What is leadership?
Leadership is the art of consciously making choices that contribute to your personal calling, the purpose of the organization and current issues in our society. Your formal decisions and daily actions reinforce each other. Leadership is head, heart and hands. It is a life art, because as well as knowledge and talent, it requires continuous practice.
What is leadership?
Discover three lenses through which to look at leadership, both in your personal life and in your organization. This will give you more insight into what is going on, what is needed and what you can do.g
The three lenses of leadership
You can look at leadership through three different lenses. In the leadership projects for directors and managers (and their team or organization) that I coach, the three lenses often come together, although sometimes the emphasis is on one area of development.
Leader of yourself
Personal leadership is about who is at the helm in your own life. Do you make conscious choices that fit your path, or do you react to outside triggers on autopilot? If you’ve mastered personal leadership, you examine yourself, your own behavioral patterns and the impact they have on yourself and those around you. What helps you and what hinders you? With strong self-leadership, you are able to make choices and act congruently to achieve the desired outcome.
Leader in the organization
In our increasingly complex world, the old paradigm of “command & control” often no longer seems to work. Revolutionary innovations turn organizations and even entire value chains upside down in one fell swoop. They require a rediscovery of service, product and target group. This touches on the purpose of the organization: what meaning do we want to create for our target group and for the world? And what outcomes does that produce?
Leader in society
We are at a tipping point in history. Change is happening on multiple fronts: the warming climate, the effects of COVID-19, tensions in society, social media, democratic unrest, shifting geopolitical balances of power, the declining vitality of our ecology. New perspectives are gaining momentum, in economics, sociology and philosophy. It is not a time of change, but a change of era.
Leader of yourself
Personal leadership is about who is at the helm in your life. Do you make conscious choices that fit your path, or do you react on autopilot to outside triggers? With personal leadership, you examine yourself, your own behavior patterns and the impact they have on yourself and those around you. What helps you and what hinders you? This is the lens of personal awareness. It enables you to make choices and act congruently, creating the desired connection and outcome.
A valuable key to growth is to increase your awareness of your own transference and countertransference. You’ve probably experienced it: you say something to an employee and they respond in an unexpectedly harsh way. What is going on here? And how do you make sure you steer clear of your own behavioral pitfalls? By working with transference and countertransference, you as a leader can contribute to an open and safe work environment, where you see your colleagues for who they are. You set boundaries where necessary and encourage others if necessary. You lead in both vulnerability and firmness.
Your questions about meaning are also part of personal leadership: What do I want out of life? And what does life want from me? The answers to such questions touch on your personal purpose, mission or calling. At different stages of our lives and careers, the answers may look different. The context in which you work may also play a role. What makes you happy and to what extent does your personal mission match that of your organization?
Perhaps you have talents that are dormant and it’s time to revive them. Maybe you have more creativity in you that you’re not expressing at the moment, or your financial passion is not coming into its own. What talents do you have that you would like to develop? And how do you create space to do so in a way that serves others? By using your own talents in a way that creates meaning, you will increase your job satisfaction and overall happiness, and inspire your colleagues in the process.
Goal: Take charge of your own life and work by making conscious decisions
Leader in the organization
In our increasingly complex world, the old paradigm of “command & control” often no longer seems to work. Revolutionary innovations turn organizations and even entire value chains upside down in one fell swoop. They force a rediscovery of service, product and target group. This is the lens of systems awareness.
This touches on the purpose of the organization: what meaning do we want to create for our target audience and for the world? What results do we agree to pursue? When you can get a consensus that, the organization can really blossom. To achieve such growth, leaders must create spaces in which genuine conversations can take place that get to the heart of the organization. These are conversations in which you learn together, discover different perspectives and select a focus.
Then comes the very important next step: starting a conversation about purpose in your organization. This is a balancing act between giving and receiving. As a director or manager, when do you step forward? And when do you take a step back? You want to promote people’s autonomy and at the same time take control where necessary. Striking the right balance depends on the moment. Doing it well requires practice in being truly present.
You yourself are an instrument of change. You listen to argumentation with one ear and your other ear tries to distill: what is this really about? You analyze with your head and feel with your body. You identify, reflect, ask questions and make decisions, unyielding to outside pressure. You are firm, yet vulnerable. This requires determination and stamina on your part.
This is how you build an organization where people and their needs are seen, where staff get the autonomy and trust they deserve and you work together in an agile way. Driven by a collectively established purpose, people work towards meaningful results with joy and satisfaction. All of that starts with a strong and well-oiled executive team.
Goal: In your role, contribute to building an organization where people enjoy working together on meaningful results from a shared sense of purpose.
Leader in society
We are at a tipping point in history. Change is taking place on multiple fronts: the effects of COVID-19, digitalization, democratic unrest, shifting geopolitical balances of power, the warming climate and the declining vitality of our ecology. New perspectives are gaining momentum, in economics, sociology, philosophy. It is not a time of change, but a change of era.
Leaders face constant dilemmas as a result. The issues come from within the organization, where employees are increasingly demanding change. And they come from outside: from activists, citizens’ initiatives, new service providers, stakeholders. Increasingly, the actions of executives and directors are under scrutiny, in the media and sometimes in court.
While for years the same language and etiquette dominated in many fields, things have been shifting lately. We see the emergence of a new type of political leader, the growing influence of social media and the impact of framing. Collaboration between different parties along value chains is becoming increasingly important, requiring leaders to work and communicate differently. In short, these times bring unexpected risks and unexpected opportunities.
Your view of humanity and the world guides your everyday decisions. Blind spots can lead to accidents with far-reaching impact that prevent you and your people from achieving meaningful results. What is your take on the shifts we are going through as a society? How do you envision a hopeful future? And how can you contribute to making that vision a reality?
Goal: Make a practical contribution to the world you wish to see.
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