This
week we read about a different kind of leader from chapter 12 of the Leader’s
Guide to Storytelling and Denning hit on some great information here. There were several dimensions that he
discussed:
- Interactive leader works with the world rather than against it.
- Interactive leadership both adds and subtracts elements from the leadership palette.
- Interactive leadership builds on personal integrity and authenticity.
- Interactive leadership doesn’t depend on the possession of hierarchical authority.
- Interactive leadership benefits from an understanding of the different narrative patterns that can be used to get things done in the world.
All of these dimensions
are important factors to be a good leader, a different kind of leader, one that
will change the way we think and act as leaders. The workplace has changed so much that for
leaders it is vital that they be willing and able to adapt and grow with these
changes.
As a leader my goal will be to learn to work with my
surroundings instead against it. What
does that mean? If I try too hard to
sway or influence my followers within my organization I wield all the power and
there is no give and take. To be an
interactive leader I will need to modify my thinking and use that energy at any
level within the organization. This
means active participation from everyone not just me doling out commands and
watching with disinterest. I want to
make sure I can connect with everyone within my organization including the
followers I am leading.
Another goal I have is to use the interactive leadership
to convey my integrity and authenticity to my followers. It is something that I notice is lacking in
many departments within my organization.
If you are not sure what your leader stands for or that they are sincere
in what they say there is no trust or faith.
When I can make it clear who I am and what I stand for my followers will
not have to question what my agenda is because I will have to convey it to them
clearly so they can understand it. One
must lead by example so if I am always complaining about the new system and how
much I hate it my followers will pick that up as well and either agree with me because
they just want to be agreeable or they will not have faith in my abilities to
adapt to the new system. The actions of
the follower are only as good as those of its leader.
One other dimension that I want to touch on is the interactive
leader that benefits from having a good understanding that there are different
narratives patterns to get things done.
This is where emotional intelligence comes into play. It is important to be able to read and evaluate
the emotions of yourself and others.
This doesn’t mean you are to control how others feel but when you can
pick up on the emotions of others you can gear your narrative toward this to
get your story told. For example, if it
is a very sober event you aren’t going to start your story with a joke if it is
not appropriate for that that occasion.
The major points I take from this reading is that it is
vital to be able to adapt and change with different situations, not close
yourself off to learning and understanding the dynamics of your department or
the organization as a whole. You have to
be able to connect with your followers and not have a fear of participating on
any level from the mail room to the CEO of the company. Leadership should not be my way or the
highway and it continues to evolve and the only way to be an effective leader
is to be able to evolve as well and listen and I mean really listen to what is
going on around you.
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