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by Laura ChamberlainMost people define leadership as the ability to achieve a position. Their goal is to go after a position and, when they achieve it, think they have become a leader. Is there more to it than that?
LEADERSHIP IS INFLUENCE NOT POSITION.
This is illustrated somewhat humorously in a Chinese proverb that I love. "He who thinks he leads and has no one following him is only taking a walk." James George of the Par training corporation puts it this way, "Leadership is the ability to obtain followers."
Most people define leadership as the ability to achieve a position, not to get followers. Their goal is to go after a position and, when they achieve it, think that they have become a leader. But what happens to the leaders who have status but gain few or no followers?
FIVE LEVELS OF LEADERSHIP
In my ongoing study of leadership, I have come to respect the writings of Dr. John Maxwell from San Diego. In his teaching he talks about five levels of leadership.
The first level is that of position or rights.
I have the right to lead you because I have been given this position of leadership. At this level, people follow you because they have to. Of the five levels of leadership this level is the only one given to us. Every other level must be earned.
The second level of leadership is permission or relationships.
Here, as you have begun to know people and allowed them to know and understand you, people will follow you because they want to. You could liken this to the honeymoon stage.
The third level of leadership is production or result.
This is where you become inherently important to the structure of the organization because of what you are doing for it. You are implementing positive changes and people want to follow you because of the results you are bringing about.
The fourth level of leadership is the people development or production level.
It's at this level that you pour yourself into the top 20% of your subordinates. Your goal is to see them reproduce as skilled and equipped leaders. People will follow you because of what you've done for them.
The fifth level of leadership is a level that few leaders ever reach.
They are the leaders that are larger than life, so to speak. At this level of personhood or respect, people will follow you simply because of who you are and what you represent. An excellent example of a leader at this level is Dr. Billy Graham.
Remember, in these five levels of leadership only the first level is given to us. Every other level must be earned. How then do we earn our way up as a leader in order to influence people rather than just manage or direct them? My basic premise as a leader is that I'm committed to building people.
There's a difference between a manager and a leader. A manager makes it possible for people in the organization to earn a living because he or she operates on the physical resources of the organization. A leader, on the other hand, operates on the emotional and spiritual resources of the organization. They show people how their work contributes to worthwhile ends, helping them realize pride and satisfaction in their work. Structure or organization is important to me but I fundamentally believe that the people within the organization are far more important than the organization itself. Without the people the organization wouldn't exist. Therefore I am determined to put the majority of my time, resources and energy into building the people who work under me more than anything else. But in all honesty, I didn't always believe that people were more important than the organization.
When I started out as a level one leader, I was very driven in my determination to make my position succeed. Through a combination of factors, inexperience and lack of wisdom, I succeeded in damaging a few people in my attempts to bring about change and reorganization. It's now that I am ready to build into people. But how do I do that as a leader? I have found three attributes of leadership that I find are effective as I try to build people. Each of these attributes are very basic and in themselves will not determine someone's leadership ability. But each one is an attribute which makes a competent leader an excellent leader.
The attributes are: assumptions, attitude and attention.
ATTRIBUTE 1: ASSUMPTIONS
Let's look first at assumptions about people. What is an assumption? An assumption is an opinion that something is true. My assumptions about people will determine how I treat them. Why? What I assume about people is what I look for. And what I look for is what I find. What I find influences my response. For example, I choose to regard our teenage son as a responsible, hardworking individual who is a lot of fun to be with. That doesn't mean that I consider him to be perfect or that he doesn't make mistakes. But in a society where youth is continually portrayed as disrespectful and violent, I have assumed that Jeff is a person worthy of my respect, love and support. So what do I see? A teenage son that is sensitive to the needs of others, respectful of authority and willing to work hard in society.
Here are five positive assumptions that will stimulate positive leadership.
Everyone wants to feel worthwhile.
Every person in this world is hungry with the desire to feel important. We all want to know that we are useful and have significance. Florence Nightingale is a woman who walked away from a genteel life of British luxury to dedicate herself to caring for others. Her achievements were many in the area of health reform. She founded a training school for nurses in London. She became a world authority on the scientific care of the sick. And she received numerous awards including the British Order of Merit. But these achievements pale in comparison to the advances that Florence made for women. In seeing them become regarded as human beings with purpose and worth. The lady with the lamp will shine on as a leader who expressed personal interest in both patients and colleagues. And it's easy to understand the devotion that was felt for her.
Everyone needs and responds to encouragement.
I've been working in the leadership area for a number of years now and I have yet to see someone who did not do better work and put out more effort under a spirit of approval than under a spirit of criticism. When we reflect on the turning points of our lives we often find that they came at the encouragement of a person who believed in us, a person who took time and perhaps risk to invest in us.
How do you respond to encouragement? I tend to do better and work harder because I've had an injection of hope. What is appreciation? It's the simple act of saying thank you, whether it's verbal or written, it conveys the same message. You did a great job. It's good to have you working here. I remember overhearing an office nurse walk away from an interview that ended her job. Her last comment about her boss was, "He never said thank you once. Not in ten years."
Affirmation expresses your admiration for someone's personal strengths whether it's their friendliness, organizational ability or computer skills that are a strength, your employee needs to be affirmed in it by you and then they will shine.
Encouragement also comes through recognition. That's when you express your awareness of someone's accomplishments, corporately or publicly. Think about that definition. Leadership is influence. And link it up with the responsibility of leadership: people development. How do we who influence others truly motivate and develop them? We do it through encouragement and belief in them. People tend to become what the most important people in their lives think they will become.
People buy into the leader before they buy into his or her leadership.
Too often we expect people to be loyal to the position of a leader instead of to the person who occupies that position. People are not motivated by organizational charts. They respond to people. The first thing a leader must declare is not authority because of rights but authority because of relationships. People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.
Pat Kerrigan is an American woman who received her doctorate in Psychology from the University of Michigan. She began her career as a school teacher but switched to a career in industry, starting in the area of human resources. She was the first and only woman to manage a GM Motors car assembly plant. Under her leadership the plant received a record corporate quality standard. Grievances were reduced to zero after record highs following strikes. Discipline incidents declined by 82% and productivity went up 40%. In a video that was made on her leadership ability, numerous supervisors and workers who operated under her were interviewed. Their unified response was that she was the first plant manager to walk around and shake everybody's hand. She shared personal experiences, told stories and asked about the workers. She became a real person, not just a holder of a position.
Most people do not know how to be successful.
Most people think that success is luck. Whereas it is really the result of planning. Most people think that success is instantaneous but it is really a process. It's a journey of growth and development. Most people think that success is learning how to never fail but that's not true. Success is learning from failure. Failure is the opportunity to begin again, more intelligently. And success is contagious. When people realize that you as a leader can help them become successful they'll sell out to you.
Most people are naturally motivated.
My observations of people, from two years old and upwards, is that they begin an endeavour with a desire to participate but somewhere along the line they become de-motivated and have to become re-motivated. Consider this story about the influence of a teacher in the life of a child:
In the eighth grade a young girl tried very hard to get a B in her favourite subject, history. She did extra work and was sure that she had surpassed anything she had ever achieved. When her report came she got all C's. She mustered up every bit of courage that she had to face the teacher and say, "There must be some mistake." Without any thought to how his comment would be received, he said, "No, Ellen, there's no mistake. You're a C student and that's that." Ellen felt defeated and ended her school years as a C student. Much later in life she realized that she was capable of much more but in the meantime much had been lost.
ATTRIBUTE 2: ATTITUDE
The second attribute that is an important attribute for a leader is that of attitude. Every day we choose what our attitude will be. There are an amazing number of adults who fail to take responsibility for their attitudes. When they are grumpy, they got up on the wrong side of the bed. When their marriages fail, they believe they married the wrong person. When someone else gets the promotion they wanted, it's because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. What do you notice? They are blaming everyone else for their problems. The greatest day in your life and mine is when we take total responsibility for our attitudes.
Colorful nineteenth - century showman and gifted violinist, Nicolo Paganini was standing before a packed house playing through a difficult piece of music. A full orchestra surrounded him with magnificent support. Suddenly, one string on his violin snapped and hung gloriously down from his instrument. Beads of perspiration popped out on his forehead. He frowned but continued to play, improvising beautifully. To the conductor's surprise a second string broke and shortly thereafter, a third. Now there were three limp strings dangling from Paganini's violin as the master performer completed the difficult composition on the one remaining string. The audience jumped to it's feet and in good Italian fashion filled the air with shouts and screams of, "Bravo! Bravo!" As the applause died down the violinist asked the people to sit back down. Even though they knew that there was no way that they could expect an encore, they quietly sank down into their seats. He held the violin high for everyone to see. He nodded at the conductor to begin the encore and then he turned back to the crowd with a twinkle in his eye, smiled and shouted, "Paganini and one string." After that he placed the single stringed Stradivarius beneath his chin and played the final piece on one string as the audience and the conductor shook their heads in silent amazement. Paganini and one string. What an attitude.
I'm impressed with the philosophy of the following statement: God chooses what we go through. We choose how we go through it. This describes the attitude of Victor Frankel, a courageous Jew who was imprisoned and tortured by the Nazis for many years before he was finally liberated. His words to his persecutors have been an inspiration to millions of people. He said, "The one thing you cannot take away is the way I choose to respond to what you do to me. The last of one's freedoms is to choose one's attitude in any given circumstance."
When was the last time you did a personal attitude check in your leadership arena? Here's a thought: A leader's attitude is caught by his or her followers far more quickly than his or her actions. We cannot choose how many years we will live but we can choose what those years will have. We cannot control the beauty of our face but we can control the expression on it. We cannot control life's difficult moments but we can choose to make life less difficult. We cannot control the negative atmosphere of the world but we can control the atmosphere of our minds. Too often we try to choose and control things we cannot. Too seldom we choose to control what we can...our attitude.
ATTRIBUTE 3: ATTENTION
The third attribute that I value in a leader is that of attention. Maybe a better word would be listening. I've been discovering that listening is a lost art that needs to be revived and taught. A good definition of listening is "attention with the desire of understanding the other person." Looking at that definition in light of the high-tech transient society that we race around in helps us realize how listening has become an antique.
There are two essentials to listening that have high price tags on them: touch and time. By touch I am referring to human contact, even if it's only a voice over the phone. Faxes and e-mail communication simply cannot substitute for a human being when it comes to listening. But human contact requires energy, emotion and our time. Time is the most precious commodity that you have at your disposal. Therefore you can become extremely protective and defensive about how that precious resource gets used. But where would you be today as a leader if you didn't listen? It's only in rare instances that a leader is the one who conceives a vision in the first place. A leader will provide impetus, enthusiasm and implementation for that vision but most of the time the vision comes from the people being led.
Therefore the leader must be a superb listener, especially to those who are advocating new ideas or change. How many of you have heard a subordinate or employee say this about their boss, "She won't listen to me." or "She gives me the answer before I have time to state the problem." Genuine listening seeks to understand without pre-judgement. I can think of several instances when I sat down with someone and chose to just listen. At the end of their monologue they felt better because they had aired out the bottled-up problem and had begun to formulate a plan of action. They had discovered a solution to their own problem simply because they had the opportunity to verbalize their thoughts to someone who really wanted to understand.
Genuine listening is an act that communicates to another: "Right now, I am here for you. I want to hear and understand what you have to say." Listening is allowing the other person to set the agenda for the conversation. Ultimately, listening is helping a person understand herself better.
Abraham Lincoln was a leader's leader. He was president of the United States during one of the most difficult times of it's history yet he was successful in seeing that great nation remain united. He lead by spending time with his subordinates and listening to them. By his own admission he stated the 75% of his time as president was spent interacting with people and the majority of that time was spent listening. He felt that leaders often major in speaking and minor in listening. Whereas those roles are much more beneficial when they are reversed.
In closing, I will leave you with a poem entitled "Listening", by that famous writer, Anonymous.
When I ask you to listen to me and you start giving me advice
You have not done what I've asked.
When I as you to listen to me and you begin to tell me why I shouldn't feel that way
You're trampling on my feelings.
When I ask you to listen to me and you feel you have to do something to solve my problems
You've failed me, strange as that may seem.
So please listen and just hear me.
And if you want to talk, wait a minute for your turn
And I'll listen to you.
Leadership is achieved when you begin to make positive assumptions about people, determine to choose what your attitude will be and, most important of all, decide to listen with the intent to understand.
-Laura Chamberlain is a trained Physiotherapist with an extensive teaching background. For the last ten years she has been a sessional lecturer at the University of Alberta. She is also a certified prenatal instructor who has taught classes for fourteen years. Laura also works part-time as a physician's assistant for her husband, an obstetrician /gynaecologist.