catalystA focus on the challenges of leadership

•••• Issue number 20

Leadership Resiliencein Testing TimesBy Richard Izard

Leaders in organisations throughout the world are facing challenges the magnitude of which is beyondanything they have known in their lifetime. Challenges are coming from all sides - financial stability, lack ofcredit, and sharp changes in customer expectations are some of the well reported issues. In addition, leadersface pressure from their stakeholders, including their staff, and perhaps less obviously from within themselves.

One of the key characteristics of thesetimes is an increase in uncertainty. Notsurprisingly, the key thing that staff andother stakeholders are looking for fromtheir leaders is an antidote to thisuncertainty. The response of mostleaders to this very human need is to puton their 'superperson' vests and galloplike the cavalry to the rescue, findingways to reassure everyone that thingswill be fine and there is no need to worry.

The unspoken assumption is that theleader should know all the answers andthereby be able to reduce the anxiety.

Pressure seems tobring out the worst inmost of us. One of thetypical responses forleaders is to try tobecome somethingthat they are not ...

The problem is, not only that leaders donot have all the answers to the currentcrisis, but also that the very idea that theyshould creates an unhealthily dependentrelationship. Blanket assurances from theleader either seem to lack credibility ormerely pass anxiety from the staff back tothe leader.

Only the most confident leaders have thestrength to be truly authentic and admitthat they do not have all the answers,showing their vulnerability, their notknowing.

In the words of Mother Theresa:

"Honesty and transparency make youvulnerable. Be honest and transparent

anyway."

Those that do show their vulnerabilitycreate a whole different psychologicalcontract with their staff. Instead of aparent-to-child relationship - "Don't worryyou can depend on me, 1'1/sort it out" -you get an adult-to-adult relationshipwhere the leader says, "I don't have allthe answers and we are in this togetherto make sense of these changes".

Not only does this take a confident andauthentic leader, there is also a challengefor their staff. Instead of being able to sitback and expect the boss to sort it outthere is an implicit invitation to get stuckin, to give the best of themselves, to bepart of the solution in a process of jointsense making where a collective 'espritde corps' develops and everyoneinvolved becomes a joint author of theway through.

The truth, in these times more than ever,is that the leader is in charge but not incontrol. The old model of 'cause andeffect' - if I do this then that will happen -has been shown to be flawed in manyways. The implications of this are vast. Ifa leader can't know the outcome of theiractions they can at least work witheveryone in the organisation to makesense of what is going on, not only toreach the best decisions but also to makethe organisation flexible to respond whenthe outcome is not as it was expected tobe.

Pressure seems to bring out the worst inmost of us. One of the typical responsesfor leaders is to try to become somethingthat they are not. Some leaders even goon courses to learn new skills forexample, to be more charismatic. Howcan this make any sense? It is liketeaching an old dog a new trick. Authenticleadership surely comes from being thebest expression of who you are, not tryingto become something you are not.

The role of the executive coach here is tohelp leaders be that best expression ofwho they are by helping them to free upand grow their natural strengths - not byteaching them gimmicks that their staff,who know them well, will see through inan instant.

Only the mostconfident leadershave the strength tobe truly authentic andadmit they don't haveall the answers ...

Leaders who know themselves and whoare comfortable in their own skins are theones that have the best chance to flourishduring these times of uncertainty. Formany leaders the self critical voice in theirheads is what drives them and yet it isalso what limits them. Self confidencedoesn't come from being all knowing itcomes from realistic self appraisal andthe opportunity to put the genuinestrengths the leader has to best use. Inthis sense the leader is the same aseveryone else in the organisation.

Authentic not knowing and demonstratingthe strength and commitment to findanswers are a very attractive mix for aleader to have. It is in this way that theyhave the best chance to engage theirstaff in a mature and adult relationshipand jointly have the best chance toweather the current storm and flourish inthe future.

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