"Who will be our next president?” "Will Zuma get re-elected?", “What do we think are the characteristics that our next leader should have?” These questions are vigorously debated in every newspaper and radio show. So, I thought that some insights from leading leadership researchers might shed some light.
A classic way to understand a concept more clearly is to concentrate for a while on what it isn’t before turning to what it is. And the first thing that needs mentioning about leadership is that it isn’t necessarily good or desirable in itself! Leadership is always a means to an end, and the question of where we are being lead, is after all of major importance. Our last century has had its fair share of “outstanding” leaders who managed to mislead their followers into situations of untold suffering and tragedy.
Though strong leaders, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Gaddafi, Mubarak and Mugabe, are hardly models of excellence likely to inspire a new crop of aspiring leaders. For the question must always be asked: to what end are they leading people; how valid is their vision? A second issue is that leadership is not simply a case of charisma. In fact, the Hitler’s, Mao’s and gang probably suffered an overdose of charisma which was their Achilles’ heel, rendering them over-confident, inflexible and ultimately focused on themselves rather than their original cause. In contrast, Peter Drucker, a management philosopher, identifies three American Presidents who were singularly effective leaders (e.g. Harry Truman), yet none of whom “possessed any more charisma than a dead mackerel!”
I do not want to argue that charisma doesn’t help the leadership function, but rather that, by itself, charisma does not guarantee good leadership. Also, many effective leaders are short on charisma. To summarise what good leadership isn’t: leadership isn’t necessarily good or desirable in itself - it must always be judged by the ethical and spiritual validity of the vision it promotes; and leadership is not simply a matter of charisma. What then does constitute good leadership?
A number of surveys on what constituents regard as the characteristics of admired leaders, place honesty and integrity at the top of the list by far. It is as though people everywhere are saying to leaders: no more bullshit! Tell us the truth, even if it is unpalatable! If we find out you have been lying to us we’ll attack you and unseat you; if you are consistently honest with us, we’ll support you.
A second important insight is that people want leaders who inspire them. This is the heart of leadership. If you are trying to exercise leadership in a local situation, ask yourself: does my thinking, my talking, my behaviour, my enthusiasm, my energy, my honesty and integrity, my care and encouragement inspire the people around me? If yes, then you are exercising some leadership. If no, then whatever else you are doing it’s not exercising leadership. You will see that inspiring people is not one simple thing. It is the result of how passionately and sincerely you do a number of things. Leaders often inspire people because they love what they are doing – and it shows. Their vision is a love affair with an idea or an ideal; it’s about wild, intemperate love that touches people, raises their sights and energises their spirits.
A third critical characteristic is that leaders must have the ability to make things absolutely clear and simple; they must cut through complexity and communicate the essentials. The skill of clarifying situations, goals, priorities, direction and vision is what people are often crying out for in their leaders. And after clarification comes clear communication. We don’t want mixed messages but we also don’t want long silences from our leaders. Good leaders clarify the issues and communicate regularly with their constituents; they take care to keep you in the picture.
A final insight is that the functions of leadership and management are different and equally essential to the health and survival of our organisations, our communities, our institutions and our nations. While management focuses on enabling people to deliver, it is leadership that inspires people to perform beyond the ordinary. Leadership engages people’s spirits and aligns organisational energy by focusing on the fundamentals – cause, purpose, vision and values. So, leadership provides us with direction and hope. It inspires people to keep going when things are tough.
So, given these insights on leadership, how do our South African leaders past and present stack up? What about other world leaders, especially the present crop? And what about us: those of us involved in leadership of any sort in our communities? How do we measure up to the hallmarks: Do we have an ethically and spiritually sound vision? Is our honesty and integrity beyond reproach? Is our leadership inspirational, are our messages clear? Is our communication focused on the fundamentals and is it regular and consistent? Where do we need to improve?
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