Doris Young Associates'
Young Thoughts
Volume 9 Issue III
March 2009
IN THIS ISSUE
Character Focused Leadership
On The Lighter Side
Character Focused Leadership
"Leadership is not magnetic personality, that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not "making friends and influencing people", that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person's vision to higher sights, the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations." — Peter F. Drucker
How do leaders lift a person’s vision to higher sights? It’s said that leadership is a skill that doesn’t come naturally and must be developed. To begin this development it’s worthwhile to understand the four different focuses of leaders. Each has great advantages yet some shortcomings. The different leadership focuses are comprised of character, analysis, accomplishment, and interaction. Each focus can be expressed in three ways. This article is the first of four articles that will uncover the distinctions of leadership focus. Today, we'll center our attention on character-focused leaders. When leaders are character focused, they pay attention to personal and follower’s values, listen to their conscience, learn from experience, and share their commitment with others. The expression of character can take three forms. These include enthusiasm, integrity, and self-renewing. First, enthusiastic leaders love life and maintain optimism even in the face of challenges and disappointments. People follow them because they’re attracted to these leaders’ personality trait of remaining hopeful in the face of adversity. The types of people who will follow these leaders are people who have become discouraged by their current situation. Even cynical people generally prefer to experience cheerfulness instead of anguish. Leaders who are personally involved and passionate about possibilities they see excite even the skeptic. However, it’s important that their ideas are realistic, relevant, and seen as good for their followers. Leaders should use their capacity for enthusiasm whenever people become disheartened by difficult tasks or need to be reminded of why they undertook a particular activity. It’s important to remember that enthusiasm is extinguished easily and must be reignited frequently. Enthusiastic leaders must be cautious of loosing their followers if they see no reason for the optimism. Further, if followers view leaders as pursing personal goals with inadequate positive results for their followers, they will no longer follow no matter how enthusiastic they are. On the other hand, there are times when situations dictate less focus on how people feel or express themselves and more need for measurable accomplishments so other types of focus are advantageous. Next, integrity character focused leaders model their values and believe in being honesty in their communication. People follow them because they trust and respect these leaders. People who view trust as the most important characteristic will follow these leaders because these people see them as trustworthy just like themselves. People who rely on these leaders expect them to be consistent and keep their word because others often have disappointed them. A downside to leaders high in integrity occurs if they remain over focused on their values. They may become self-righteous they loose touch with other’s viewpoint. If this happens these leaders will find they have fewer and fewer people who will follow them. They may also fail to perceive the environmental changes on the horizon requiring adjustment and navigation. Conversely, there are times when personal values may be irrelevant in affecting outcomes for a group, though highly important to these leaders privately the circumstance commands a need for another focus. Finally, leaders who have self-renewing character focus strive to learn and grow and to maintain or increase the competence they bring to the leadership task. People follow them because they make good use of their experiences and acquire wisdom even from their mistakes. Followers develop confidence in these leaders because they can count on them to make good use of their experience. They can accept their human frailties if they see a willingness and ability to acquire wisdom from all experiences. Followers, who are willing to tolerate some ambiguity, adapt fairly willingly to change, and value learning are generally open to following the self-renewing leaders. People who need security aren’t as comfortable with these leaders. Self-renewing leaders often produce change as a result of their desire for personal and intellectual growth. Self-renewing leaders are most advantageous when a group is in gridlock or using ineffective practices. These leaders identify the questions to answer, including those with no easy answers, and guide groups toward identifying solutions. Self-renewing leaders maintain their effectiveness by creatively and vigorously searching of new information, especially when things aren’t working well. Leaders high in self-renewal risk being so focused on learning and growing they ignore actual accomplishments. Likewise, these leaders may relay too much on themselves and get caught up in the excitement of processing information. As a result they may neglect or ignore the talents and leadership others have to offer. In contrast, leaders low in self-renewal may find situations as such complex challenges that developing long-term solutions is not even considered. Doris Young, PhD, RN is a transformational leadership coach and supports leaders in being at their best as leaders who make a difference. Contact Doris at 757 624 9603 or Doris@DorisYoungAssociates.com or check out her website at www.DorisYoungAssociates.com
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