There go the people:
I must follow them for I am their Leader.
(Alexandre Ledru-Rollin)
I watched an example of (what I thought was) excellent leadership in action this morning, and found myself wishing that I had always experienced leadership like it.
It was in the context of a tough session where a new strategy and operating model was being announced. People knew it was coming and they had their own ideas, and fears of what it meant for them: would they have a job tomorrow, how was what they knew, what they had become comfortable with, going to change.
Into this anxious crowd walked the boss; a white haired, friendly looking, extroverted Yank. He started by making fun of himself and in moments had most laughing (except the one severe looking guy whose look would have curdled milk at a thousand paces), and that's not always easy to do when you are working across cultures. I watched the people in the room (the changes don't directly impact on me) as the Yank sold a tough new operating model and a more focused strategy - and he took the people with him. Two hours later as he finished his concluding remarks they stood and applauded him as he bowed and curtsied.
I have been trying to identify some of what he did and I have come up with the following list which is by no means exhaustive, but I think they are all characteristics of a person I will follow, even when it might hurt.
- Trust - There is no doubt he's the boss. He's been around a while and during that time has built a relationship of trust. His people trust him because they have seen a man of integrity
- Integrity - He does what he says, and says what he does. He has not given people any reason to doubt that he is honest in all his dealings, he has earned the teams respect
- Respect - people respect him, they have not always liked his decisions, but because they know they can trust him and see his heart, they respect him, and they follow him, because they know he is their advocate
- Advocate - His boss is the international leader, but today in his words, and by his actions he made it clear that his job was to fight for this team, these people: that meant giving them all the details he had so that they were as fully informed as they possibly could be. "After all", he said, "its your country, your office, your futures, not his, and I am trusting you to keep the information to those that need to know". He left no secrets
- No Secrets - one, if not the most destructive elements in a team, is secrets. If information is power then secrets are 'smart bombs'. (Every one accepts that there is information that cannot, or is not ready to be shared with everybody, but when it has the power to impact others then surely it is their right to know.) Today people felt that they had been told the truth.
- Truth - The boss outlined why things were changing, he spoke about things that were working and things that weren't - he pulled no punches - he told us how the new was going to affect us and he apologised for leadership decisions that had not worked
- Humility - He did not pretend that he had always got it right, and he was willing to say sorry, and all of this happened with moments of laughter, with fun - yet no one denied the seriousness of the message
- Fun - you don't have to be an extrovert, (I should know) but you do have to be able to step outside yourself and laugh; at yourself, at your mistakes, and with others as they follow you
- Leader - the last of my observations, (there's more but this rant will do), was that people were following him, willingly - even though they know this is going to be tough they all signed up to follow.
I think that what I saw today was a man that is really in leadership to serve. He is here to give himself for his team so that together they might just transform the lives of children and communities in Afghanistan.
People are governed only by serving them;
the rule is without exception.
(V. Cousin)
