A hundred years ago our understanding of leadership was in terms of finger-wagging command and control, of discipline and scientific management. We were God-fearing and authority-fearing in our deference to people called leaders. The match between the social model of leadership and the business model was close. How closely matched is it now and should we, as leadership development folk, reflect on our possible wider impact?

Having looked at the current state of our sophisticated and wealthy western-led world, I’ve observed two things. Firstly, our governmental leadership is still keen to go to war, even though we have never had it so good. And despite the best of intentions, our leaders seem to have insufficiently engaged us as followers to appreciate the gains and enjoy life.

Secondly, the demand for leadership development and for improving talent has never been higher in the UK – in public and private sectors alike. It’s certainly an indication that leaders today are finding it more difficult to lead, which begs the question, why? The last 50 years especially have seen a plethora of some well-researched, anecdotal leadership models and approaches, most of which has been the input of leadership development programmes. Why then have we not yet created a version of leadership that is enduring? Surely, if enough of these models and approaches are well-founded and researched, then we should have created enough leadership consistency to ensure successive generations get it right too.

A history of leadership development
If we consider our society over the last 100 years, the focus of our leadership (whatever the political persuasion) has been fixed resolutely on highly competitive frames of reference to improve our lot, but often at the expense of others. Even though Government services have moved from community focused services to differentiating, so that individual preferences and choices can be accommodated, they are still chasing the ever-elusive ‘have/have not’ divide. In much the same way, leadership in the commercial world has focused effort and resources on achievement of results, on competitive position, on brand identity and, of course, keeping shareholders happy – primarily in terms of money, and by definition, contributing to that divide. Money is making the world go round for the selected few. Nevertheless, the concept of leadership has certainly progressed over the last few decades, especially in the business world.

We have moved from division of labour via automation to the knowledge worker in a very short space of time, at least in the western world. That brought with it a swing of leadership focus from command and control through attempts at empowerment to a greater focus on developing individual talent – some might say seeking self-expression and growth to be the best an individual can be. We have seen the rise of specific leadership approaches such as total quality management and employee involvement – vehicles for continuous improvement and higher participation. We are now seeing leadership competency frameworks and a considerable focus on self-awareness (360° feedback, assessment and development centres, psychometric tools) and emotional intelligence.

In parallel, we have wrestled with various tools and devices to assist leaders in making sense of their leadership tasks through balanced scorecards, mission, vision and values, strategies and benchmarking.

These examples swing back and forth between the humanist approach and the economic approach without clearly demonstrating how both can be pursued simultaneously. You only have to watch The Apprentice to see (perhaps at one extreme) that we pursue largely an economic leadership model – it’s about making money. But it gets confounded by us humans, and it seems that all the touchy feely stuff keeps getting in the way. Our learning and development response is to ‘humanise’ the economic model of leadership development, often turning our good intentions into mere tokens. Fundamentally, our approach remains firmly fixed on the old economics tenet, ‘ceteris paribus’ – all other things being equal. By ‘all other things’, we mean our individuality, diversity, relationships, interactions – but in reality these are never equal, constant or rational. Our richness comes from our diversity and unpredictability.

This results in a major problem with today’s leadership development. It does not start with us as diverse humans and therefore does not adequately deal with the issues of power and emotions, and how that impacts on followers, be they employees or members of society.

1. Power
What has been much less evident in leadership development over the years is the issue of power and types of power – what it means, how to get it, what to do with it and how to let it go. The reality of leadership is so embedded within power positions, it is too timid of us to avoid it or conveniently believe its understanding can be addressed outside our approaches to leadership development. Looking ahead, leadership development experts need to help leaders not only better anticipate and prepare for different futures but also address the exercise of power, because power can be abused as well as used.

What we need to develop in leaders is the pursuit of power for positive and constructive human purposes, not otherwise. This is where our social impact may be felt most.

2. Impact of Destructive/Constructive Emotions
I am reading a book entitled Destructive Emotions* – the scientific reasons for them and how to better ensure constructive emotions. Leadership as a concept and practice is now manifesting itself increasingly in that positive space and driving us all towards a more constructive world. And as a result leaders are beginning to think more positively – i.e. about global warming and our impact on it.

Truth and reconciliation, albeit still fledgling, has been applied to bring together ‘enemies’ and lead a cyclebreaking approach to conflict and there is an enormous amount of charity work with private investors helping to improve lives of the disadvantaged. Much research in the last 10 years has proven that our behaviours affect others emotionally and physiologically. Leaders need to recognise how their behaviour (both negative and positive) impacts on others, and recognise the consequences particularly of destructive behaviour.  As those who train, develop, mentor or coach others to affect their pre-disposition towards negative or positive emotions, we have it in our power to develop ‘constructive’ leaders and by implication maybe help to produce a healthier and happier society.

Redefining leadership for the 21st century
To help leaders develop skills that will enable them to do their jobs more constructively and effectively, leadership development has to not only address such shortcomings, but also acknowledge that leadership has changed. So I’ve redefined what leadership means today.

Diagram 1: Positive Leadership Power

In Diagram 1 above, Leadership, L, is the power to mobilise followership, F, for a specified purpose and defined outcomes, O. Leadership makes sufficient sense of past-present-future to achieve desired outcomes without incurring negative consequences, C, for the followers. Followers legitimise the leadership position because of their comfort with or acceptance of these outcomes and consequences.  Leadership moderates expectations and demands in line with unfolding reality. Leadership is a constructive force for the greater good.

This new definition of leadership addresses the two shortcomings indicated opposite and recognizes that power is a function of gaining and retaining commitment in light of the nature of the outcomes achieved and their consequences. It requires leaders to consider implications way beyond the immediate requirements of ‘obvious’ stakeholders, to ensure that their power continues to be legitimate and therefore supported.

Far from idealistic, we are beginning to see this in organisations where the wider consequences of this ‘consideration of the greater good’ is being felt in the form of improved environmental policies and diversity agendas. Inherent in this form of leadership is the need for engaging discussion and debate that enable wider comprehension of the issues, as they change and develop. This in turn requires leaders to help their followers suspend judgements, challenge assumptions and get deeper than face value results. Power then comes from a form of expertise, fundamentally derived from better understanding and knowledge.

ER Consultants approach
We believe promoters of leadership ‘expertise’ can take more thoughtful responsibility for their part in creating the world we live in. ER Consultants is applying and developing leadership events on emotional intelligence, which enable individuals and teams to improve their capability in dealing constructively with emotions at work. We are beginning to build our repertoire of guidance and content in terms of constructive emotions and bringing the science into the debate as needed. Through our approach, leaders – be they brand new or established directors – are successfully learning to improve their leadership at an emotional level, which has spin-off benefits in terms of encouraging effectiveness within diverse groups.  At an interactive and influential level, better emotional intelligence means greater power.

We also help develop leadership skills through simulated situations. These aim to enable leaders to expand their horizons about the issues they face, to see the wider implications, to engage with the social agenda as well as the organisational one. This involves creating a realistic scenario for leadership teams which takes them through an experience of making decisions, allocating and using resources, working with partners, customers and suppliers as needed, to see what outcomes they do achieve and what unintended consequences appear as a result.  In ER Consultants’ view, there is no substitute for experiencing a situation, in terms of learning. Our experience shows that senior leaders prefer learning through real issues and challenges, and this approach offers just that.

Going back to my original point on the learning and development world, and our role in developing social leadership. It’s a vast subject and I’ve but scratched the surface. If you’d like to share your thoughts on the subject, email: ann.gammie@erconsultants.co.uk

REFERENCE:

*Destructive Emotions: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama, by Daniel Goleman; published by Bantam

© er consultants Topics Issue 2, 2007