Harvard Business Review
The first video clip discusses the various leadership values that are expected of every good leader. It is composed of a series of interviews about what makes a good leader. Several responses were given by the various leadership experts who were interviewed. What stood out about each response was the fact that each value was gleaned directly from a specific global leader who was used as an example. The following are some of the leadership values that were discussed.
First of all, a good leader is pragmatic. A good leader also has strong personal values and makes every effort to teach these values to others. A good leader displays intellectual humility. This means that he has the ability to change his course of action and thought many times, as circumstances demand. This particular leadership value has been found to be very difficult to execute, especially for successful leaders. Most leaders tend to be rigid thinkers, always trusting what has worked before.
A good leader is also described as one who is able to learn and embrace both negative and positive feedback. Another leadership value that is noble and equally rare is the ability to create a working environment where employees feel appreciated. This phenomenon is referred to as “distributed ethics.” A good leader is also described as one who is not shy to consider different points of views. This, of course is a form of visionary open-mindedness and not just the indiscriminate intake of ideas.
Other good leadership values that are mentioned include good communication skills, resourcefulness and an ability to inspire others. Social entrepreneurship is a new aspect of leadership that is also mentioned in the video clip. This means that a good leader is one who can zoom in on individual employees and show empathy, while at the same time zooming out to apply the learned values to a group of people.
Robin Sharma on Leadership
This video clip is part of an interview with Robin Sharma that was conducted just prior to the presidential election debates that were going to be held in Canada. Sharma is basically talking about what it takes to be a good leader. He presents various clues and tests that one should look for in an attempt to identify a good leader.
For instance, he mentions that authenticity is essential in good leadership. A good leader is one who doesn’t fear being honest in communicating some of his reservations or fears. A good leader should also be innovative in his thinking. A dreaming leader is not necessarily too idealistic because this is what it takes to be visionary. A good leader is also one who is able to detect his own unique personal values and be able to live life on his own terms.
Another aspect of authenticity that is emphasized by Sharma is the ability to live out one’s creed. Basically, a leader will always be able to preach a better sermon by his lifestyle rather than by what he says. Sharma concludes by providing an acronym that could be used as a test for identifying what makes a good leader. The acronym, IMAGE, stands for: I- Innovation and Imagination; M- Merchant of wow; A-Authenticity; G-Guts and E- Ethics and Excellence. Ironically, even though the acronym spells out IMAGE, Sharma points out that good leadership has little to do with one’s image. The true focus should be the inner person.
Dr. Linda Hill of Harvard Business School on Leaders of Tomorrow
Hill provides a revolutionary concept of leadership that is bound to change the way people perceive good leadership. She begins by mentioning that the problem does not lie in the making of tomorrow’s leader’s but in recognizing them. The leadership concept that is going to be predominant in future leadership is referred to as “Leading from Behind.” This refers to the ability to create a context in which other people are willing and able to lead. It is a form of coaching leadership.
Hill also points out that tomorrow’s leadership will require a lot of inclusive collaboration. With the world evolving into a more interdependent global village, the traditional individual dominance in leadership will not be effective. In order to succeed in future, leadership must be regarded as collective genius. She then goes ahead to offer the example of Pixar and the form of creative collaboration that goes into the making of each movie. Collaborative leaders should be able to harness and unleash the collective genius through various intrinsic motivational skills.
Finally, the team building aspect of leadership is highlighted. This is because today’s leadership scene is highly competitive and requires more innovation than execution. This innovation demands a culture of engagement and learning. In order to learn, one needs to be exposed to diversity, conflict and situations that require agility. From the interview, Hill is able to paint a clear picture of tomorrow’s leaders. She outlines how such a leader is meant to look like, what kind of organizations can develop them and what the individual people can do to become such types of leaders.