Some people make natural leaders. For others, the evolution of Leadership is a long journey which involves deep introspection, reflection and disruption (unlearning and relearning). The skills that got us into a leadership position are not the same skills we need to lead. Leadership requires a paradigm shift in our thinking.
Whether you are a seasoned leader or aspiring to switch into a leadership role, these 10 Intangible C’s can determine your success and impact as a leader. Fortunately, most of them can be learnt, practised and internalised.
Note: You can demonstrate some of them more frequently than others. The key here is to amplify the ones you already display while always keeping your eye on what you need to enhance and polish.
- Creative Visionary
“You can’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get “– Michael Phelps
As a leader, you wear many hats. However, the ability to think ahead, adopt a possibility mindset and use an unconventional approach to identifying future opportunities can be a game-changer. Leaders who demonstrate this are consistently able to think big and beyond the mundane. Their creative vision enables them to seize opportunities that were less obvious to others. And this is not just restricted to themselves since they create teams which generate out-of-the-box solutions, embody a big picture mindset and are not afraid to take risks.
2. Change Driver
“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new“- Socrates
Effective change management can be the highway to leadership success in a world of constant change and volatility. Leadership in a world enmeshed with VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity) puts a lot of pressure on modern leaders to navigate change and uncertainty and steer their organisations to the end vision. Driving change would go beyond facilitating change management strategies or process reengineering. Rather Leaders as ‘Change Drivers’ need to roll up their sleeves and get out there, align people to the new normal, lead with Emotional Intelligence and resilience and focus on the WHY and not just the WHAT of change.
3. Culture Builder
“The only thing of real importance Leaders do is to create and manage culture. If you do not manage culture, it manages you, and you may not even be aware of the extent to which this is happening“- Edgar Schein
Building culture is a privilege but a more significant responsibility for a leader. Leaders set the bar for performance, accountability, desired behaviours and practically everything that goes into making culture. Ultimately, culture is a total of individual behaviours driven from the top.. Haven’t we heard of paradoxical leaders who endorse work-life harmony yet expect immediate responses to emails sent outside office hours?
4. Growth Catalyst
“If you are succeeding all the time, you should ask yourself if you are taking enough risks. If you do not take enough risks, you may also be losing out on many opportunities“- Azim Premji
Growth is an inseparable aspect of Leadership. Leaders adopting a Growth mindset can turn business challenges into opportunities and leverage a crisis as a time for renewal and growth. They approach challenges with a winning mindset, question the status quo, raise the bar for performance, build agile teams that can navigate crises, model intelligent risk-taking, and welcome change in every form.
5. Talent Champion
“Inventories can be managed, but people must be led“- H Ross Perot
Talent Management can sometimes be an overlooked aspect of modern-day Leadership. Outsourcing or delegating this job to the HR teams alone can be detrimental to an organisation. A Leader who can effectively align the talent strategy with the business objectives becomes a catalyst for organisation success.
Leaders who are talent champions actively scout for talent within and outside, encourage robust succession planning to future-proof the organisation, invest in upskilling and cross-skilling, use accurate metrics to assess performance, mitigate their personal biases while making talent decisions, promote talent mobility and lastly, realise that the organisation won’t succeed if its people fail.
6. Capability Multiplier
“The true measure of a successful leader is their ability to discover the hidden talent in those they lead and challenge them to achieve greatness“- Henry Ford
A high-performance culture is not only about having the right people but also capitalising on and channelising talent to enable the organisation to succeed in an ever-changing landscape. Leaders who demonstrate a multiplier mindset are radical thinkers who can deploy talent to allow each individual to amplify their strengths and tap into their maximum potential, thereby optimising capacity and scaling up capability. Such leaders have a deep understanding of their people, can spot great talent early, are comfortable taking chances with their people, create space for people to grow, and promote an environment of open feedback and empowerment where talent can thrive and flourish
7. Calm Clarity
“In calm waters, many captains are able. It is in a tempest when true Leadership emerges” – Thomas Kohntopp
Leaders who lead with calm clarity come from a place of abundance and wholeness devoid of insecurity and ego. They can humanise situations, demonstrate enhanced emotional awareness and higher resilience and take ownership and accountability without externalising the problems they need to confront. Such leaders stay clearheaded in a chaotic environment and become a driving force for the organisation to steer through change or business challenges. Empathy is at the core of their leadership persona, enabling them to integrate multiple perspectives while making decisions, especially during uncomfortable situations.
8. Conscious Leadership
“A Leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows others the way“- John Maxwell
Consciousness is an embedded leadership requirement that plays into everything leaders do and how they get things done. It goes beyond the traditional command-and-control form of Leadership to embrace empathy, vulnerability, inclusivity, authenticity and intentionality. A conscious leader has a high degree of self-awareness, understands their underlying beliefs and biases, stays curious and willing to learn from every person and situation, is open to feedback, demonstrates agility in their leadership style, encourages difficult conversations and displays a high degree of Emotional Intelligence. Their heightened conscious competence also helps them acknowledge their gaps and shortcomings and seek support from people who are better than them.
9. Coach and Confidant
“Leaders don’t force people to follow- they invite them on a journey“- Charles Lauer
Leadership is no longer an elusive concept; it is more about building honest connections and an environment of trust where each employee feels valued and heard. Human-centred Leadership and Servant leadership are gaining more precedence as organisations become flatter and leaders become more accessible. The ability to demonstrate care and empathy, devoid of perceptions and judgements, makes the leader a trusted and reliable confidante. At the same time, Leaders are called to act as coaches who empower employees to get on a journey of transformation by helping them uncover their blind spots and realise their fullest, unexpressed potential.
10. Uncommon Courage
“A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others” – Douglas McArthur
Leadership is almost synonymous with Courage. In fact, Aristotle referred to ‘Courage’ as the first virtue because it makes all of the other virtues possible. Courageous Leadership involves making bold and often unpopular decisions that may be outside the leaders’ natural comfort zone. The ability to do what is right over what is easy and comfortable to the leader’s natural style defines uncommon courage. Risk-taking is at the heart of courageous Leadership and implies the ability to take calculated risks while accepting the possibility of failure.
To conclude, Leadership is a pursuit and constant evolution going beyond the confines of a title, position or mundane responsibilities. The transition to becoming a great leader is an inside game and not an external set of expectations from the role.
General Norman Schwarzkopf, one of the best-known US Army Commander, said, “The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it“. I have customised the ‘Leadership Unleash‘ program for existing and aspiring leaders who want to level up their game. This personalised program will help you assess how you stand on the ’10 Intangible C’s of Leadership’ and enable you to strengthen those areas to outshine your leadership journey. If you want to know more about this program, DM me on LinkedIn or email me at note4rochelle@outlook.com.