- having an idea
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having a clear vision of how to put the idea
into reality
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staying true to their purpose
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making a difference
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being passionate
It was clear that we had difficulties finding leadership
role models “nearer to home”. Let’s look
closer to home.
As you can see from the picture below my inspirational leader throughout my life has to be my mum. Born in Belfast in 1925 raised 6 children, worked part time, was an ambassador for the Action Research for Multiple Sclerosis amongst many of her charitable activities was married for 52 years to my dad who died 16 years ago just after my son was born. My mum has not only been my rock, my support, my mentor and my best friend she has to be the wisest human being on this planet. My mum epitimises many of the leadership qualities outlined in my last blog.
There are examples on your doorstep. I want you to put your coats on and walk, drive to your nearest town, high street, city etc......Identify a leadership role model nearer to home. Examples may include:
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a local family small business
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a community leader
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someone involved in sport
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a teacher
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a family member
How many inspirational leaders can you find on your own
doorstep?? Is one of them you?
Post your
comments.
I like this idea of looking for leadership role models 'close to home'. Somehow there is a common association with the idea of a great leader that they must be leading something big: an army, or a country, a world beating football team or at least a big business. But that doesn't make sense. The scale of what someone is responsible for leading tells us nothing about how well they are leading it, nor about the qualities that they possess which enable them to lead well. In relative terms, Shackleton's legendary leadership was of a very small group of people--not many more than make up an extended family. Rather than the size of the resources commanded, is it the vision that commands which makes a leader?
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to share this great list of visionary female entrepreneurs who are making a difference ethically, socially and economically. You are right though Janette, examples are all around us!
ReplyDeletehttp://oneworldaction.wordpress.com/100-unseen-powerful-women/business-and-entrepreneur/
Thanks for this Sharon really helpful. It may be useful for you to identify your circle of influence in terms of leaders that can help and support you in your journey of leadership learning and development
DeleteColin thanks for posting on my blog great to hear your thoughts and comment. I really liked your idea that its the vision that demonstrates the leadership potential of a person and not the size of the company, team or project they are leading. Food for thought......we tend to overlook the leaders that are on our doorstep and look for examples in big brand organisations. as part of our network of professional I think it is really important to not look athe "big players" but to value the leaders that are in our own circle of influence.
ReplyDeleteJanette
DeleteI agree that vision and innovation are crucial competences for a great leader but, equally important, is how that vision is delivered within the company. In my 360 feedback, I was highly scored by superior and peer participants with whom I would have close dialogue in relation to the strategic direction for the future. However, when it came to conveying that message to members of the team, 1 of my colleagues thought that these competences were average. It is a valuable lesson - it is imperative that visions are communicated throughout the whole team and organisation and not just those of a more senior status. It is only by providing a vision for all colleagues that there can be a truly collective drive for betterment and excellence.
I can sign up to this idea no problem, leaders are everywhere: at home, at work, with friends people we pass in the street.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to this easily through sport having been involved with my football club since I was a child. Throughout this time I have been blessed to have been involved with numerous leaders but about 4 or 5 have stood out.
They had both exceptional natural born skills as well as those they developed through perseverance, dedication and a huge desire to succeed. This leads me to disagree with the "Great Man Theories". I dont believe all leaders are born but there are many who are "man made".
To this day i still have huge admiration to those outstanding sporting leaders that I have had the pleasure to play football with.
Is it a coincidence that each of these leaders also have a successfull career? Any thoughts?
Like you Janette, my mother’s leadership style has definitely had a massive impact on my life. It was quite clear from an early age that my mother was the leader within our family. She was the one who we looked up to. She encouraged me to live life, move to London and to seek out new challenges. I lost my mother four years ago to cancer and now that I am exploring the idea of leadership, makes me now realise the drive and determination my mother had to fight cancer. She battled her illness with such personality and motivation. I have learned so much from her experience that it is quite clear that leadership is all around us and what positives we learn can be taken from the most difficult of situations.
ReplyDeleteI would agree that often a leadership role model can be right on your door step. At a young age I experienced just that with a Department Manager but I did not realise it when I was living and working through it. It is now on reflection approximately 15 years later that I recognise the role he played in my professional life. For me he had direction and encouraged me when needed. I would have described him as determined, made things happen, very focused, had vision and was loyal to staff.
ReplyDeleteHowever was he a good leader? No! If he liked you he was great, if not he made sure he had little to no interaction, so it was very much black and while on how he managed and lead. So "loyal to staff" above should be amended to "loyal to some staff"! This became very apparent the longer I stayed in this employment.
I think at times there can be an element of subjective judgement on who is regarded as a good leader.
I have always been sceptical about the benefits and motives of leadership and employee engagement surveys. My opinion has probably been tainted through my previous employment of 18 years with a multi-national company who, at best, paid lip service to employee surveys (viewed it as box ticking exercise) with very little subsequent delivery. On reflection, they would be viewed in my eyes as a very task orientated company whereby my current company of 5 years is very much people orientated with employees at the centre of the organisation - an engaged workforce is likely to share the drive and enthusiasm of the company and this ultimately leads to a sense of wellbeing, better performance and ultimately profitability (don't like talking financial goals in this context but it is the ultimate goal of for profit organisations).
ReplyDeleteA great quote from David Nettell, Bank of America:
ReplyDelete"If you keep your eyes and ears open and periodically actually shut your mouth... it's amazing what you can learn and how you can change".
Have been on a bit of a journey whilst studying for this particular module. The 360 feedback highlighted, amongst other things, a deficiency for listening actively and it's only when you deeply reflect the feedback that you realise that there are certain things that you do sub-consciously that you know you shouldn't! I do have a trait of, on occasion, interrupting when I think I have an urgency to get a point across and, as a consequence, fail to fully assess and appraise the speaker's comments. Am adopting a reflective log to monitor daily behaviours until such times as this is fully addressed.
Just came across an interesting example of situational leadership in my Finance module of DMP. It relates to Idris Jala who, in 2005, had three months to turn around Malaysia Airlines before they ran out of cash. He involved staff directly in reviewing hubs and routes with a view to improving the yield. It meant that all stakeholders involved in the process were aware that potentially they could lose their jobs but it also give them the committment and focus to concentrate on the matter to hand. He stressed that the conversation had to end with the stakeholder saying "It's OK to fail" - by doing so, it took out a lot of the fear before they even started. The key word was "seemingly" impossible. Jala had a deep view that they could achieve the desired outcome even if it seemed somewhat impossible. As Jala stated, a leader is like "someone who cuts a clearing in a very dense tropical jungle. Everyone else is under the canopy, where they can't see the sky and it's very depressing. The leader has to bring people over to the clearing, into the space where innovation begins. The single biggest thing a leader brings to a turnaround is hope".
ReplyDeleteThe results are staggering - in two years, he turned a 1.7bn ringgit loss into a 851 million profit.