Passion in leadership
This post was supposed to be about something else today. A weekend course I run for about 30 strong women made me want to write this instead.
Do you lead other people with a genuine passion to want to make them grow, or do you lead them more into thinking like you? My view when I am in a leadership role is that with the knowledge I have, I should be able to contribute and guide people to step outside their comfort zone. Dare to see your potential and use it. When I reflect, I keep coming back to my joy at being able to contribute to that. Because it’s what I really feel inside, it also becomes genuine and there is a weight to it. Whether you are a leader at work, in the football team, gymnastics club, etc. the similarities are there. How do you want your leadership to be received and what do you want from it?
I need to spend time planning a training, course or performance. I rarely have to think about how to get the group on board. With experience, I know roughly in time how the dynamics of the group and all the individuals will interact. I also know when to back off a bit, when to give extra feedback and support, and when things are just flowing and I can give more challenges (and thumbs up).
I’ve learned over the years to breathe in the moment, to stay put even when it feels like the group is losing its footing, if you’ve done a good groundwork, they will regain their footing and you have increased your confidence that you can be trusted.
Being confident in your own leadership role and calmly standing your ground when things get a little unsettled and perhaps stormy will help. a with experience. It also comes from your ability to see and feel your team. Because even if you’ve done your thing lots of times, you’re dealing with a new group/constellation. It is unique just like the last one you faced, so adapt to the current situation and don’t take anything for granted.
I also believe that a leader who is genuinely passionate about wanting to uplift other people, so that they can individually and collectively realize their own powerful potential, is a leader who leaves a mark and touches other people.
Many leaders rise to their leadership/management positions by being a star salesperson, for example. The risk here, which I have experienced both as an employee, but also as a coach, is that the person taking on a management position has a different passion than lifting others in their team. Instead, this person’s passion is to make lots of money for themselves. This creates a clash in the managerial role that could have been different if the passion for the team had been there instead.
So what is the passion?
The passion for leadership for me is that I am truly driven by the joy that comes from development. That joy is a huge driving force that produces good conditions in the room. And we know from research that “states are contagious”, so what do you think happens if you fill a room with a number of people who end up in good states? You get creativity and engagement.
Commitment does not come free when you lead. You need to give of yourself, affirm and build a sense of security in the group. A reassurance that they can trust you and that you will do your utmost to meet their expectations of you and the course, training, conversation or meeting.
When I evaluate the feedback I receive along with why I do what I do (when I am in a leadership role) – I see the pattern clearly and repeatedly. My passion shines through my leadership, perhaps more than I realize at times. My passion becomes a filter over everything I plan in terms of activities that I want to lead to the intention of the course, lecture or whatever I am doing.
So ask yourself if you know why you lead the way you do (including personal leadership)? What you choose to do for and with your group, what does it lead to? Do you make sure that it takes you and your team towards your goals? For some, the questions may seem obvious; for others, this reflection has not happened for a long time.
Therefore question…Do you have passion in your leadership?
/Rebecca
