Taken from my forthcoming book: Camino – Leadership Notes On The Road. Read Extract Chapter 1 Part 2.
Some organizations or groups inside the organization, suffer from a lack of self-belief. You could say weak self-esteem. The belief system there is often contaminated by a narrative of impossibility. We are too small. We are too big. We are too conservative, or old, or too young. Or we don’t have the money. Or we could, but the culture will never change. Or it will be hard, slow and painful.
The narrative dominates the thinking that, in turn, dominates the triggers for behaviours and the behaviours themselves. No point taking risks or being adventurous. Not here. For example.
Good leadership can change the narrative of the belief system. Being aspirational and inspirational at the same time as being realistic and honest about possibilities, is a good formula.
Leadership has a choice. It’s called setting the bar. My favourite is the Michelangelo bar: ‘The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark’.
Very often the true conversation on beliefs and expectations does not exist. Leaders need to hear what is unsaid. They need to go beyond what they hear and see if this is said because people try to please you. This is not even cynical or malicious or manipulative. Many people genuinely want to please leaders they consider good ones, made of human DNA, not robotic.
Ask. What do you think? Can we make it? Is this doable? And, by the way, speaking of risk, is this risky enough? For example.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
For more thoughts on leadership – look out for my forthcoming book….
Camino – Leadership Notes On The Road
Read Extract Chapter 1 Part 2 if you missed part 1 read it here: Extract Camino Chapter 1
A collection of notes on leadership, initially written as Daily Thoughts. Camino, the Spanish for road, or way, reflects on leadership as a praxis that continuously evolves. Nobody is ever a leader. Becoming one is the real quest. But we never reach the destination. Our character is constantly shaped by places and journeys, encounters and experiences. The only real theory of leadership is travelling. The only footprints, our actions. The only test, what we leave behind.
To be notified as soon as pre-orders go live – email us at:
[email protected]
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Would you like to comment?