A different approach to leadership
Guest Author: Graham Southwell, National Director - BNI New Zealand
A topic that has been of interest to me for some time now is the idea of Leadership in as much as it relates to running a National “people based” organisation. I am sure that like me, most people in business will have read any number of books on the subject of leadership, after all the key to the principle of ‘leverage’ is about getting the best out of one’s team.
The book shelves are full of books offering advice along the lines of “What Great Leaders Do” however to me they all fall short of what true leadership is really about. How do you really get the best out of your team? Do great leaders have their finger on the pulse of everything that goes on - should everything be systemised in the fashion of Michael Gerber or is it ok to have a more free flowing management style. Many of the books I have read seem to have their feet firmly planted in the basis of fear based - hierarchical leadership. How to make sure your “team” is doing what you want them to do - How to stay in control!
As part of an international franchise operation - I am told every year at our annual conference that “It is better to ask permission than to beg forgiveness” - however in his recent book “Tribes” - Seth Godin tells us that in fact the opposite is true. In “Family ,Village, Tribe - The Story of Flight Centre” we hear of a different approach to leadership - one where each office is given a degree of autonomy and a sense of ownership. Rather than seeking to try to get people to fit into the ever changing mould of an international company - individuals are set up to succeed by allowing them to work in the way that they want to work - based on an anthropological model of small family like teams.
It seems to me that so long as the boundaries and expectations are clearly defined - that it is ok to step back and allow one’s “team” to run things without the feeling that they are constantly being “managed”. The only way to optimise your organisation and to encourage the free flowing of creative ideas is if they have a sense of pride and ownership in the organisation. Leadership of this kind requires a degree of faith in human nature. It has been referred to as Servant Based Leadership and is more about cooperation and sharing than seeking to control people. Rather than seeking to micromanage the teams - the style is “What can I do to help you to succeed?”. A friend of mine had a great opportunity to see this style of leadership in action recently. She was invited to attend an event at Necker Island - hosted by Sir Richard Branson. One of the things that particularly impressed her on this retreat was the way that he waited on his guests. Rather than adopting the role of the head of a huge organisation - surrounded by servants, Sir Richard instead adopted a humbling position - waiting attentively on the guests. It seems to me that there is a lot to be said for this approach - both to business and to life.
About Graham Southwell:
Graham Southwell is the National Director of BNI New Zealand - the world’s leading Business Referral Organisation. Graham is passionate about Business Networking and launched BNI in New Zealand at the beginning of 1999 - there are now over 2,200 members in over 100 chapters. BNI NZ has twice been recognised for its achievements in the Vero Excellence in Business Support Awards winning the One on Many category and in 2007 also received a Business Excellence Award in the Waitakere Business Awards.
Website: www.bni.co.nz
Blog site: www.bniblog.co.nz
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Graham, my thoughts and experience say to go with the later approach - It works. I have an amazing team because I allow them to be in control of their teams and to try new things. This approach inspires them to want to do more.
For a long time I tried to CONTROL the enviroment of my workplace. It wasn’t working so I asked for help. Thru working with a coach I came up with our vision. “To passionately inspire people to get 100% of their business thru BNI”. So now if my team wants to try something new or instigate a new program, all they need to do is ask themselves, does it fit our vision -YES, do it, -NO they know not to ask. The results to date have been amazing and I am personally doing less of the things I don’t enjoy doing.
Graham, I applaud your passion for encouraging people to break the mold created by the models they were shown when growing up. When I was a child, the standard leadership model was to follow the examples of my mother and father. Some call this the “military model”, and it is based on non-allowance regulated by intolerance. The parents viewed it as their responsibility to domesticate the untamed offspring and would fear the potential consequences of an “out of control” child.
I mention this because it is during our childhood that we establish our core behavior models, and how we feel about ourself and others. This includes our starting position as to what leadership is.
It took many years for me and my wife to work through all of the restrictions we had placed on ourselves as a result of receiving this from our parents, then teachers, and then in the workplace.
In the process of doing so, it became clear to us that our children are our greatest teachers, as when we pay attention to their behavior, we see our “Inner Child” being replayed before our eyes. When we identify patterns that we feel are disrespectful or non-loving we can release these from our Inner Child and we then see massive change in what we attract into our present day relationships.
In our view, each of us is brilliant at something (or things). We are all gifted, but in many cases have allowed ourselves to be channeled in a direction that doesn’t honour those gifts. It is the role of a great leader to help those in her team to identify their greatest gifts and bring them out for their own good and the good of the team.
Then you see team members working with joy, passion, and having fun. Work is play, and success is assured.