The type of leadership I buy into is…
I attended a luncheon last month at which the presenter said the following:
“The type of leadership I buy into is….”
Kinda like toothpaste? I didn’t know there was a type of leadership. Is it like a tool you can purchase, take out of a box, use it to fix something, then put it neatly back in it’s box? This struck me as interesting. And the more I thought about it, the more intriguing it became.
As techies, we are consistently looking for new ways to prevent beaconing, enhance debugging software, or migrating information systems. In the IT world, that’s great stuff – you’re inventing tools to solve problems. In a perfect world, there would be an off-the-shelf solution for everything.
But as an entrepreneur and “leader”, the mere fact that you’d approach leadership as a pre-packaged tool may be a bit of a shaky proposition. Leadership isn’t about unwrapping a box and fixing – it’s about inspiring, motivating, and influencing through creativity and connection. It’s about your willingness to make messes, take crazy risks, color outside the lines, and leverage curiosity as your greatest teacher.
If there are any “tools” of leadership, we might simply call them purpose, contribution, commitment, relationship, authenticity and achievement. Effective tools we already have, but may not completely understand how to use collectively.
Leadership Practices:
- Notice what advice you’re following when it comes to motivating your team – who’s tools are they and are they a fit for every situation?
- During the next problematic situation, ask “what am I here to learn and teach?” rather than jump to a solution immediately.
- Write out the top three leadership qualities you find most unique in others – practice one each week for the next three weeks.
Pre-packaged leadership tools would be great. But like off-the-shelf software, not every leadership opportunity will be generic.
