Leadership Insights: Contemporary leaders - the humbug of humility?

There is a good deal of interest at the moment in defining contemporary leadership. Whether leaders are heroic, transformational (with charisma, energy and determination) or `look-at-me-leaders’ (with an excessive focus on cultivating a styled leadership image) they need to compel us with their corporate vision and fresh-eyed structure to be strong enough to overcome resistance and restructure old institutions.

We seemed to be caught in the notion that leaders needed to have charisma and to remain aloof and detached. Our leadership development programmes tended to produce pale imitations of the great and the good striving to become more charismatic, more potent, and more carefully poised in the image of those who went before them.

Yet there is little evidence to suggest that charismatic leadership was effective except at the level of self-interest. Leaders still seem to remain immune from the laws of performance reward, living in their own micro-world where accountability and responsibility, expected of the many, simply does not apply to the elite few.

We should step away from this past but where should we now journey in our quest for contemporary leadership?

THE SERVANT LEADER
I am not convinced by the idea of `The Servant Leader’ especially since it has been so slickly adopted as an emerging business model. We would all lay claim to the notions of `putting others first’, `inspiration through deeds’, `leading through humility’. I do not doubt the sincerity of the main protagonists but merely our own ability to live up to such noble ideals.

I mistrust the evangelical zeal which makes `Servant King’ more a credo than a leadership style and converts our journey as a trek to spiritual enlightenment. Leaders continue with their delusions of grandeur when they take as role models of the `Servant King’ Ghandi, Buddha, or Jesus Christ. I simply cannot live up to such greatness and devotion.

Nothing could be worse than the simpering hypocrisy of false humility - leaders attempting to be humble not as an expression of their beliefs but as a manipulative leadership device.

Frankly I do not believe that most leaders would be sincere enough nor capable enough to become `Servant Kings’ and their simpering humility would be nothing more than leadership humbug - from which we have suffered enough.

However there is a way through which can be taught and provides a sustainable model for the future.

The notion of `Nearby Leadership’ is already well-embedded into some of the Public Sector and increasingly is being adopted by the Private Sector looking for a leadership model which can be applied to all levels of leaders rather than just the `pointy people’ and which is appropriate to the age of talent-rich organisations.

An immensely readable account of both the theory, and the research behind it, was published [1] by the CIPD in its `Shaping the Future’ series. Based on the research of Professor Beverly Alimo-Metcalfe and Dr John Alban-Metcalfe , Directors of the Real World Group[2] it sets out a model for leadership development, “engaging transformational leadership”, which emphasises the importance of engagement externally and internally, and which focuses on securing the positive and talented contribution of the many rather than solely on the leadership style of the few.

`Engaging Transformational Leadership’ is a down-to-earth and eminently sensible look at what people need and want from leaders and how they want to be led. It looks for leaders to be `nearby’ - more visible in the workplace, physically alongside people or even emotionally closer to people even in virtual teams.

A SENSE OF BELONGING
People like to feel that sense of belonging, like to have leadership near them to encourage their efforts, listen to their ideas, or simply acknowledge their contribution. In an increasingly depersonalised world the intimacy of such personal contact is immensely enriching and valuable.

                               The Model of Engaging Transformational Leadership

Secondly the model seeks to Engage the Organisation as a whole by inspiring others with a sense of meaning and purpose, by focusing on team effort and supporting a developmental culture but also by being decisive.

Finally the model looks for Individual and Organisation to move forward together with a shared sense of values, purpose and approach. Here the importance of networking, to draw from the talents of others, of creating a shared vision from within the entire organisation (not solely from the leader) and from tackling the obstacles or issues which impede progress.

In terms of personal qualities it is looking for consistency of approach and for integrity. Whilst still not easy to achieve they are at the very least aspirationally within reach.

The complete article on contemporary leaders is available by contacting Bryce Mailer on +44 (0) 1625 578 428 or emailing Bryce at Bryce@oakridgecentre.co.uk