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Leadership Framework for Growth: Leading Yourself and Others in a Chaotic World
Leadership is a special gift!
I know what you’re thinking. You suspect I’m about to take a stance that leadership skills are innate, not learned — or that somehow people have an intrinsic advantage for leading others. I’m not really taking a nature-versus-nurture position. I believe anyone can develop into a good leader and some people are more talented at developing leadership capabilities than others, as with basketball, music, Sudoku or anything else in life. More precisely, I believe leadership capabilities are earned, not learned or naturally innate. The opportunity to lead is the gift. Having the experience of exercising your courage, showing vulnerability and taking ownership for a group is the gift. Most of all, the special trust and confidence others place in you and the chance to create human connections are the greatest gifts of all.
In my opinion, trust, belonging and human connection are the most special, most human things we get to experience in our lives. The act of being vulnerable, opening up and connecting with another person is special in itself but even more superior when one is leading the other. I believe this for two reasons.
Leaders can change the world. Maybe you’ve read this lofty-sounding statement somewhere else; if not, perhaps you think I am a bit of a megalomaniac. But I assure you, leaders’ potential for far-reaching impact starts locally with you and is simple in concept, although hard to do. It requires a group effort; you won’t get there alone. We spend A LOT of our time in life at work. Suppose you work 40 hours a week for 40 years and, if you’re lucky, take an average of 2 weeks off a year. That comes out to about 9 years of your life spent in an organization, leading or being led. I’d argue that, other than maybe being in a bed, you will do no other thing in life quite as much as you do this. That’s a lot of time to influence those you work with.
A leader’s impact on people doesn’t end at 5 p.m. every day; people take their work and stress home with them. Studies show that negative interactions between supervisors and employees elevate blood pressure, and this elevation is sustained even after work. In a recent Harvard Business Review article, “How Our Careers Affect Our Children,” the author shows how parents’ careers impact the development and behaviors of their children. Additionally, a study conducted in 2003 by Wager, Fieldman and Hussey showed that interactions with poorly favored supervisors resulted in a sustained elevated blood pressure 15 points higher than that of a control group, “which might have a clinically significant impact on [people’s] cardiovascular function.” In short, a leader can impact the physical health of a team! The experiences we create for those around us impact others outside of business hours and travel beyond the walls of an organization.
I’ll take this research a couple of steps further. You can have high standards, work hard and accomplish a lot while still creating a pleasant experience for your team. Conversely, you can have high standards, work hard and meet your goals while creating a terrible experience for your team. These experiences propagate into your people’s homes, their bodies and their families. Their children, affected by the experience in the home, will in turn impact schools, friends, teams, teachers and more. Being a leader can impact people, families, communities and the world. How might you create good experiences for those you lead? What type of indirect impact do you think you’re having in your community right now?
Leadership is connection. When was the last time you sat down with the individuals on your team and asked them about their personal and professional goals? When was the last time you developed or helped them achieve their personal or professional goals?
The process of getting to know people and support them on their journey creates sticky bonds of human connection. I won’t go into the neuroscience behind some of this or the evolutionary theory behind why this happens, but I will say through this process people let their guard down, they show you some or all of their Being and you get to connect with them. When someone lets you see their Being, it is a sacred honor and should not be taken lightly. People want to open up, they want to belong, and they are hungry for a leader to create an environment where this is the norm. In a world of Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, company collaboration websites and never-ending email, people feel more disconnected than ever. You’ve got 9 full years to connect with individuals who make up your teams, so start today! Be curious about the lives and goals of others and figure out how to develop them and grow.
This may all seem a bit overwhelming, and you might ask “How do I get started?” At VEL Institute we have developed a framework for developing yourself and those around you. As a leader you must keep developing so you can continue to support others along the way. The journey always starts from within, beginning with self-awareness moving through your Being to positively impact and lead others.
Only when you have found your own path can you help others find their way.
Charles Newnam is the chairman and co-founder of VEL Institute. He is a Human Performance Practitioner specializing in Leadership and Culture. Charles helps large organization’s leaders think through their most pressing leadership and organizational behavior challenges. He continues to travel his own path while continuing a life of service to others.