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EXTENDED DISC BEHAVIOURAL PROFILE
Organisations continue to be challenged in the area of Implementation and Execution. As members of organisations we are aware of the problem but may not have analysed it sufficiently to develop practical approaches to addressing it successfully....
The ongoing cry for clarity and insight into the area of leadership is an indication that there are significant and persistent gaps in our understanding and application of this most fundamental issue. In the first place, much of our world-view on the issue is rooted in our history and geography. Our colonial past has embedded deeply into our psyche the notion that leadership has its genesis in status and power over others. Our geographical location within the sphere of North American cultural influence has cemented these notions via film and television. The result is that in spite of knowing (intellectually) that leadership is more than “headship”, our reflex responses to having leadership responsibilities manifest themselves in the traditional ways. An eastern approach to leadership differs markedly from that of the west, rooting itself instead on the dimension of wisdom and shrewdness. But separate and apart from the issue of leadership as a concept, the application of leadership in an evolving global context is a front-burner issue today. This raises questions about what it will take to lead when we have the formal responsibility to do so and how we will individually demonstrate leadership from wherever we are located within our organizations and communities. This expands the notion of leadership to include not just “position power” but to include the process of applying “personal power”. A word though about context and what it will take to lead. The evolving global context is characterized by things like complexity, change and instability, markedly increased levels of ambiguity and uncertainty, speed and wider geographical and spatial spreads. It is not only our formal business enterprises that are affected by these trends but the social and informal organizations to which we belong. But how do we then define “leadership” in this scenario. An in-depth and widely applicable definition can describe leadership as “the process of influencing self, others and organizations, through growth and change, towards achieving results and fulfilling a vision or purpose”. The second key element is that of “influencing”. This is one of the commonly misunderstood core dimensions of leadership. The issue of influence is not just about the style of the leader but also about the style of those (s)he wishes to lead. It is about the relationship and the full range of “influencing tools” honed and developed by the leader. But in today’s global environment, the targets to be influenced are different. There is wide cultural and social diversity and differences in value systems and outlooks. Needs are different as the world order changes and as traditional constructs about loyalty in the workplace and job security are replaced by mobility and a search for new experiences. In this context, influence by power and status are becoming increasingly irrelevant. Combine this with the ambiguity and uncertainty that accompanies change and you will be struck by the irrelevance of leadership as we knew it. Leadership today will have to do what appears to be counter-intuitive. It will have to go backwards before it goes forward. And this will have to be done at a personal level. Anyone aspiring to demonstrate good leadership in the current scenario must above all else be able to “lead himself”. Committed and competent leadership, capable of influencing others and organizations, must be able to demonstrate results in managing the challenge of change themselves, of delivering results themselves and of moving themselves towards some higher level of purpose. Anything else is seen through as being false, lacking credibility and real appeal. We have had too many people in leadership positions who have failed us, who have not “walked the talk”, who have been less than principled. And these examples are local, regional and international. People are no longer prepared to be led by people such as these. While many may follow, it is more out of a sense of necessity and survival than a response to real leadership. A couple more intractable issues remain for leaders in the global context. People want results, but what constitutes “results”? This is no longer confined to financial bottom-line numbers. Increasingly there is a notion of quality and relationship results. People want companies to succeed, but success must not be at the expense of the heart and soul of staff. Quality of work-life and work-life balance are some of the stabilizing elements that people can hold on to in the rapidly changing landscape. To deprive them of this is to deprive them of a key aspect of sanity in what may be perceived as an insane world. Would doing that and achieving great “bottom-line” figures be considered good leadership? Coping with global forces, seeing oneself as being less and less significant on the world stage may give rise to feelings of helplessness and meaninglessness for many. These feeling are reflected in questions such as, Do I matter? What’s the use, anyway? What difference can I make? In this context, real leadership challenges and supports people to recognize their significance, their relevance and their power to make a difference. Not the power of the leader alone, but the power that resides in everyone to make a difference and to achieve something meaningful. Anything less than that coming from a leader, results in individuals looking out for their own narrow self-interests. Leaders have a responsibility and an opportunity to influence people to expand their world-view, to focus on the “we”, to consider more than today. Leaders lead towards the notion of legacy. All this has to be managed by focusing on today’s challenges while keeping an eye on the future, by caring about the individual while keeping the whole in mind, by maintaining some level of stability while creating change, by not losing the value of the past yet relentlessly shaping an unfolding future, by being certain that the uncertainty and ambiguity have their place. Are we ready?
L. Anthony Watkins is an accomplished Organisational Development Consultant. After majoring in Psychology at the University of Toronto he worked extensively in the fields of Social Pathology / Mental Health, correctional Services and Psychiatric Forensic Assessment. On his return to Trinidad and Tobago, he worked as a Guidance Officer, tutored with the University of the West Indies School of Continuing Studies and was the National Coordinator for the Attitudinal Development Project of the Youth and Employment Partnership Programme (YTEPP). He is a founding Partner and Director of Toronto-based consulting firm Global Management Solutions Inc. As Principal of his company, ODYSSEY CONSULTinc, he has worked extensively across the region with major companies in the finance, Energy, Service, Public and Manufacturing Sectors.
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