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Can anyone lead, or is leadership just for charismatic people?
There are two opposing points of view in this matter. The first is that leaders can still care for their people even if they don’t like them …
We believe that the first form of trust identified by Rachel Botsman – that is, trust built face-to-face …
Question of the Month
By Wendy Lambourne, director, Legitimate Leadership.
Question: Can anyone lead, or is leadership just for charismatic people?
Answer: The original research shows that trust in a leader is granted or withheld only on the basis of the employee’s perceptions of leadership’s genuine concern for their welfare. Extrapolating from this, leaders stand or fall on the basis of a single criterion: their INTENT or motive. Those in positions of authority, in essence, succeed to the degree to which they are there to “give” to their people (as opposed to “get” something out of them). Their intent bears no relationship to intellect, qualifications, interpersonal skill, managerial style or even personality. Each individual – no one else – determines the motive(s) behind their actions. Intent, and by extension leadership, is therefore a matter of the will. From experience, most managers who are taken through the above logic feel liberated because they are released from the notion that only those blessed with a charismatic personality, superior intellect, oratory skill and an inclusive management style can lead.
Yet there are still people in positions of authority who absolutely understand intent but still don’t succeed in leadership roles. They fall short against the care and growth criteria because of personal attributes which constitute fatal flaws in leading others … Read the full answer by clicking here
ARTICLE: A PRECONDITION FOR CARE IS THAT YOU NOT ONLY KNOW, BUT LIKE, YOUR PEOPLE
By Wendy Lambourne, director, Legitimate Leadership.
There are two opposing points of view in this matter. The first is that leaders can still care for their people even if they don’t like them. The counter-argument is that it is not possible as a leader to care for people if you don’t like them.
Legitimate Leadership’s standpoint is that leaders can’t actively dislike their people and care for them. If the person is not likeable to the leader, the leader needs to learn to like him/her/them – or, if that is impossible, they need to move away from each other.
VIDEO: THE CURRENCY OF THE NEW ECONOMY IS TRUST
By Rachel Botsman, a British author and lecturer at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School specialising in trust in the digital age. She previously designed and taught the first-ever Oxford MBA course on the ‘Collaborative Economy’.
COMMENT ON THIS VIDEO BY WENDY LAMBOURNE, LEGITIMATE LEADERSHIP: We believe that the first form of trust identified by Rachel Botsman – that is, trust built face-to-face – is still the way that managers build trust best. So we advocate that managers find a way to increase face time – one-on-one, or with their teams, or by watching the game. Trust in institutions, and particularly corporates, is breaking down because people do not trust those in charge to look after their best interests. Only when/if leaders deliver on the care and growth needs of the people will trust in companies be restored. Institutions are breaking down because, for instance, people do not trust companies, they trust people in companies. Yes, people are putting their faith in technological platforms, but again it is not in the system but in other users’ ratings of the service which engenders trust. Trust is in other people at the end of the day, not in things. But ultimately you will trust a service if it directly delivers to you – so you will, for instance, trust Uber if it has delivered to you.
OUR SUMMARY OF THIS VIDEO: We all know trust is fundamental, but when it comes to trusting people, something profound is happening, as reflected in systems like Airbnb, Bitcoin, Tinder, BlaBlaCar, Uber, etc.
These are all examples of how technology is creating new mechanisms that are enabling us to trust unknown people, companies and ideas. And yet at the same time, trust in institutions – banks, governments and even churches – is collapsing. So what’s happening here, and who do you trust?
There many definitions of trust, but most can be reduced to some kind of risk assessment of how likely it is that things will go right. Trust has only evolved in three significant chapters throughout the course of human history: local, institutional and what we’re now entering, distributed.
READ THE FULL SUMMARY OF THE VIDEO BY CLICKING HERE