A leader is an institution (And an institution is (usually) centralised!)





‘I have a dream…’

It was one of the greatest speeches made in the history of mankind and it made Martin Luther King Jr. one of the greatest leaders of all time.

LEADER and LEADERSHIP are two of the most powerful words in any language. As we grow up, we experience leadership from different people - our parents, teachers, coaches, and so on. Then when we start our career in an organisation, we experience leadership in an all new format… One that is somewhat similar, but unfamiliar.

What’s the difference?

Being led by our parents or teachers is more reassuring. They instill faith, courage and confidence in us. They make us believe, through their belief in us, that ‘Yes, I can do it!’

But when it comes to organisational leaders, most of the time, being led feels challenging. Of course, they also push us, motivate us and reward us; but it doesn’t feel quite the same as we feel with our parents or teachers. Organisational leaders make us feel, ‘Yes I can do it! But, what if…?’

Before getting further into the topic, I want to quickly touch upon the four different leadership styles, which some of you might be already aware of.

Leaders that Tell: These leaders give directives to their team and expect them to deliver on what they dictate. Leaders that Sell: Here they persuade their team/follower to believe in and act on the leader’s vision. Leaders that Collaborate: Like it sounds, here the leaders themselves jump in and work alongside their team. Leaders that Delegate: These leaders delegate roles and responsibilities to a team/member that they are confident about.

Which sounds preferable to you?

Wait, don’t answer that yet - let me quickly ask you a question.

Do you think the aforementioned leadership styles are leadership styles at all?

Because to me they sound more like management styles.

So what is leadership then?

The dictionary definition of leadership is – ‘The action of leading a group of people or an organisation.’

The end part again, talks about management.

But Leaderships is much more than just ‘management’. Isn’t it unfortunate that we have brought it down to such an administrative concept!?

I feel that the centralised manner of organisations is partly responsible for that.

How?

You see, in the business world, most of the companies follow a hierarchical process, where one leads (the CEO or the founder), some participate in decision-making (the Board of Directors), and the rest carry out orders (the employees).

Basically, one person’s dream/vision is being actualised by the rest.

Some of you might say, ‘So what? A leader is an individual! It’s natural that one commands, and the others follow. Besides, not everyone has the competence to make decisions or the imagination to dream big, or the openness of mind to have a futuristic vision!’

Really?

When Martin Luther King Jr. said, ‘I have a dream…’, thousands of other Americans also saw that dream and could connect to it. In fact, they made that dream their own. That didn’t happen because he was a smooth talker and could convince people with his oratory skills. No! That happened because his dream was about his fellow Americans, and he delivered it with sincerity and passion.

Even though a leader is an individual, leadership is not about that one individual - it’s about others; it’s about the ‘all’! In business, this is where people usually go wrong. A leader is not a manager!

So, what am I getting at here then?

We need to challenge the status quo and break out of this centralised power model of ‘misguided leadership’.

Does that mean organisations should give autonomy to their different departments with similar hierarchical structure, i.e. a top boss, a few decision makers, and the employees? Well no, I don’t think that helps either. Because even if it does look like a decentralised structure, at its core, it still remains a centralised hierarchy.

What can be done then?

It’s slightly complicated. But for starters, we can take some inspiration from the cases below. Based on my understanding, I have tried to identify a shift in leadership qualities that has happened over the years.

The Protector: The initial concept of a leader was of a protector. The alpha male used to be the leader, as he could protect the weaker ones in the group (more like how it works in the animal kingdom). There was nothing else that mattered but the leader’s physical strength. The Commander: Then came the commanders. With their superior thinking, as well as other complementary skills, they made people listen to their commands. In this era, leadership wasn’t just about physical strength anymore, skills like oration and strategy became winning traits. Alexander the Great, Napoleon and Adolf Hitler are a few examples. The Motivator: This is where we see a greater shift away from the previous two. While the first two kinds of leadership were more about the leaders themselves and their personal qualities (strength, aptitude), this new form of leadership, on the contrary, was more about others. These leaders had a more empathetic, emotionally intelligent approach. They united and motivated the masses and became their voice. People felt heard, valued and inspired. Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. are the best examples of this. The Caregiver: This is the next step-up. From empathy and emotional intelligence to fully-developed humanity. This form of leadership is completely about others – in order to make them feel secure and sheltered, which is what Mother Teresa did. She dedicated her life to the service of very vulnerable people.

As you would see, with time, our perception of what makes a great leader has changed. Hence why now, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, for example, has emerged as an iconic world leader; thanks to her humanitarian approach.

Leadership is about looking after the interests of other people first.

Now in an organisation, the employees are the citizens. Not the stakeholders; not the customers. It’s the leader’s responsibility to think about their employees’ well-being first. When they do this, that is when it becomes a truly decentralised organisation.

For an organisation to be decentralised, it doesn’t have to make structural changes to its operations. All it needs to do is change its approach and attitude towards its employees.

But what about business then? A company isn’t there to do charity or social welfare. It must earn profit; it has to offer returns to its stakeholders.

- The best way to do that is by taking care of the employees!

[Simon Sinek talks about it at length in his book, ‘Leaders Eat Last’.]

Empathetic leaders look after their employees, give them a voice and offer them security. In turn, the employees make sure that the company’s customers are well taken care of. Happy customers mean better business, more profit and thus, satisfied stakeholders.

See - It’s not that difficult!

Maybe that’s why Steve Jobs once said:

‘It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.’

Do I even need to mention what Apple has achieved so far!?

________________________

Shaan is passionate about developing and strengthening businesses by implementing, pragmatic, proactive and human-centred strategies. In 2016, he was awarded the 'Star Youth Achiever' from the Global Youth Marketing Forum for creating award-winning work and displaying outstanding leadership qualities. Shaan believes, every business, or brand has a greater purpose to serve, and our job is to help them reach their full potential by bringing that purpose to life.