At their junior school my children attended there were 3 headmasters over the years. One was excellent - he knew all the boys by name and created an environment in which everybody thrived. He left for reasons I never understood. His successor tried to welcome parents in the car park on his first morning for some reason – which did not go down well - and lasted one term. The next was a sort of compromise choice, a safe pair of hands under whom the school continued to maintain its standards but did not dramatically improve.
At their secondary school the headmaster was by contrast an inspiration creating a school approach where sport, music, theatre and academic life were equally valued turning out balanced and relatively mature young men. I attended his retirement drinks and went up to him and thanked him for educating and looking after our boys. He humbly responded, “No thank, you for entrusting their education to us”.
I am continually surprised in professional practice how, despite our individualism (a characteristic of professionals) and the correct emphasis on teams and team work, it still really matters as with schools who heads the practice. Their leadership sets the tone, the standards and the values which the business group as a whole then follow. The approach and attitude they bring flows down to the entire team.
So, to take two extremes by way of illustration. First a manager who, however gifted they be individually, rules by following the FUD principle - creating an atmosphere of fear, uncertainty and doubt which keeps the team in line and doing their job - because they fear for their livelihood. It works but does not encourage any individual contributions beyond what is strictly necessary. Everybody keeps their head below the parapet and survival is paramount.
By contrast as with my secondary school headmaster some leaders choose to create an open and co-operative and inclusive culture in which teams are encouraged to contribute and participate and all suggestions are welcome and valued. People tend to build on other’s ideas without worrying about who will be praised or blamed.
Whatever style is adopted is infectious and will tend to be followed by immediate direct reports and in turn their direct reports so that the whole professional practice or business is in effect created in the image of the ultimate leader.
And the approach must be genuine. Here is an article Top 10 Ways to Lead by Example which starts with some sound advice Good leaders must lead by example. By walking your talk, you become a person others want to follow. When leaders say one thing, but do another, they erode trust--a critical element of productive leadership.
Being an inclusive leader is also more challenging and as this American Express blog suggests makes you more vulnerable because you are in effect admitting you may not be perfect – anathema for the FUD leader. The blog quotes Taro Fukuyama CEO and founder of Fond"One of our core values at Fond is 'build trust like a family,' which we define as being vulnerable to each other, being open to feedback, admitting mistakes and admitting weakness," says Fukuyama. "We believe these practices will build the strongest trust among the team."
See also this article Leading by Example which cites the example of Jack Welch of General Electric He developed the whole idea of a "boundaryless organization." This means that everyone is free to brainstorm and think of ideas – instead of waiting for someone "higher up" in the bureaucracy to think of them first. He wanted his team turned loose, and he promised to listen to ideas from anyone in the company.
And this Forbes piece The Best Managers - Always - Lead By Example which says:
There are two highly practical reasons why leading by example makes excellent career and business sense.
1) It's effective.
2) It makes people want to follow you.
It sets the right tone for those in the lower levels of an organization who are closely watching (as most everyone is) how their leaders behave. It disarms any resentment that may be felt, rightly or wrongly, toward those in high managerial places. It's difficult to resent managers who roll up their sleeves and wade into the trenches when they need to, and who share the same sacrifices their teams do.
It also quotes the philosopher and physician Albert Schweitzer "Example is not the main thing in influencing others; it is the only thing."
Or going even further back in history as the Greek philosopher Epictetus, who was born a slave, advised “Make it your business to draw out the best in others by being an exemplar yourself.”
And doing so by adopting an inclusive approach is likely to be far more successful. As Oprah Winfrey commented “Leadership is about empathy. It is about having the ability to relate to and connect with people for the purpose of inspiring and empowering their lives.”
At their secondary school the headmaster was by contrast an inspiration creating a school approach where sport, music, theatre and academic life were equally valued turning out balanced and relatively mature young men. I attended his retirement drinks and went up to him and thanked him for educating and looking after our boys. He humbly responded, “No thank, you for entrusting their education to us”.
I am continually surprised in professional practice how, despite our individualism (a characteristic of professionals) and the correct emphasis on teams and team work, it still really matters as with schools who heads the practice. Their leadership sets the tone, the standards and the values which the business group as a whole then follow. The approach and attitude they bring flows down to the entire team.
So, to take two extremes by way of illustration. First a manager who, however gifted they be individually, rules by following the FUD principle - creating an atmosphere of fear, uncertainty and doubt which keeps the team in line and doing their job - because they fear for their livelihood. It works but does not encourage any individual contributions beyond what is strictly necessary. Everybody keeps their head below the parapet and survival is paramount.
By contrast as with my secondary school headmaster some leaders choose to create an open and co-operative and inclusive culture in which teams are encouraged to contribute and participate and all suggestions are welcome and valued. People tend to build on other’s ideas without worrying about who will be praised or blamed.
Whatever style is adopted is infectious and will tend to be followed by immediate direct reports and in turn their direct reports so that the whole professional practice or business is in effect created in the image of the ultimate leader.
And the approach must be genuine. Here is an article Top 10 Ways to Lead by Example which starts with some sound advice Good leaders must lead by example. By walking your talk, you become a person others want to follow. When leaders say one thing, but do another, they erode trust--a critical element of productive leadership.
Being an inclusive leader is also more challenging and as this American Express blog suggests makes you more vulnerable because you are in effect admitting you may not be perfect – anathema for the FUD leader. The blog quotes Taro Fukuyama CEO and founder of Fond"One of our core values at Fond is 'build trust like a family,' which we define as being vulnerable to each other, being open to feedback, admitting mistakes and admitting weakness," says Fukuyama. "We believe these practices will build the strongest trust among the team."
See also this article Leading by Example which cites the example of Jack Welch of General Electric He developed the whole idea of a "boundaryless organization." This means that everyone is free to brainstorm and think of ideas – instead of waiting for someone "higher up" in the bureaucracy to think of them first. He wanted his team turned loose, and he promised to listen to ideas from anyone in the company.
And this Forbes piece The Best Managers - Always - Lead By Example which says:
There are two highly practical reasons why leading by example makes excellent career and business sense.
1) It's effective.
2) It makes people want to follow you.
It sets the right tone for those in the lower levels of an organization who are closely watching (as most everyone is) how their leaders behave. It disarms any resentment that may be felt, rightly or wrongly, toward those in high managerial places. It's difficult to resent managers who roll up their sleeves and wade into the trenches when they need to, and who share the same sacrifices their teams do.
It also quotes the philosopher and physician Albert Schweitzer "Example is not the main thing in influencing others; it is the only thing."
Or going even further back in history as the Greek philosopher Epictetus, who was born a slave, advised “Make it your business to draw out the best in others by being an exemplar yourself.”
And doing so by adopting an inclusive approach is likely to be far more successful. As Oprah Winfrey commented “Leadership is about empathy. It is about having the ability to relate to and connect with people for the purpose of inspiring and empowering their lives.”
RSS Feed
