Questioning my language on Leadership …
One month into this new year, I have been setting some intentions for myself. And in that intention setting, I have a need to put words to the work I love. Leadership development is central in my work – leading ourselves, others, organizations, communities, movements and so on. Leading is a part of everything, even following is a type of leading. I often speak about Radical Agility = Radical Self-Awareness + Radical Curiosity + Radical Generosity. I am questioning whether ‘Agility’ is the appropriate word. Other words I use to encompass the Alchemy of ‘my radicals’ are ‘human-centered leadership’, ‘servant leadership’, ‘compassionate leadership’, ‘heart-centered leadership’. None of these words or phrases really do justice to what I am envisioning and what I have experienced when stellar leadership is taking place.
The lack of clarity I have been feeling was validated recently when a couple of clients were confused about how they could be compassionate while expecting excellence from themselves and their team. I thank you for that conversation – you know who you are! Compassion and candour can co-exist. An open mind and open heart help us listen and sense deeply so we can have an ‘open will’ as Otto Scharmer has said so beautifully. An open will leads the exploration into possibility where people design solutions together.
Radical Adaptability & Radical Grace feel more true than Radical Agility as the alchemy that results from Radical Curiosity, Radical Generosity, and Radical Self-Awareness. A single approach to leadership is not going to meet the complexity and challenges that leaders face today.
How many folks do you lead? How many different personalities are there in the team? What do you know about each of the individuals and what makes them tick? How and when do they do their best work? What is the current context of their life? What is the current context of your organization? What challenges are you facing as a team and as a company?
The larger your team, the number and complexity of relationships multiplies exponentially. Each team member brings a unique peacock tail (more on this later as I dive into study on organizational mapping) of narratives and experiences affecting the way they show up. Every nervous system is different. Every heart is shaped by its own traveled path and meaning-making mechanisms. Being wed to a rigid style of leadership and applying that one mode to all of the people you manage and lead creates a missed mark.
Adaptive leadership invites you to ‘be with’ who is in front of you, in any situation, and be able to connect relationally with what matters most. What is at the crux of the situation? This requires self-awareness, interpersonal awareness, and contextual awareness to navigate gracefully. It’s the difference between holding tight to a methodology or being present and emotionally equipped enough to be with a person and situation as it is and what’s emerging.
Rigidity in leadership not only threatens to leave people out and create disconnection, but it fails to raise up each person based on who they are and what they bring to the table. What are their innate talents and how can you bring those forth? What are the parts that person might be lacking, and how can you bolster them? What sets this person up for success in ways that also meet the business needs?
It’s time to lean into your relational intelligence:
How well do you regulate your own nervous system?
What makes you tick (negatively or positively)?
What can you do to listen better?
What is happening inside of you when another speaks?
What are you noticing about the other person when you speak?
How do you get curious and inquire into their experience of you speaking?
How do you give and receive feedback?
How does your way of speaking land with others?
What assumptions are you making?
How present are you to the situation?
