To Be A Leader

To lead involves the application of one’s abilities. To be a leader involves the expression of one’s identity.

Being a leader emerges from having a clear mission, vision, and values. A leader has a purpose, a reason for being. The leader knows why s/he gets up in the morning. The leader has envisioned the purpose fulfilled. There is clarity about the principles that direct the leader’s decisions and actions. The leader’s actions are an expression of personal identity. Through meaningful action the leader achieves outward success.

Too often would-be leaders initially focus on what they want to get. They then decide what needs to be done to attain their goals. What they do not consider is who they are. Their grasping for achievement rests on a hollow core. Their self-serving striving eventually collapses.

The courage, persistence, and passion needed for long-term achievement are fed by a clear understanding of who one is. This clarity provides strength of action. At the same time, the leader cannot be obsessively attached to a static identity. The leader must be open to personal growth. To be a leader involves an ever evolving process. While genuine action emerges from a sense of personal identity, the leader at the same time must question the source of that identity. This is the tension between being and becoming. Living within this tension is required of those who would be a leader.

Leader As Clown

The typical image of the leader is of one who is strong, certain, and commanding. There are times, though, when certainty and seriousness must be disrupted if there is to be growth beyond what is. It is during such times that who is needed is the leader as clown.

The clown and trickster figures in mythology break through taboos, create chaos and disorder, disrupt the fixed and staid. The trickster initiates change and becoming. They shatter boundaries. In Paleolithic times, trickster was the archetype of the hero, the teacher of mankind.

In Carol Pearson’s model of development, the Fool is the most advanced stage. She describes the fool as at the root of our sense of vitality and aliveness. The Fool is also irreverent. When the Fool is active in our lives, we are motivated by curiosity and want to explore and experiment with life. When there is too little Fool in our lives, we become priggish, repressed, uptight, anorexic, tired, bored, depressed or lacking in curiosity. The contribution of the Fool to our lives is resilience.

According to William Torbert’s hierarchy of development, Clown is the next to highest stage. Individuals at this stage of development do not find their identity in a particular mindset or structure. Those at this stage embrace a reframing spirit that continually overcomes itself and divests itself of its own presuppositions, seeking the “common sense” and motivating challenge of each situation. Unpredictability and uniqueness characterize much of their work and play.

Henri Nouwen praised clowns for evoking in us a smile and awakening our hope. They live out the part of our being that wants to play, dance, smile, and other such “useless” things. Clowns remind us that what really counts is something other than the spectacular and sensational. They show us that many of our preoccupations, worries, tensions, and anxieties need a smile. In other words, they help us to lighten up.

Those who come to master any practice often come across as fools because they no longer adhere to the rules. They don’t fit the norm. They shed their self-consciousness and dare to express the fullness of who they are.

It takes courage for a leader to embrace the Clown. The Fool is willing to go beyond the proven, the safe, the expected. The Clown dares to play and experiment. Sometimes a leader must lighten up and recognize the absurdity within a situation, thereby fostering a fresh perspective. As the ancient philosopher Anacharsis said, “Play so that you may be serious.”

Managers and Leaders

To excel, an organization needs both managers and leaders. Following are some ways managers and leaders compliment each other.
Managers attempt to control people, processes, and results. Leaders attempt to influence through their responses to others and the environment.
Managers attempt to motivate people by external means. Leaders draw followers in a direction by standing for something that followers value.
Managers concentrate on the tangible. Leaders operate at the level of the intangible.
Managers are concerned about external actions. Leaders concern themselves with contributing to a sense of identity.
Managers put their faith in the concrete. Leaders look to an underlying source of meaning.
Managers focus on achieving specific results. Leaders concentrate on fulfilling a larger purpose.
Managers hold a mechanistic perspective. Leaders think holistically.
Managers provide defined channels for the accomplishment of work. Leaders provide a reason for doing the work.
Managers are aware of limits. Leaders expand the limits.
Managers seek equilibrium. Leaders encourage disequilibrium.
Managers maximize the use of resources to achieve a result. Leaders assure the proper results are achieved.
Managers concentrate on doing things well. Leaders emphasize doing that which is worthwhile.
Managers are motivated to satisfy wants. Leaders are moved to fulfill values.
Managers aim for immediate results. Leaders seek future achievements.
Managers work in the present. Leaders build for the future.
Managers manipulate resources. Leaders are stewards of resources.
Managers concentrate on extending proficiency. Leaders focus on attaining mastery.
Managers motivate through position. Leaders motivate through relationships.
Managers subordinate individuals to the organization. Leaders promote people over institutions.