Tips For Strengthening Your Leadership Centre (Part 1)

What a striking year it’s been so far (If “striking” can be used as le mot juste). Globally, mind-boggling changes have swept and continue to sweep across almost every conceivable aspect, area and dimension of every society.

With none (neither society nor its inhabitants) being immune to or isolated from these changes, the foremost challenge facing the World’s leaders is how to find the best ways to remedy the problems of today while continuing to lay the foundation to achieve, grow and thrive in a brighter, better tomorrow.

Daily, we see trial and error at work as many societies try to implement new ideas and programmes with the best of intentions, only to be greeted by further obstacles and upheavals along respective paths to sustainable development. Regardless of the aim or ambition, it is always a rocky and winding path to success.

But the road less travelled is the one that makes all the difference.

For the 21st Century entrepreneur and business owner following this rule of thumb, to chart the difficult path – the right path – particularly with the most earnest intentions of using their resources, influence, and abilities to make a difference, to make the world better, that path has never been more fraught with challenge.

Today’s leaders know all too well about the many hindrances that threaten to derail their trains of thought and progress. And while much happens quickly and outside of possible control, the best leaders are able to create contingencies to deal with the unseen and unforeseen.

But I’m not talking about shoring up that particular aspect of leadership, not the part that deals with steps to securing the bottom line or ensuring that the business remains a going concern. We discussed those before.

Over the next two discussions, rather, I want to look at the emotional and mental contingencies for the problems that many leaders face with just so much coming at us on a daily basis. So much comes to the point where many leaders become unable to find their centres; that place within whence the strength to persevere comes. When this happens, and the centres cannot hold, things can quickly spiral out of control. This is when many leaders fail.

Creating a leadership centre, a place of strength and solace, has been the definitive factor of my career and successes to date. Doing so has given me additional purpose and drive in the pursuit of both my professional and personal goals. It has also kept me grounded in the here and now as I strive to serve morally and ethically. Further, it has allowed me a measure of peace necessary to balance my work and my life.

So, perhaps more than simply looking at them, I would like to share the foundations of my leadership centre in the hope that maybe a few can help you too.

Only God is omnipotent

This is an important lesson for me as it constantly reminds me of two very distinct aspects of great leadership.

The first is that there is no greater leader than God. This fact may be particular to my faith but there is a basic truth that also applies to every other faith and belief. As great a leader as we can ever become, we will always be bound by our limitations as human beings, as mortals.

Rather than use the word “limitations”, however, I prefer the term “checks and balances” as it draws the focus on that critical aspect of every human being that makes us aware that, with any given task, there is only so much that we can do within our power. The rest we leave to a higher entity or to fate.

Going a step further, understanding this principle can go a long way toward creating a legacy of compassionate leadership, based upon building healthier relationships with those around us and upon us, as leaders, becoming more embracing and understanding of the world we live in and the people we serve.

For instance, knowing what your checks and balances are, and operating well within them in the context of the team and the organisation, is a great way to avoid the burnout and frustration that come with “biting off more than you can chew.”

The second reason this principle speaks to great leadership is that it sets a standard by which many of us can operate ethically and morally. With the understanding of one’s real power as a leader and the position that one truly occupies within the larger scheme of life, must also come the humility necessary for a true leader to act effectively, serve fairly, and above all, treat others (both within and outside of the organisation) with their due respect.

Be decisive and transparent in decision making

Being a leader is difficult. For me, having the courage to make decisions without unnecessary hesitation is something that I must work at daily. It takes a great deal of patience and practice to know when to pull the proverbial trigger and when not to. However, leaders can be expected to face these decisions time and time again. Whether an immediate decision is required or whether the decision is one that needs to be discussed with the team, the true leader must seize the opportunity to be decisive in making informed decisions and be as transparent as possible in making it.

Of course, mistakes will be made along the way and even the greatest leaders can be expected to miss the mark. But inherent in becoming a leader is the understanding that even taking a wrong decision is better than taking none at all.

So, as much as leaders dare to be decisive and transparent, we must also allow ourselves some latitude to fail and nurture the courage (both within ourselves and our teams), to look at where missteps were made and decide on the steps we can take to do better going forward. And do so decisively!

This is where transparency in decision-making comes in and why it’s one of the most powerful strategies available to leaders. It provides leaders with an avenue to support their own effective decision-making by nurturing a team of people within the organisation who think differently than you do, but most importantly who you can trust and can trust you.

In business, any decision can present itself to you as a leap of faith. Trust, therefore, is the critical factor in a successful move. Having the right team with you, to believe in you, to support and guide you, can make the world of difference in avoiding leadership pitfalls and creating serious obstacles to your business’ rapid growth. They ultimately make decision-making easier and more spot on.

It certainly has for me.

Be accessible

This is a tricky one, especially in today’s fast-paced, cutthroat world. Time is a precious resource that is simultaneously abundant and scarce. Making time for others is critical – no ifs, ands or buts. Why am I so adamant about this? Because when you give your time to one person or activity, yes, you are sacrificing time that could be spent otherwise but you are also making an investment in them. So try not to think of it as “wasting time by being available or by answering questions/emails and the like.” Instead, try to think of it as “investing time in the team and leading by example.”

Coming back to my earlier point about God’s omnipotence, we only have a finite amount of time – not just for attaining our goals but more importantly for living. And yes, having perspective and work life balance are vitally important.

So while it would be unreasonable for you to reply and check emails that came in to you at 2 in the morning while you were already sleeping, or taking time out of your annual leave to answer calls and queries from the business, leadership accessibility is somewhat of a delicate balancing act. The fact remains, however, that you must have some level of accessibility if you are to be an effective leader.

Why? Because your team, clients, customers, stakeholders, community are all depending on you.

Remember, as a leader you are more than just a totem – a mystical sacred object. You are there to serve and true leaders get to know their employees and make themselves available to help overcome challenges, acknowledge employees’ efforts, provide guidance when necessary, and be a voice of authority and maybe even comfort should others who may be in need of it.

You can’t be any of these things if you’re not accessible but you also can’t be any of these things if you don’t understand why you need to be them in the first place. And I remind myself of this constantly in the way I serve and by the way I lead.

So for me, I never carry forward, that is, I don’t put off for tomorrow what I can do today when it comes to being accessible to the team. As far as possible, I try to answer all my emails, review all proposals, answer any queries on the same day that I receive them…whatever time I receive them. But that’s just me, I guess.

Being a leader within an organisation of more than 5,500 employees who serve more than a million clients across the globe, you could see how even this principle of mine is both a challenge and a work in progress.

But that’s ok because I’ll keep working at it to get it right. Or, better yet, we’ll keep working at it to get it right.

Next talk, we’ll look at some additional ways to create your leadership centre.