I bet you have read and heard a lot about good leaders, yet have you ever heard an employee say, “Let me talk to my leader”?

We hear “I will talk to my boss” or “I will talk to my manager”, but never “I will talk to my leader.”

In the halls of our organization we may hear random references to ‘the leadership team’ but we hear very little conversation, if any, about individual leaders in the organization.

This led me to ponder what would happen when an inquisitive alien lands and demands “Take me to your leader.”

Where will you take them?

In response to your perplexed look, the alien’s request changes to “Take me to someone who remotely resembles a leader.”

As your thought process becomes prolonged, the alien impatiently says, “LISTEN – this is what it should look like in earth-year 2021.”

1.     Leaders who carry a telescope and a microscope

Jon Gordon – author of “The Power of Positive Leadership” talks about positive leaders seeing what is possible and then taking steps with a united team to create it.

The vision a leader creates is often called the North Star. It points and moves everyone in the organisation in the right direction.

The leader points at the North Star and reminds everyone why they are heading in that direction.

They admit that there may not be a perfect plan but there is a clear direction and a united front.

The leader inspires everyone to keep their eyes on the North Star and keep moving towards it and continually reminds them why.

Jon also uses the powerful analogy of the positive leader with the telescope and microscope on the journey towards the North Star.

The telescope keeps everyone’s’ eyes on the vision and the big picture.

The microscope helps you zoom in and focus on the things that must be done in the short-term to realise the vision in the telescope.

In Jon’s words:

“If you have only a telescope, then you’ll be thinking about your vision all the time and dreaming about the future but not taking the necessary steps to realize it. If you have only a microscope, then you’ll be working hard every day but setbacks and challenges will likely frustrate and discourage you because you’ll lose sight of the big picture.

You need to frequently pull out your telescope to remind yourself and your team where you are going, and you’ll need to look through your microscope daily in order to focus on what matters most and follow through on your commitments. Together they will help you take your team and organization where you want to go.”

2.     Leadership Built On Trust

Bill Campbell was one of the most influential background players in Silicon Valley and he helped build some of the valley’s greatest companies including Google, Apple and Intuit.

Campbell was a coach and mentor to many including Steve Jobs, Sundar Pichai, Tim Cook and Sheryl Sandberg.

He also coached three leaders from Google – former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, former senior vice president Jonathan Rosenberg, and director Alan Eagle. These three authored the book “Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley’s Bill Campbell” which includes stories and lessons from more than 80 people who worked with Campbell.

It highlights that building a culture of trust is perhaps the most important factor in the relationship a leader has with their employees.

Trust is all about integrity, loyalty and discretion. Build it by coaching the coachable – the honest, humble and persevering learners. Build it through active listening and asking questions. Give candid and honest feedback. Use storytelling. Offer guidance – not instruction. Believe in people and encourage them. Promote diversity - people are most effective when they can bring their full identity to work, the authors explain. 

3.     Leaders with ferocious resolve

For more than a quarter of a century, Jim Collins has studied what makes great organizations.

In his 2001 book “Good to Great” he introduced the concept of Level 5 leadership.

Collins and his researchers studied organizations that had undergone good-to-great transitions.

They found that these organizations had Level 5 Leadership – personal humility coupled with professional drive.

This drive he described as ferocious resolve – an almost stoic determination to do whatever needs to be done to make the company great.

“Level 5 leaders display a powerful mixture of personal humility and indomitable will. They're incredibly ambitious, but their ambition is first and foremost for the cause, for the organization and its purpose, not themselves. While Level 5 leaders can come in many personality packages, they are often self-effacing, quiet, reserved, and even shy. Every good-to-great transition in our research began with a Level 5 leader who motivated the enterprise more with inspired standards than inspiring personality.”[1]

4.     Leaders who choose courage over comfort

Brené Brown - American researcher storyteller, professor, lecturer, author, and podcast host - says that the single most important quality that leaders today need to survive the future of work is courage.

Brave and courageous leaders are prepared to have the tough conversations.

In her words:

“You can choose courage or you can choose comfort, but you cannot choose both.”

“Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it’s having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. Vulnerability is not weakness; it’s our greatest measure of courage.”

“Integrity is choosing courage over comfort; choosing what is right over what is fun, fast, or easy; and choosing to practice our values rather than simply professing them. 

In her book “Dare To Lead”, Brown says the four skill-sets of courage are:

·      Rumbling with Vulnerability: it’s not a weakness, but you have to embrace the suck

·      Living in our Values: if they’re not observable behaviours, they don’t exist

·      Braving Trust: clear is kind, unclear is unkind 

·      Learning to Rise: we're a meaning-making species

5.     Leaders who have emotional agility

Leaders not only have emotional intelligence, but they have emotional agility.

Dr. Susan David is one of the world’s leading management thinkers and a Harvard medical school psychologist.

Her book “Emotional Agility” is a best seller and her TED Talk on the subject has been viewed more than eight million times.

Emotional agility is the ability to get unstuck embrace change and thrive in work and life.

This does not mean there is no stress or setbacks. There is. The difference is that emotionally agile people gain critical insight about situations and interactions from their feelings and use this knowledge to adapt, align their values and actions, and make changes to bring the best of themselves forward.

Emotional agility allows leaders to navigate life’s twists and turns with self-acceptance, clear-sightedness and an open mind.

It is not about ignoring difficult emotions and thoughts. It is about holding those emotions and thoughts loosely, facing them courageously and compassionately, and them move past them to ignite change.

In her book, David shares four key concepts to be emotionally agile.

• Showing Up: Instead of ignoring difficult thoughts and emotions or overemphasizing ‘positive thinking’, facing into your thoughts, emotions and behaviors willingly, with curiosity and kindness.

• Stepping Out: Detaching from and observing your thoughts and emotions to see them for what they are—just thoughts, just emotions. Essentially, learning to see yourself as the chessboard, filled with possibilities, rather than as any one piece on the board, confined to certain preordained moves.

• Walking Your Why: Your core values provide the compass that keeps you moving in the right direction. Rather than being abstract ideas, these values are the true path to willpower, resilience and effectiveness.

• Moving On: Small deliberate tweaks to your mindset, motivation, and habits – in ways that are infused with your values, can make a powerful difference in your life. The idea is to find the balance between challenge and competence, so that you’re neither complacent nor overwhelmed. You’re excited, enthusiastic, invigorated.

Summary

“Now you know what I am looking for – take me to your leader” demands the alien.

Does the leadership the alien describes only exist in books?

Can you find a leader with a telescope and microscope; a leader who builds trust; a leader who has ferocious resolve; a leader who chooses courage over comfort and one who has emotional agility? 

My guess is the alien leaves empty handed.

 

[1] https://www.jimcollins.com/concepts/level-five-leadership.html