Will the Real Leaders Please Stand Up!

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.