Leaders are at the top of their game when they act from their deepest values and instincts. Usually they tap into these fundamental qualities during a crisis, but it’s possible to do so at any time (in the right frame of mind). A frustrating fact for leaders is that their performance level tends to fluctuate from competent to excellent and back again. How does a leader achieve excellent results, consistently? Rather than pouring over countless leadership manuals and imitating other successful leaders, Professor Robert E. Quinn from the University of Michigan School of Business, suggests you tap into your own abilities already acquired through past experiences. In his recent article for Harvard Business Review, Moments of Greatness: Entering the Fundamental State of Leadership, Professor Quinn argues that the way you lead in a crisis forces you to tap into your deepest values and instincts. In this state you instinctively know what to do – you rise to the occasion and perform at your best. Fortunately a crisis is not necessary to find your Fundamental State of Leadership. You can do so any time, perhaps prior to a critical conversation or key meeting, by following three simple steps:
1. Recognise you have been here before
Remind yourself that you have been here before and have overcome great challenges. By recalling these moments and the lessons learnt, you will release positive emotions and see new possibilities for your current situation.
2. Analyse your current state
Compare your normal performance with what you’ve done when at your best. You will fuel a desire to elevate what you are doing now and instil confidence that you can re-enter this state of mind.
3. Ask yourself the following four questions
Am I results centred?
- Have you articulated the result you want to create?
- Do you move towards possibilities that don’t yet exist?
Am I internally directed?
- Are you willing to challenge other’s expectations?
- Have you clarified your core values?
- Do you act with authenticity and confidence and willingly initiating productive conflict?
Am I other focused?
- Have you put your organisations’ needs above my own needs?
- Do you commit to the collective good in your organisation – even at personal cost?
Am I externally open?
- Do you recognise signals suggesting the need for change?
- Do you learn from your environment, acknowledging the need for change and a depart from routine?
Professor Quinn and his colleagues are using their research to challenge the way in which leaders are trained or encouraged to emulate other great leaders. They believe that leaders who do their best work are not copying anyone. They are drawing on their own fundamental values and capabilities – operating in a frame of mind that is true to them but paradoxically not their normal state of being. No one can operate at the top of their game all the time, but by practising entering this state of mind on a regular basis you will be able to return to it more easily in future, whilst inspiring others around you to perform to higher levels of excellence. Even those widely admired for their leadership skills usually function in their normal and healthy state of being. However, this state is not conducive to crisis management and when in this state people tend to stay in their comfort zones and allow external influences to guide their behaviours and decisions. To elevate the performance of others, we must first shift our own thinking along the four dimensions identified:
- What results do I want to create? – This question shifts us from problem solving to purpose finding.
- By becoming more internally directed we clarify our core values and increase our confidence, integrity and authenticity. Our behaviours will shift and be noticed by others.
- By putting the collective need before our own needs we are instilling trust and respect from others, this in turns makes for a tighter more empathetic team who cohesively can overcome and transcend conflicts that are a necessary element of a high performing organisation.
- If we are realistically aware of what is unfolding, and open to the need for change in our ever-changing external world, we move from a defensive and in-denial state of mind to an adaptive, credible and unique state.
These four qualities are at the heart of human influence and whilst good leaders can function without addressing them, they will usually need to influence change by control or force which doesn’t give rise to committed followers. By shifting to this mindset, leaders can influence change by elevating people to a new level of community, which continues even in the absence of the leader. So next time you are faced with a challenging conversation or key meeting, think of a time when you were at your best as a leader and use a check-list to identify the qualities you displayed. Compare your list with how you are operating today and identify what changes you need to make to get back to that state. Here is an example check-list to use for each of the four questions: At my best I was ______. Today I am _______.
- Results Centred
- Knowing what results I want to create
- Holding high standards
- Initiating Action
- Challenging the status quo
- Engaging in Urgent Conversations
- Internally Directed
- Operating from my core values
- Motivated from within
- Leading Courageously
- Expressing what I really believe
- Engaging in Authentic Conversations
- Other Focussed
- Sacrificing personal interests for the common good
- Supporting People
- Empathising with people’s needs
- Trusting others and fostering interdependence
- Seeing the Potential in Everyone
- Externally Open
- Engaging in Creative Conversations
- Paying deep attention to what’s unfolding
- Inviting feedback
- Moving forward into uncertainty
- Growing and learning continually
