You will know when

I have always been bothered by that scene in the movies when someone is given a critical task, or a mysterious item and asks - "How do I know when…?" - only to hear back - "You will know when." - and the Risk Manager within me squirms. Although now I think there might be some wisdom to that. Perhaps not so much when handing someone "the Glaive" [Google it], but when trying to grasp the concept of Leadership.

In the corporate world, we learn that the leader is the person that takes the mantle when the situation arises. Such beings are rare creatures imbued with divine inspiration and an innate skill to deliver humanity to greatness… or something to that effect, but how would others that took part on that task answer the question: "Is that what you see on the person who took the lead?"

More often than none, it's aggressiveness and ambition that drive the person to take the lead, combined with the agreeableness of a group willing to concede the spotlight, rewarding a behaviour that leans towards autocracy. Quoting Lao Tzu: "A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves."

So if the criteria itself in spotting Leadership if flawed and being in command does not necessarily relate to being a leader, how do we find the good leaders and maybe more importantly, how do we know if we are one of them?

The Transformational Leadership Theory seems to be in the right track, as it describes the leader as a complete individual that fully immerses him/herself and the teams on the morality and motivations towards the common goals. He/she focus much more heavily on closer human relationship rather than transactional rewards. What identifies Transformational Leaders is primarily the impact they have on the people around them, their ability to inspire and convey a vision, and create a group identity.

Even if you are not familiar with Transformational Leadership Theory directly, you will have come across some of its punchlines through your career: "Embody the change you want to see" or "Challenge people to exercise greater ownership of their work" and so on… Mostly thrown out as skills that, if you are a leader, you should be able to master.

I would propose though, that the most meaningful thought Transformational Leadership inspires is that the traits of a great leader are those of someone who truly cares for what they do, who honestly believes in the mission and is genuinely excited by the subject. If that is true, then a leader is not born or trained, but someone who has been wise enough to choose to work on something they are passionate about, or found something they are passionate about on the work they have chosen.

But to be clear, this is not to say that experience, skill and training have no impact on being a leader. These things make people more effective and efficient, more confident, better communicators, in summary, it makes a person more capable as a whole.

When Leadership is virtuous, it will happen, when it's autocratic, it will be seized. So the answer to the question - "Am I a leader?" - seems to me to be - "You will know when you are."

#leadership #transformationalleadership