Inside everyone: a leader

Leadership is about you, says Matt Driver, and your readiness to work on it. He speaks here of waterfalls and playgrounds and the six things his experience tells him are going to make you better at it.

I remember Bob going over the waterfall.

Bright, confident, never failed to get a job, going places….yes, Bob had the lot. But as he disappeared – over the top, for we were rock climbing up the fall – the rest of his team below lost sight and sound of him.

Unconsciously he was exercising that old ‘lead from the front’ mentality. But on this training exercise such a lack of awareness was not only scary for the team – the water was very cold – it was never going to work. It turned out that this was how Bob managed at work: a perfectly nice man who never thought about how he did things, but simply acted on whatever inbuilt default programme was running at the time. That wet climb – when he suddenly lost all his followers – taught Bob a lesson he never forgot.

Ten years on and now regarded as a very good leader in his sector, he recounted the experience at a dinner for leadership trainees: ‘I realised that I had to act consciously rather than on autopilot….I needed to use a range of styles…I needed to be aware of how my own actions impacted others…’

Leadership can sometimes feel more like climbing a waterfall: uphill, against the current, icy cold and no-one following. So what can make the climb easier?

And I remember Celia in the playground. She worked quietly and methodically with a group of kids, busy but never rushed, giving clear direction and a smile of encouragement. The kids hung on her every word, growing in confidence and competence.

Celia is neither a teacher nor a sports coach, but a primary school mum who helps with sports practice once a week because all the kids love sport but there aren’t enough people to run things. So how is she able do that – to show such uncanny leadership and help people to grow and gets results?

Over the past two decades I have had the privilege of working with leaders at every level. Some saw themselves as leaders, others felt they were just doing the job that needed to be done. And I’ve reached some conclusions about what makes the difference and what can turn a Bob into a Celia (without surgery). After working on so many inventories, psychometrics and 360° feedback instruments, I’ve done my own distillation of what’s needed in leadership. With the right skills here are six qualities that anyone can develop.

Driver’s distillation

1. Taking responsibility:

• thinking at the right level, being in tune with organisational and wider goals;
• seeing yourself as active in everything that goes on and not waiting for others to make the first move.

2. Being open:

• showing flexibility in working with change and shifting your own style as needed;
• being aware of how you are different from others and capitalising on the power of diversity.

3. Tuning in:

• being aware of and curious about others: their needs, wants, preferences and also their worries, criticisms and feelings;
• being fully present with whoever is there right now (not just physically, but with full attention).

4.Working collaboratively:

• playing an active part in helping teams and groups work effectively;
• cooperating actively with other groups and teams inside and outside the organisation.

5. Demonstrating respect:

• having a personal integrity which values others and is shown in your day-to-day behaviour;
• valuing the wider goals of the organisation and the people it serves.

6. Showing resilience:

• actively tackling difficult relationships within and outside the organisation;
• sorting out problems rather than leaving them to fester or relying on formal authority.