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Question Of The Month
Is Legitimate Leadership an ethical framework?
Answer: Legitimate Leadership is an ethical framework because it argues for values- rather than needs-driven behaviour by all those at work, but particularly by those in leadership roles.
What Is In The Time Bucket?
During a recent client visit the vital subject of how work is prioritised was a hot topic. There was a pervading feeling of being far too busy, which was causing stress.
I took them through the famous analogy of the bucket that’s full of rocks, pebbles, sand and water (the bucket is your available time; the rocks, pebbles, sand and water are your tasks – a few big ones, some more medium-sized ones…
Can You Care And Grow People And Have Accountability In A Matrix Organisation?
The best leaders operate on good Intent – that is, they look at what they can GIVE their people to make them as good as they can be. Poor leaders are out for themselves and TAKE control of all decisions to guarantee a result that makes them look good.
There are in fact only 7 things a good leader can ever give…
Real Leaders Communicate From The Inside Outwards
Simon Sinek’s ‘Start with Why’ book is a brilliant explanation of the fact that what motivates people both inside and outside an organisation is that its leadership have determined, articulated and communicated the organisation’s ‘why’ or noble purpose.
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Question Of The Month
By Wendy Lambourne, Director, Legitimate Leadership.
Question: Is Legitimate Leadership an ethical framework?
Answer: Legitimate Leadership is an ethical framework because it argues for values- rather than needs-driven behaviour by all those at work, but particularly by those in leadership roles.
Every time a leader acts appropriately, arising out of being values-driven, trust in the individual leader and the leadership collectively increases an increment. Every time the opposite happens, trust decreases commensurately.
Being ethical means to act consistently with the value (like honesty) which is operative in any given situation. It means to do the right thing even if it does not appear to be the most expedient or workable thing to do at the time.
In any situation leaders’ actions can be informed by only one of two things: by their needs or by their values. When leaders act on the basis of their needs they are essentially putting their self-interest first. When they behave on the basis of the value which is operative in the situation they are acting for reasons higher than self-interest. They are concerned with doing what is right rather than with what is expedient.
This only happens when leaders deliberately and consciously CHOOSE to put their self-interest second. That is, when they elect to suspend their own agenda for what is right.
To submit your question, email info@legitimateleadership.com
Vignette Case Study: What Is In The Time Bucket?
By Sean Hagger, Associate, Legitimate Leadership.
During a recent client visit the vital subject of how work is prioritised was a hot topic. There was a pervading feeling of being far too busy, which was causing stress.
I took them through the famous analogy of the bucket that’s full of rocks, pebbles, sand and water (the bucket is your available time; the rocks, pebbles, sand and water are your tasks – a few big ones, some more medium-sized ones, and lots of small jobs and continuous demands and interruptions; but the point being that unless you put the big rocks in first, you won’t get them in at all).
• If we put the rocks in first, is the bucket full? No.
• If we then put the pebbles in, is it full now? No.
• Ok, if we put the sand in, is it full now? No, there is still room for the water.
• But if we put the water in first, is the bucket full? Yes.
This stimulated a useful discussion. The realisation which emerged (as it often does) was that ‘we weren’t quite getting the priorities right’. The water and sand were taking over.
I always ask the question: what are the critical meetings/tasks that are needed every day, week and month that, if missed, will result in the business starting to become chaotic or even starting to fail?
At the task level this is normally well understood; its less well understood when you move up the hierarchy to the leadership teams.
READ THE FULL CASE STUDY BY CLICKING HERE
Article: Can You Care And Grow People And Have Accountability In A Matrix Organisation?
By Tony Flannigan, Associate, Legitimate Leadership.
The best leaders operate on good Intent – that is, they look at what they can GIVE their people to make them as good as they can be. Poor leaders are out for themselves and TAKE control of all decisions to guarantee a result that makes them look good.
There are in fact only 7 things a good leader can ever give:
READ THE FULL ARTICLE BY CLICKING HERE
Video Excerpt: Real Leaders Communicate From The Inside Outwards
By Simon Sinek, American author on leadership and motivational speaker.
COMMENT BY WENDY LAMBOURNE, LEGITIMATE LEADERSHIP: Simon Sinek’s ‘Start with Why’ book is a brilliant explanation of the fact that what motivates people both inside and outside an organisation is that its leadership have determined, articulated and communicated the organisation’s ‘why’ or noble purpose. They have given people a reason or a cause that is worth rising above their self-interest for. Legitimate Leadership refers to this as the ‘benevolent intent’ of the organisation. What truly motivates people at work though is when there is a clear line of sight between what they do in their roles, what their function does, and the bigger purpose of the organisation. The purpose at every level is not about what is done but what ‘what is done’ does for those the organisation exists to serve. In every instance, what motivates people and what inspires others is the ‘give’, not the ‘get’ behind what is done.
OUR SUMMARY OF THIS VIDEO EXCERPT: I was struck by something that Neil Armstrong said: that he was grateful to be led by people who inspired him to yearn for that place, to yearn. Listen to that, that give such a wonderful feeling and so it begs the question, “What does it mean to lead, why do people do what they do?”
I’m fascinated by this idea of leadership. I read the same books as everyone else, I read the same books on ‘learn your style of leadership’ and ‘how to adjust your style of leadership to fit to the situation at hand’, etc.
But that’s not leadership, that’s management.
All leaders have one thing and one thing only: followers.
It has nothing to do with rank or intelligence; it has nothing to do with seniority. If people are willing to follow you, you are a leader.
The question then is what a follower is.
READ THE FULL SUMMARY OF THIS EXCERPT BY CLICKING HERE
TO VIEW THE VIDEO CLICK HERE
