A note about Helpful Questions Change Lives:
If you’re curious about why you experience life as you do and what changes your experience when it’s unhelpful, the posts in my first series can help. They invite you to look more closely at the relationship you have with you. Especially the sensations, thoughts, and feelings that make up, and automatically appear as the contents of your consciousness in any moment. They invite inquiry into how liberating it can be to entertain and play with these unique-to-you contents, rather than be entertained or hijacked by them.
I make such an invitation because it’s that freedom bit that helps change lives – for the better. You not only see why your experience unfolds as it does more clearly, but why others behave as they do too.
Series 2 explores what makes sense to you in your relationship with the different groups you’re a part of – teams at work, professional networks, family and friends, for instance.
Suppose you, and other members of these groups were NOT bound by sense making that no longer helps you. Then what?
Enjoy playing with and wondering about what works for you on the questions in this series. Let me know in the comments if they help or not.
Colin Newlyn began The Decrapify Work Not-Newsletter as..
“a form of therapy… A way to work out loud, to figure out what I think and to connect with others who see the world in a similarly sideways and outraged fashion.”
His outrage is supported by numerous workplace engagement surveys, done by Gallup, Deloitte and many others, all of which point to high levels of disengagement among two-thirds of employees – and here’s the rub – persistently across about 20 years of surveying who knows how many people, yielding millions of data points, all around the world.
A post inEliza Filby’s Newsletter called Introducing Inheritocracy asked this question “Do young people want to be managers?”
Citing influencers on TikTok and an article in The Independent she writes..
“While we shouldn’t take a TikTok trend as representative of anything anymore, it’s interesting to note how prevalent this feeling is amongst older Gen Z/early Millennials (between 24-30) who entered the workplace at a time of the pandemic and who now find themselves in management positions. They were never exposed to good practise in this area themselves, and so are struggling now. The legacy of COVID continues to be felt at different points throughout the career ladder”.
Over the last 30+ years I’ve had countless coaching-and-mentoring conversation with leaders in both public and private sector organisations. Most entered these from a stressed state of mind to differing degrees. One big contributing factor, I concluded, connects to the way they think about their role. Being the chief sense maker, decision taker and action initiator, may have felt exciting once, but, over time, overwhelms many.
If my work points to leaders’ stressed, overwhelmed states of mind with respect to how they think about their role. And, among others, Colin’s speaks up on behalf those who’ve been on the wrong end of poor leadership. While Eliza highlights why many of the younger generation don’t want more of the same – not to mention you’re own direct experience of leading and leaders, of course, – we might conclude that many people believe leadership, as we’ve known it, isn’t working.
Our beliefs about leadership
Beliefs about the role a leader plays can hang around for a long while. They get passed on from one generation to the next. They are reinforced via art, literature and films. They take on more relevance and meaning when experienced first hand. And, like us, they may evolve and adapt as circumstances change. But they may not too. We have a tendency to hold on to beliefs. Which is why we get stuck sometimes.
Though I was once a subscriber to the belief that leaders are born not made, that doesn’t make sense to me now. In my experience, we are all provided with opportunities to take a lead even when we don’t see ourselves in a formal leadership role. Life invites is to make sense of being a parent, losing a loved one, getting married, caring for a friend, choosing a career, bringing out the best in others, having purpose, crafting a culture in our workplaces and other groups we’re proud of, resolving the inevitable differences that arise in these, and more. We may not always recognise it, but such sense making, choice making, and action taking opportunities are abundant.
Our beliefs about the leader’s role determine whether and how we seize such opportunities.
No matter whether you have a formal leadership role in a business or family, say, or are taking a lead on a particular issue, look at the beliefs we can each hold about leadership below. Note which resonate with you – that is to say what you’re drawn to, and which you find less attractive, because it’s less you, as it were.
Knowing what kind of beliefs about leadership automatically show up in you, makes playing with each, and wondering which are most helpful in your circumstances, easier.
1. The Tribal Leader
You see your role in terms of protecting your tribe and bringing cohesion to it. To be the one who is relied on for communal survival because of your strength, wisdom, and skill.
Though rooted in early human societies, this same belief can be seen today in those who run their part of the organisation, or family, as fiefdoms or factions, and are tribal in how they relate to others and compete for resources.
2. The Divine Right Leader
You believe your role is to deliver on a divine-given mission, which you see as essential for stability, order and authority. To be the one on whom power is bestowed and centralised as a way protecting the mission, or God’s work, and growing the number of fellow ‘believers’.
The consolidation of power through hereditary rule was often legitimised by claims of divine right, linking leadership to religious beliefs and establishing dynastic traditions. In modern times monarchies still prevail – think King Charles III’s divine-like coronation ceremony, which epitomised this belief. More commonplace, though, are leaders of dynasties or big family-run organisations who believe their mission is inspired by divine intervention and seek fellow disciples to enact it.
3. The Warrior or Military Leader
You see your role is to gain authority through conquest and (military-like) strength. To be the one who can maintain control and protect conquered territories (or market share gains.)
The feudal system thrived on a hierarchical structure, and leadership was closely tied to military prowess. Kings and lords gained authority through winning military battles using strategies designed to defeat an enemy, step by step. We get the term ‘command and control’ from here – needed to ensure each step of a strategy is executed well. Competitive marketplaces are often thought of as being analogous to battlefields and war.
4. The Enlightened Leader
You feel your role is to govern for the betterment of societal progress as a whole. To be the one who embraces, articulates and enacts new intellectual and philosophical shifts.
Rooted in The Age of Enlightenment, this belief marked a shift toward reason, science, and human rights. Leaders fostering the growth of cross-border collaborative networks, working on science-related topics such as vaccine research and climate change, would be examples of modern-day equivalents.
5. The Captain of Industry Leader
You see your role is to oversee enterprises that can manage complex processes, and navigate societal transition with attendant economic shifts. To be the one who can clearly envisage the benefits new technology brings before others have any inkling of these.
The Industrial Revolution brought about significant technological disruption, from agricultural to industrial production. New captains or pioneers like Brunel in the UK, Rockefeller in the US, and Benz in Europe, were driven by the benefits innovative new technology brings. Modern day captains in this digital age are epitomised by Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and leaders of many different start ups including those building new blockchain and AI technologies on Web 3.0.
6. The Inspirational Leader
You believe your role is to inspire others and win their hearts and minds. To be the one who sets out a clear vision of what is possible, builds up people’s resilience and motivates them in the face of rapid social changes.
The 20th century witnessed a shift toward this belief about leadership, especially at times of war, think Churchill regarding the cause of freedom, Gandhi and Mandela on equality, and on inspiring a nation to bold technical accomplishments, think JKF and the Apollo programme to the moon.
7. The Servant Leader
You feel your role is to be of service to those in your organisation or family whose work is valuable, and on which others depend. To be the one who understands wellbeing, inclusivity and the impact both have on collaboration and, ultimately, what is and isn’t achievable.
The shift to servant leadership responded to a growing awareness of the importance of wellbeing and engagement – the extent to which group members feel good about the way things get done and play a full part in making them even better.
