Fluid Consulting eBulletin Issue 10

Remember leadership is a relationship between leader and follower.
It is therefore defined by the impact the leader has on people and activities around him or her, rather than simply the skills they possess. Leaders need to engage others through active listening and instilling trust - understanding their issues, desires, stories and moans. Recently we met with a potential client who was telling me that her husband’s employer had made redundancies yet in a recent staff survey 80% of the workforce stated that they trusted the management.
Bear in mind that followers have huge power in the leadership relationship: if they choose not to follow, you are not a leader.
But also remember that as a leader you should be prepared to follow at times. Leadership is not a position but a relationship, so every day with every individual relationship consider what you need to do at that moment - lead or follow?
Recognise that leadership is not confined to the top team in an organisation.
Acts of leadership can happen throughout an organisation, even at the most junior levels because non-managers as well as managers can be leaders. Leadership is expected in managers but not confined to managers therefore it goes beyond hierarchy. As someone looking to lead this means being prepared to ask senior managers to follow you. Provide direction upwards and give guidance where it is appropriate. Do not always look to follow senior managers simply because they are senior.
Similarly, be prepared to follow other people, wherever they sit in your organisation.
If they are inspiring you to action or providing clarity where there was otherwise a blur, take the role of follower and support that leader. By providing support you make them 'lead' and with it you move both you and your organisation forward. Consider allowing non-managers to lead in a ‘low-risk’ environment such as volunteering for tasks at a charity or local school.
Never forget that leadership is dynamic.
Different people can take the lead at different times as leadership is what is appropriate at the time and for the purpose in hand. If you are a leader who insists on leading all the time, you keep the relationship two-dimensional. By being prepared to follow at times will make the relationship three-dimensional.
Being a leader means that you can’t have a day off.
It is hard work being a leader all the time – all day, every day. But if you truly trust other people, the basis of the relationship you have with others, you will provide opportunities to bring out the leader in them. To do this, consider stepping back, taking the follower role, be moved by someone else, be inspired by them, and show that you have. This sharing of the leadership role engages people and helps deal with the practicalities of work.
Work every day to find what is authentic to you.
Leaders need to tread their own path to lead, to clarify what they stand for and what they truly aspire to be and to achieve. People who fail to be genuine will fail in their leadership. As a leader you need to work day in, day out at finding the best way that you personally lead. This means working everyday to understand who you are and what is important to you. Don't try to motivate people just because you think you ought to if you are not interested in knowing what turns each individual on or off.
The easiest way to lose credibility is to say one thing and do something else.
Everyday it is important to work at delivering your promises. Should you fail to deliver, accept this as a reflection on yourself so that you can in future be more authentic. You may try to copy other people that you admire. Don't forget that you are a unique individual in unique circumstances. Not everything anyone else does is right for you and for the leadership relationships you have.
Leadership is all about travelling from one place to another.
It is about looking towards new horizons. It is about being able to create and inspire new visions, a need to change, overcoming barriers, winning hearts and minds, building cohesion and celebrating success. Every day, consider the next step you are taking on your long journey.
It is also about seeing where we have come from to understand the line of trajectory and to appreciate culture and meaning in others.
Only when we really understand where we come from do we really appreciate where we are going. Spending a little bit of time each day to consider the past helps to maintain a sense of perspective.


	1. Don’t skimp on fully understanding the business case Companies adopt CR strategies for a multitude of reasons ranging from preventing tighter legislation to enhancing their employer brand, improve retention through to cost control and building customer loyalty.

is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it.

So said Dwight D Eisenhower. And I agree. But it sure is a tricky challenge as we approach the end of 2009 when work is generally not a pleasant place to be.