Leading From Within

From the classroom of Harvard Professor Scott Snook comes an article about leadership styles. It reaffirms the importance of the leader’s self-knowledge. This is not just a cursory overview but an understanding of what we really think on issues we would rather not think about. In Leading from the Maze Jeffrey Patnaude writes, “[T]he leader must be awake and fully alert. Like a nighttime traveler attuned to every sound in the forest, the leader must be aware of all possibilities lurking in the shadows. For we can neither challenge not transform what we cannot see.”

Professor Snook said:

What you believe about human nature influences your leadership style. If you believe people are fundamentally good—good meaning that they're trying to do their best, they're self-motivated, they want to perform—then your fundamental leadership style will be one way. It will be empowering them, getting obstacles out of the way, and setting high goals while maintaining standards.

If you believe people are fundamentally bad—if you believe people are constantly looking to get over and get by and won't do anything unless they're watched—then you'll tend to lead with a very transactional management style that's built primarily around rewards and punishments. Tight supervision, a controlling type of leadership style characterized by a great deal of social distance between leaders and led.

The better we understand ourselves, the more authentic the contribution we can make—shed the image and do the job.