NICK WRIGHT
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Qualities of leadership

7/2/2011

27 Comments

 
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​Philosophically and practically, I find myself quite conflicted over the leadership competencies agenda.

On the one hand, we use a capability framework at an INGO where I work for assessment and development purposes and, on the whole, it provides a useful touchstone for these purposes. It was derived from observations globally of what seems to make people successful within the organisation's cultural environment (although I’m not sure what criteria were used to denote ‘success’). It provides a basis for awareness raising, focused conversation, critical reflection, practical action (e.g. developing new insights or ways of doing things). So, pragmatically-speaking, it does prove a useful tool.

On the other hand, there’s something about analysing leadership competencies - as an 'evidence base' -  that can feel simplistic and reductionist. I think that’s where my underlying discomfort lies. I’m reminded of a philosophy lecturer during my theological studies who introduced the idea of a beautiful rose. "A poet tries to capture and express the rose’s beauty in colourful, creative language. It’s about its intangible qualities – beauty, essence, spirit, impact." Perhaps, by analogy, we might experience this phenomenon in leaders as personality, character, charisma, X factor.

What’s interesting for me is that ‘beauty’ isn’t just about the rose – it’s about how I perceive, experience and respond to it. It’s not just what I see, it’s what I attribute to it, what I feel and do as a result. By analogy, I wonder if what I regard as ‘good leadership’ in a particular time and context is really the result of a complex combination of personal qualities emerging and interacting in a specific social/political/cultural environment. It’s influenced by what I notice (and don’t), what I attribute success to (and don’t), what happens when the leader interacts with people’s history, culture, values, expectations etc.

This may explain why different leadership qualities prove successful in different contexts. I’ve had personal experience of this. For example, I once led a highly successful youth group in the North of England. I tried applying the same leadership style and approach with a youth group in the South and it was a terrible failure. I’ve also noticed how in the same situation, different people respond to the same leader’s leadership differently. One person is inspired where another feels disengaged. As with the rose, there’s some kind of dynamic interplay between stimulus and responder.

This makes me wonder which, if any, leadership qualities are universal and which, if any, are contingent on context.

Staying with the rose analogy, the scientist dissects the rose in order to understand and explain it. This form of inquiry can explain the rose at a basic structural level but it won’t explain why people buy roses for their partners. I guess, for me, defining competencies can feel more scientific than poetic. There’s something about the dissecting that risks missing or even diminishing the quality of the whole.

I’m reminded of Nevin’s seminal work on Gestalt consulting: "The whole is more than the sum of the parts, as the arrangement of configuration of the parts is what gives an object its unique quality. In the case of singling out a tree in a park, the object is perceived almost immediately as a tree even if our attention is drawn to some parts more than to others. Studying only isolated, single parts of the tree (trunk, roots, branches, leaves etc) does not allow one to experience that which we call ‘tree’."

I've been prompted to consider two other issues which are related to the above. Firstly, whether it’s more meaningful to speak of leadership qualities and management competencies than leadership competencies. I'm not sure, but 'quality' somehow holds for me that sense of mystery that lies beyond transferable capability.

Secondly, whether we should inquire into what factors are making the difference in a specific real time and context rather than focusing on distilling and codifying generic leadership qualities or capabilities ‘out of context’. In other words, should we pay more (or equal) attention to evaluating leadership on the basis of what is achieved, what its effects are, which values are safeguarded etc. rather than the simple (in theory, if not in practice) qualities or capabilities the leader displays? It’s a difficult one. What results do we attribute to the leader and what do we attribute to other causal or contributing factors?

I’m reminded, by analogy, of the difference between Investors in People and Best Companies. Investors in People evaluates inputs (e.g. specific processes and practices) with the assumption that prescribed inputs (‘good practice’) will lead to desired outputs. By contrast, Best Companies evaluates whether desired outputs (staff engagement) have been achieved in a specific organisation and inquires into what has contributed to those results (e.g. confidence in leadership during tough economic times).

This poses interesting questions and challenges for leadership (as distinct from management skills) development: whether it’s possible and, if so, what we are trying to develop and how best to go about developing it.

The approach we’ve used in the INGO has focused mainly on developing cultural aspiration, holding ‘leadership conversations’ (getting leaders together to chat about what’s real and important for them and seeing what emerges), inviting stakeholder feedback, participating in executive coaching and action learning. I would love to hear how others are approaching leadership development and to draw on their ideas and learning too.

One final thing occurs to me. I've noticed how many leadership characteristics could be regarded and framed as essentially self-balancing. For example, visionary yet realistic; flexible yet robust; inspiring yet listening; humble yet assertive; courageous yet empathetic; strategic yet grounded. I can draw these ‘polarities’ as spokes on a wheel with 'person' at the hub and 'context' at the rim. There's something about what mode or quality influences change in a specific environment. I'm going to give more thought to that.

(2-12-09)
27 Comments
Bridget
4/7/2011 04:03:35 pm

Hi, a belated comment on this one. I totally agree with what you are saying. Thinking of this spiritually, God did not just create the earth bringing order out of chaos (although he did do this), he also created beauty, ie something alluring and inviting which is very difficult to describe. Maybe this is why God describes many "things" in the Bible in a poetic, symbolic or parable-like sense. (Even my words are clumsy trying to describe what is difficult to describe in words - sometimes we need pictures, music or visions. Words are not enough.)In Revelation when John is describing the "open heaven" that he sees, he keeps saying things like(!) it was "like a sea of glass" as the beauty he beheld was indescribable.

Even in your blog, whilst you make a valiant attempt to put into words the phenomena that you are trying to describe, the paragraph that made the most sense to me was the last one, which was almost poetic, "humble yet assertive, courageous yet empathetic". Brilliant piece of prose or poetry?

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Nick Wright
4/5/2012 01:26:07 pm

Thanks Bridget. The thing that struck me in what you are staying is how reducing leadership to science misses leadership as an art form, in its fullest sense. With best wishes. Nick

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Rosie S
4/5/2012 01:18:04 pm

This is something very dear to my heart and the exact thing that I was talking to someone about only a week ago.

Although I'm an OD consultant, I too am feeling increasingly conflicted around the subject of competencies (despite the fact - or maybe because of it!) that I've developed two major sets of competencies for organisations in the last year!!

And yet I fundamentally and wholeheartedly believe that, unless we create environments where people can truly be themselves and bring the very best of who they really are to work, we will continue to NOT get the best from people and will continue to stifle and in some ways, control them - usually in a subversive way - and perhaps the subversiveness is worse than blatant control?

And then of course, there's a debate which is still unpalatable and swept under the carpet in most organisations about "self" "being" "authenticity" and, dare I say it, "spirit ", the latter definitely being not just swept, but swiftly shoved, under the afore-metioned carpet.

I find myself thinking - well, knowing - that if I could work with people in a different way where they wanted and needed to (I'm a therapist of various sorts as well), we could get to a much better, and very different, place much more quickly and their qualities and "competencies" from that place just shine through and radiate from them, without anyone having to define what "it" is for them.

I've worked in a number of situations and with many people, where the explicit starting point was trusting in people, having faith that if they were given everything they needed, they could be brilliant, creating a sense of community and team spirit, focusing on using people's strengths rather than fruitlessly trying to whip their "weaknesses" into shape and believing that in doing all that, they would be the best of themselves and would help others to be their best too.

I've seen so much tangible evidence that, by even half creating that sort of climate, by unshackling people, by believing in who they really are and enabling them to be the best of that, people unleash their real potential, imagination, creativity, kindness and fun and organisational performance and inspiration significantly improves.

I'm about to start a piece of research (which I've been banging on about for ages so I really am going to start it now!!) around this and I'd really, really like to talk to you.

Rosie

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Nick Wright
4/5/2012 01:32:58 pm

Hi Rosie. Thanks for such a thoughtful response. I love the comment you make that: "I've worked in a number of situations and with many people, where the explicit starting point was trusting in people, having faith that if they were given everything they needed, they could be brilliant..." It pays attention to the notion of leadership as creating an environment within which others will thrive, rather than focusing on the leader him or herself as if it's the leader's capabilities in isolation that make all the difference. With best wishes. Nick

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Calum Webster
4/5/2012 01:19:09 pm

A rose by any other name.

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Nick Wright
4/5/2012 03:01:47 pm

Yep. :)

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Tim Soden
4/5/2012 01:23:53 pm

Hello Nick
I commend you for your admission that you admit to being conflicted and which breaths fresh air into a subject that has become the source of acrimony in this business sector in which has become accepted parlance for frustrated coaches to attack or blame leaders (clients) for their human frailties.

This lack of understanding means that certain organisations to avoid risk rely ever more on measuring competencies to aid selection of dead cert leaders.

Perhaps the "science" of intellectual research into leadership competencies uses extensive and unchallenged psychological research an element of predetermined opinion creates its own problems.

Do we want leaders that are like grey suits all of the same fit selected by preferred, dependable characteristics and identities or are we courageous enough to work with those flawed individuals that are both frustrating and inspirational?

“So I've seen life as one long learning process. And if I see - you know, if I fly on somebody else's airline and find the experience is not a pleasant one, which it wasn't - 21 years ago, then I'd think, well, you know, maybe I can create the kind of airline that I'd like to fly on”. ~ Richard Branson

The examples for exceptional leaders are all around us and unfortunately psychobabble means we are frequently searching with flawed indoctrination.

This is why in times of comfort small businesses and great institutions are failed not by inadequate leaders but by a desire to control and normalize creative momentum by avoiding risk.

We can observe daily the result of failing to change and innovate creating a collective institutional culture that avoids taking responsibility for failures from conception through to engagement.

In times of crisis real leaders come to the fore front ~ unless of course their is a predominant raft of defensive people in place obligated to controlling the business out of existence.

The only way to learn to be a leader is to lead and this requires an ability to make and learn from mistakes and if we have methodologies that iron out this process in order to create a safety net where has the playing field gone to?

Have you also noticed how serious and less playful we have become in this business sector?

Humility brings a sense of inquisitiveness and humor to our outlook, alternatively when someone asserts an ideology with arrogant certainty I may often question if they have the competency to understanding leadership.

Engage with empathy, consider with humility act with compassion these are not competencies but solid building blocks for an approach to understanding.

Great post and thank you for the insights.
Kind regards
Tim

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Nick Wright
4/5/2012 01:45:08 pm

Hi Tom. I felt intrigued and inspired reading your reflections. I was particularly struck by the idea of competency creation and management as a way of managing and reducing risk. I liked your question, 'are we courageous enough to work with those flawed individuals who are both frustrating and inspirational?'. It sounded so much more human than the abstract clinical feel of a competency framework. I share your sentiment about how 'serious and less playful we have become'. It's as if the more tightly we try to manage ourselves and our organisational environments, the more we risk squeezing the vibrant colour, life and creativity out. I loved your final emphasis on empathy, humility and compassion - qualities that, for me, convey a spiritual quality to leadership that is so much more authentic and transformational than a mechanistic competency-based approach can imagine or achieve. With best wishes. Nick

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Tim Soden
5/5/2012 06:33:35 am

Hi Nick
I arrived late into this business sector and so my learning is experiential and having led an enjoyable and full working life as an entrepreneurial spirit I am inspired to "give back".

For the past five years every month I have invited an eclectic mix of senior executives and business professionals to join me on a workshop to explore leadership communication, change and culture a good part of this is exploring preferred leadership values.

“If you don’t do it excellently don’t do it at all. Because if it’s not excellent, it won’t be profitable or fun. And if you’re not in business for fun or profit, what the hell are you doing there? ~ Robert Townsend ~ Economic commentator on development and growth in third world countries.

I feel that to understand leadership characteristics we may be required to let go of indoctrinated values and unlearn by exploring new perspectives.

If you would like to know more about what I do I would be happy to share with you and please respond with your email to [email protected].

By the way a good book about compassion in the workplace is "terms of Endearment" by Rijandra S Sisodia.

Warm regards
Tim

Peter Callender
4/5/2012 01:48:54 pm

I like your rose metaphor and your youth group North/South story. Like you I have reservations about leadership competencies...However in large corporates there needs to be some way of benchmarking competent from incompetent leader...I do like theleadershipcodebook.com approach and Beverley Alimo Metcalfe's work.

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Nick Wright
4/5/2012 02:02:09 pm

Hi Peter. Thanks for the note and the book recommendations - I really appreciate it. I had a glance at the books on Amazon and have ordered copies. :) The Metcalfe book looks particularly close to the questions and ideas I'm seeking to articulate and explore. I understand the desire and value of differentiating leaders. After all, leaders do have a significant impact on organisational effectiveness and how other people experience working in them. I guess I'm (a) questioning what constitutes 'good leadership', (b) inquiring into what factors other than the leader him or herself influence the leader's apparent influence and effectiveness and (c) challenging the notion that leadership competencies can be defined, replicated and evaluated in the abstract. Would love to hear any insights you could share on how you address these issues in your context. With best wishes. Nick

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DH
4/5/2012 02:09:11 pm

Nick,
Your comments resonate with me on several levels: I too went to seminary here in the USA and my ministry became leadership coaching, assessment and development on the public, private and non-profit sector. My grounding is Jungian and Gestalt so I share your beliefs regarding developing the whole person and thereby creating leadership teams who are capable of more than they could ever imagine individually. Recently, teaching a group of scientist/leaders I asked if how much of their behavior, skills and values were derived, not just from their intellect but from their hearts and souls? I was astounded how many came to me at the break and said either, "No one ever asked me to look at my role in that way." or "I feel like you've given me permission to talk about leadership in a way I was reluctant to." To me it is an integral part of the leader as Steward and Servant.

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DH
4/5/2012 02:16:47 pm

Hi DH and thanks for the note. Sounds like we have both found a resonance with Gestalt as a way of thinking about and understanding individuals within a broader context, environment system or 'field'. This has resonances, too, with my spiritual beliefs and worldview as a Christian. Thanks for sharing the example of working with the scientist/leaders. Sounds like the question you posed about 'hearts and souls' struck a chord, perhaps enabling them to step outside of a scientific cultural mindset preoccupied with rationality, measuring, testing etc? With best wishes. Nick

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Funmi Johnson
6/5/2012 03:14:50 am

I'm just joining this conversation and i'm really enjoying the discussion. I was thinking about leadership a little while ago. It's a subject that's always intrigued me and one that i think can be looked at differently. Check out my blogpost of 7 April at www.b2bbeautiful.blogspot.com.

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Nick Wright
6/5/2012 03:15:27 am

Hi Funmi. Welcome to the conversation. I liked your story about apple seeds and oranges seeds! :) Nick

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Tim Soden
8/5/2012 11:24:26 am

Hi Funmi
Thanks for your comments and I enjoyed visiting your blogpost and was impressed by the personal experiential content.
It is interesting why and how and different people choose to communicate.
I have been defined as a leader by my career for over thirty five years and so my reason to communicate on this forum is to share my experiences and also learn some new stuff.
I do not seek to market my abilities or promote my business on this forum although I feel it is perfectly reasonable for others to do so.
So my contributions are to share alternative perspectives and see if anyone has anything different to offer.
It has been said before that the only training for a leader is to be a leader.
On the issue of clothes many years ago I developed a rather relaxed attitudes to clothes and this came about from a friend of mine who let his intellect speak above any sensibility for dress codes.
Metaphors about clothes in business are often misunderstood as when we dress for business in a certain way we make a statement of how strongly we resist or comply with indoctrination.
Dress, uniforms and protective equipment are about control.
I am prompted to remember when a few years ago Richard Branson turned up at the Institute of Directors in Pall Mall London and was and did not have a tie and was faced by a red faced official asking him to wear a tie under his woolly jumper.
The rule has since been revoked.
Perhaps this may help Nick in that to explore leadership competencies he should call a few leaders together and starting with a blank page ask a simple question "what are your preferred leadership competencies"?
From this exercise he would gain an impartial and unique understanding.
Kind regards
Tim

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Nick Wright
8/5/2012 11:27:35 am

Hi Tim. You may be interested to have a glance at this short piece, Ten Leadership Qualities: http://www.nick-wright.com/1/post/2011/11/qualities-of-leadership1.html. With best wishes. Nick

Penny Barratt
6/5/2012 05:07:58 pm

Hi Nick, I read all the comments and what I read invoked so much interest I am not sure I can cover most of it. First although there are 'competencies' that define leadership as a role that is conferred, that does not make a good and definitely not a great leader. My belief is that we can all identify somebody either real or imagined (there's some great films depicting leadership at it's best Gladiator, Lord of the Rings) who demonstrate for us great or exceptional leadership. To ask what were the reasons for identifying that particular person, the answers are the unpicking of the defining characteristics. It might be measured in outcomes, winning, surviving, making money or just having a following. But it's not really the outcomes that determine the great leadership it is why the leader invoked the behaviour of others to get the action and responses to get the outcomes, that determines this. I think people can be taught to lead but they cannot be taught to be great leaders that comes from some indefinable personal characteristic which can be nurtured but not learnt. To have leaders who are extraordinary often means they will be different, think outside the box, invoke loyalty, integrity and honesty in those they lead because they are governed by those same values themselves.

I understand what you say about the Rose. I feel that sometimes when asked at a book club to dissect a book. I love books but not all books and some that speak to me or whose message I enjoy may not invoke that same response of another who reads the same words. Yet I will happily pass on excellent books for others to see for themselves and enjoy the different responses because it's intuitive not forced.

Another thing about leaders that comes to mind when you give the example of same approach different outcome in North V South of England is my experience of my children playing football for years with various football teams. The Managers who are supposed to be the inspirational leaders when they have only one approach will fail a percentage of the players because as you rightly state one size does not fit all. Some will be crushed while others motivated by negative team talk, some need an arm around the shoulder others a dressing down. The best were those who sought the boys out individually recognised that yes they were a team on the football pitch but were individuals that needed their own brand of pep talk and could recognise real effort and progression in boys as well as exceptional skill.

I am plagued by the term 'competencies' as the only basis of measure but whilst they give a framework having some reality check on individuals being measured on what contribution they actually make can have more sense.

One of my favourite leaders, Kevin Sinfield, Captain of Leeds Rhino's now for a while he has had all the right qualities of an exceptional leader for me, what are the qualities he possesses, you may well ask. Great article written by Yorkshire Post recently revealed all you needed to know yet it depicts a humble guy who just wanted to play Rugby League!

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Nick Wright
6/5/2012 05:08:42 pm

Hi Penny and thanks for such a thoughtful response. Lots of ideas to think about! I agree with your comment that we can all think of real or imagined great leaders. It raises the question for me though of to what degree our notions of 'great leader' are socially constructed. In other words, would everyone agree on what constitutes a great leader, e.g. in different cultures or at different times? I don't think so because it seems to depend on what values those who may be considered as followers or potential followers already hold. I really liked your idea that leaders evoke qualities in others that they display in themselves. I guess that's the power of role modelling. Perhaps its a reciprocal process - something about what followers evoke in leaders too? I found your book analogy helpful as it resonates well with the notion of dissecting a rose to understand its beauty. I also really liked your example of how a leader might work differently with different boys in a football team, depending on what is needed and, perhaps, what they would best respond to. This reminds me of situational leadership. Finally, I agree witt your idea of measuring contribution. This links with the idea in the blog about looking at outcomes, that is, what happens between a leader and group, rather than at abstract generic qualities or competencies of a leaders per se. With thanks again for your comments - much appreciated. Nick

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Carolyn Hooker link
8/5/2012 02:30:19 am

A very reflective and wise piece, thank you for sharing it. I feel its a great shame that you see IiP and Best Companies as oppositional in generating business improvement, I'm an IiP Specialist (and also an Associate of a Centre for Leadership at a University Business School). IiP used to concentrate on inputs but that changed several years ago and its now very similar to Best Companies; it's all about outputs.

Secondly, the interaction between leaders and followers is as you say absolutely key and I believe (although a lot of very interesting people got there long before me) that one cannot be seen in isolation from the other, and its being hotly debated in academic leadership circles. There was also great criticism of competencies back in the 1990's as being reductionist, so for me its one of those paradoxes which we maybe need to hold in balance as we also appreciate what a force they have been for pinning down elusive behaviours. To me they are mainly a benchmark but that's all, you are so right when you say that leadership is socially defined; the moment one is exposed to widely differing cultural models (let alone different companies in the UK) this becomes true.

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Nick Wright
8/5/2012 02:51:30 am

Thanks, Carolyn, for your thoughtful comments. This blog piece arose from a year-long consultation in 2010 with leadership development specialists from around 20 different global organisations.

Most organisations represented were preoccupied with defining the 'right' generic leadership competencies for recruitment, talent and development purposes. I wrote this piece to challenge the group to consider whether the competencies quest is the product of an implicit leadership paradigm that is itself open to question.

The group responded well to the challenge and it opened an interesting conversation about leadership as viewed through a social constructionist lens and the inter-relationship between 'leaders' and 'followers' in influencing change; especially in different cultural environments.

I like your emphasis on balance and your approach to using competencies as a benchmark ('...that's all'). That's how we tend to use the capability framework in the organisation I work with, as a useful prompt for conversation rather than a tightly-prescriptive framework.

With best wishes and thanks again for your comments. Nick

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Dyllis Faife
9/5/2012 12:35:32 pm

Hi everyone in this conversation stream-really interesting reading-thankyou-and much to reflect on.

I have recently "converted" to a coaching career and moved into private business after thirty years experience in the public sector,the majority of which was spent in management and leadership roles.I continue to feel very passionately about leadership,especially in the public sector having,sadly, experienced a significant dearth of good quality leadership myself during my long career,whilst at the same time receiving lots of positive feedback about my own particular leadership style and what it offered.

I am keen to increase my public contribution by coaching back into this sector and spend time giving much thought to the characteristics and competencies of what makes a good leader.

Leadership in the public sector is extremely challenging and I believe,that although the bureaucratic nature of public sector type organisations does not naturally lend itself to "maverickness",a certain element of fearlessness, of difference and of thinking creatively,as well as a high degree of "emotional intelligence" ,are some of the necessary pre-requisites for excellent leadership.

As a newcomer to this strand,I welcome any further comments.

Dyllis

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Nick Wright
9/5/2012 12:42:07 pm

Hi Dyllis and thanks for your note. I would be fascinated to hear more about what you have noticed as differences and similarities between leadership in the public and private sectors. What do you see as the key challenges for leaders and leadership in the public sector? I liked the way you culturally contextualised leadership ('bureacratic nature') in your final paragraph and offered examples of qualities that you believe (I assume) could make the greatest positive difference within that culture. With best wishes in your new coaching career. Nick

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Ruairidh MacGregor MA Oxon
10/5/2012 07:15:26 am

HI Nick, and thanks for your thought provoking article. I would also like to thank Penny for her response and insight. As someone who has completed a 30 year career in the military, and who has had the privileged to lead and command men in a myriad of situations and circumstances, I am sometimes vexed by the 'jingoistic' competency approach to the subject of leadership.

To most of us, the qualities and skills of a leader are not entirely intrinsic. they would have to be developed over many years and with gaining appropriate experience. Yet, to a great extent, there would have to be an innate and solid foundation, coupled also with flair and charisma. Sometimes the qualities of leadership would be natural, but mostly they would metamorphose by effective, early nurturing and constant, later development.

In military leadership the definition is as follows: "Military leadership is the process of influencing others to accomplish the mission by providing purpose, direction, and motivation". Quite simply, it is creating change and altering behaviour in others by providing a role-model. Someone who is knowledgeable, approachable, dependable, has character, flexible, decisive, and motivates.

You only have to look at the difference between a manager and a leader, to know that effective leaders need to charismatic and proactive. De facto leadership has to be flexible and imaginative with positive and often urgent effective reaction to the unexpected.

Thanks for allowing me the 'space' in which to voice my 'tuppence worth.'

Regards to you both. Ruairidh

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Nick Wright
10/5/2012 07:33:50 am

Thanks for such encouraging feedback, Ruairidh, and to adding to the conversation from your own leadership perspective and experience. I guess the intrinsic yet learned or enhanced through experience question touches on the 'nature vs nature' debate. I liked the emphasis on influence in the military definition you shared because it seems to me that influence is a key indicator of whether leadership is taking place. I'm curious about the reciprocal and yet often less-noticed influence of 'followers' on 'leaders' too. In other words, one way to think about leadership could be as a dynamic between leaders and followers, albeit with leaders typically taking the initiative to set the dynamic in motion. I've tried to explain this more in this blog: http://www.nick-wright.com/1/post/2011/02/and-more-leadership-musings.html. Would be very interested to hear what you think. I liked the mention of imagination in your final paragraph - that strikes me as very significant too. Thanks for sharing your 'tuppence worth' - appreciated! With best wishes. Nick

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Ruairidh MacGregor MA Oxon
17/5/2012 01:36:38 pm

I liked the example you gave about the minister, which is entirely correct. In my mind it emphasises the importance of adapting your approach to any given subject towards the target audience. Penny also touches on this with the football analogy. 'One size does not fit all' indeed. A more experience minister might have approached the different audience from their perspective rather than the one for the faithful.
My observation on the matter would be, that good - or great - leaders attract like minded individuals to them. Rather like a moth to a flame. Intuition, dynamism, charisma, imagination, boldness, free-thinking, selflessness, devotion... these all seem to be intrinsic in a good leader, and something which attracts the 'moths' to a particular 'flame.'

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Nick Wright
17/5/2012 01:37:28 pm

Hi Ruairidh. Thanks for the note. I like your comment on leadership as that 'something which attracts the moths to a particular flame'. With best wishes. Nick

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    ​I'm a psychological coach, trainer and OD consultant. Curious to discover how can I help you? ​Get in touch!

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