentic people. We need
leaders who understand the complexity of our world and who are humble, serving
the people and not their own pocket and/or inflated ego. We need leaders who can communicate and
sustain dialogue. We need leaders who
empower, share, transform, leaders who understand their responsibility, knowing
that it is not about them. We need leaders
who are not scared to make the right decision, knowing that the right decision
is not always the popular one; solving problems effectively. We need leaders who understand that they do
not know everything, that they should gather wise men around them (not
yes-men), that they should seek various opinions/options/perspectives; and then
take the responsibility to make a decision.
We need leaders who are “there”, who understand people and sense how the
feel, and then lead them into the future.
We need leaders who are
authentic and ethical. We do not need
more deployed people because they are loyal to a party or brotherhood or
whatever. Loyalty does not make you a leader;
it most probably makes you a slave of a doctrine, an organisation and your raw self-interest.
Real leaders clearly
define roles and responsibilities (including their own), they clarify
expectations and priorities, they are clear about expected behaviour, they
enforce expectations, they work hard, they share success and they accept accountability.
Great leaders are
trusted and emotionally engaged with whoever they lead, they are appropriately
competent, they are contextual and situational aware, they make decisions and
implement solutions – they have behavioural integrity.
Will the real leaders
please stand up, speak up and act! We need
you!
Sources:
Feser, C, Mayol, Fernanda and Srinivasan,
R. (2015) Decoding Leadership: What Really Matters. McKinsey Quarterly.
Kent, R.H. (2003) Executive
Leadership. www.mansis.com
Robinson, C. (2003) Six Traits of Effective
Leadership. Feb 20013, Northwest Entrepreneur Network. www.nwen.org/venturer/0203/fearture2.html
Rheeder, I.
(2012) The neuroscience of
Marketing Leadership. Strategic
Marketing, August 2012.
Simons, T.L. (1999) Behavioural Integrity
as a Critical Ingredient for Transformational Leadership. Journal of
Organisational Change Management, Vol 12, no2. 1999.
And other.
