LEARNING TO LEAD, LEADING TO LEARN
Low Level Leadership
Those at the lowest level of leadership often have the highest influence of control.
“Focus On Vocation, Not Location”
Welcome to Take The Lead Three!
Previously, we said that there is a vast difference between those given a position to lead, and those given permission to lead: authority is not credibility.
The competent leader will balance both, but for many, there often is a divide. So, if you read this and recognise that you are one with authority but no credibility, then hopefully this journey will help. If you are one with credibility but little authority, then this article will help.
Credibility gives you “referent” power. This is a power to influence by your reputation rather than insist by the “legitimate” power of authority.
Referent credibility is by far the most important power for a leader. Those with authority may command but those with credibility control.
Take, for example, the British Army. It is the two lowest ranks – that of the lance corporal and corporal (JNCOs) – that, while at the very bottom of the hierarchy of authority, are by far the most important and influential leadership roles of the entire service.
You might well think that would be true of the “higher-levels” of leadership – captains, majors, generals – but these “officers” lead from an increasing strategic perspective, often far away from the actual “contact points” of many conflicts.
Whereas the “low-level leadership” provided by the corporals is tactical and drives the
everyday action at the coal-face. They thus, “lead in ways the officer cannot!” (Langley Sharpe: 2021)
Leading groups as few as four (called “Fire Teams”), JNCOs need to respond quickly to situations and make rapid real-time decisions to ever changing scenarios, often when there is no time or means to consult with the higher-ranks. They deal with constantly rising crisis and chaos: broken equipment, missing supplies, colleagues struggling, and sudden attacks from hostiles: any of this sound familiar?
Dealing with this requires high quality low-level leadership. It is the JNCOs that “are the people who deliver victory on the battlefield at the point of contact….” (Ibid)
You may not be an “officer” or have a “high-level-leadership” role, but the most effective and influential leaders are often those among us, not above us. They are at our level: in the grind and on the ground.
Those who share our struggles shoulder to shoulder, who fight the fight beside us; they spend the most time with us and do the same job as us; “it is those voices heard most often, and their examples most consistently observed” (ibid). They may offer “low-level leadership” but are high-stakes leaders.
Never underestimate your power to influence and inspire co-workers by doing the right thing the right way, from right beside them.
If you focus on leadership being a vocation rather than a location you will be in the perfect position to take the lead!
Were You Born To Lead?
“Babies are born and life makes then leaders.”
Are leaders born or made? Is it an art or a skill?
Old chestnuts that just won’t roast. First, know this: leaders are not born: babies are born, and then life makes them leaders. Sure, some have a certain natural aptitude, or inherit particular traits that can help, but, like most things in life, choice, chance and opportunity crafts more than nature creates.
As for it being an art of skill? Well, it is both. There is an art to leadership. It requires a “feel” to apply the right approach at the right time that is wholly dependent on the context and clientele.
That is not to say that leadership is a talent you must possess. Leadership, like many arts, although dependant on expression of application, consists of measurable, learnable, skills that can be manipulated to produce the core material.
Many, for example, will say they cannot draw – meaning that they do not possess a particular ‘talent’ for the art. By simply learning a few basic techniques, however, and with plenty of practice, they could learn to draw fairly well, fairly quickly – or at least, create recognisable imagery.
Then, once they see success and gain some confidence, they apply a little personal flair, and as those techniques are transformed by taste that acquired “skill” then becomes “art”.
The important thing here is that those techniques can be learnt, and with practice, becomes skills.
We may never be a Rembrandt, sure, but not everyone likes Rembrandt: art is subjective, and so, often, is leadership. The “expression “ of any art may not appeal to everyone, but regardless of the appeal, there is always a core of essential skills that anyone can learn, and with practice, create something recognisable.
Life gives us more than enough experience to explore good leadership and once we learn some core skills we can perfect our “art” with practice. We are not born to take the lead; nor do we have to be born with leadership talent to be a leader. It is by seizing opportunities to learn, taking chances to try, and making the choice to take the lead that make us leaders.
When Is A Team Not A Team? (Pt. 3)
TEAMWORK
“A Good Leader Must Be What They Want To See.”
The One in Our Mirror is the One They Mirror.
“Setting the right example helps to shape the right culture. A team’s culture is an expression of its values and its standards: what is important and what is expected.
Speech moves but behaviour proves!”
Continuing with my TEAM Valence model. (Talk, set an Example, Accept reality & responsibility, Motivate individuals), this month we expand on the second action point:
E is for Example.
Setting an example for what is expected is the spine of strong leadership. It certainly takes a backbone to “stand up and stand out” in doing what is right to demonstrate good practice.
While not absolutely necessary – plenty of “leaders” set bad examples (just listen to the news one evening) – example is a difference maker.
Setting an example is, perhaps, the most important requirement of a leader for building respect, developing trust and demonstrating integrity (things we will say more about soon enough).
If we want to be good leaders, we must “be” what we want to see!
“Treat others as you want to be treated” and “don’t ask of others what you are not prepared to do yourself!” Two sound pieces of timeless, powerful, advice for what it means to set an example.
Set the standard, show the standard and defend the standard: or as one leadership quote goes: “Leaders know the way, show the way, and go the way.”
If you are not setting an example you are not a leader, you are a dictator!
The first leadership lessons I attempt to teach my apprentices (when I have them) is anchored on this core principle: “Rise, Raise, & Remain.”
This means a leader needs to rise above the issue – be better than most and model the standard; raise others to the standard through encouragement and integrity; and remain the course and keep the standard high, even when it is tough: commit to excellence.
We will not be perfect, but we do not have to be. We must, however, show integrity in our commitment to be our best, do our best, and do better when we are not.
Mistakes are made, and standards do slip, but humility to recognise failure, courage to try again, and a commitment to improve will build trust, gain respect, and inspire effort.
A leader must be seen. Otherwise, it’s not so much a lead set as an instruction given.
There is a simple logic here, before others follow your lead, you have to be in the lead, you have to be going somewhere, and you have to be at the front. If you are not at the front leading, you are at the back pushing – that is the difference between a leader and a pusher.
It is thus clear to see that there is a “position” of leadership that is necessary, but it is not one of actual location or authority. It is one of ethical standing rather than authoritative station.
You may not need to be at the top but you do need to be at the front! We need to be “at the front” with our actions, speech, and expectations.
Setting the right example helps to shape the right culture. A team’s culture is an expression of its values and its standards: what is important and what is expected. These values are demonstrated better than articulated. The behaviour of the leader (what is done) is a clearer test of those values and standards than his speech (what is said). Consistency is key!
Speech moves but behaviour proves!
What can you do this month?
- Do an honest, personal, self-inventory. Are we demonstrating what we expect of others?
Consider specifically three areas: our speech, our actions and our instructions.
Is our speech respectful, are our actions consistent and compatible with our message, are our instructions aligned with our intentions?
- Show respect to our team members. Respect is to be earned, not expected: it is given, not demanded.
If we feel we are not respected, a lot of that may be in the way we treat others. Show respect to gain respect. If we speak, treat and greet others respectfully, they will learn to respect us.
So, if we want to work with the perfect team, show them what it looks like!
Read To Lead
MY LEADERSHIP
Increase Your Sources of Inspiration
“The only real way to see the true art of leadership is to experience it; to explore and experiment with it.”
We have said that leadership is fluid, flexible and often frustratingly hard to define.
Fundamentally it is about influence and direction: going somewhere with someone.
Leadership comes with such diversity, though, that it would be impossible to experience every facet or expression.
The only real way to see the true art of leadership is to experience it; to explore and experiment with it. The problem is that if we are starting our leadership journey, we may not have much experience to learn from and opportunities to do so, while plentiful, may prove hard to exploit.
One powerful way to make up for limited experience, and thus augment our personal knowledge of the art, is through vicarious experience by learning from others.
There are two primary ways to do this: by speaking with experienced leaders, or reading about experienced leaders.
Speaking with them is great, and I encourage it. It is, however, a limited resource.
You have to know them, then you need a location and their time. Aligning space, time and association is a science in itself.
Reading for leading is an essential source of knowledge for a leader. Life and history is full of leaders: from every background, in every situation and through every conceivable scenario. We can exponentially expand our experiential-understanding of leadership through reading about leaders.
Leadership books are a good place to start, as they extract explicit leadership application. Biographies and histories are also incredibly valuable as they show personal and situational experience in context. They may be a little harder to learn from, though, as you will need to recognize and extract the leadership lessons from the accounts yourself.
If reading is a struggle, then listen. Podcasts are plentiful these days, and audible books are abundant: both will get the job done. So, plug into a pod or pick up a publication, increase your sources of inspiration & read to lead!
What’s Next?
TTL 4 will expand action-point 4 of the TEAM Valence model: A for Accept (Realities & Responsibilities); look at how to be SMART when communicating & asks: do you fear of failure?
