What does that phrase, here and now, really mean? I’ve used it in the title of this post on the
roles of a powerful leader but for what purpose?
Yes, I did have a method to my madness. ☺
In my madness, my method of using “here and now” was to
convey the fact that a leader always must be perceived as in the here and
now. The effective and powerful leader
can’t be off in “LaLa Land.”
So, above all and regardless of what role a leader is
currently in, s/he must be in the present moment. As we will see, successfully fulfilling each
role is critical and it can’t be done but in the “here and now.”
With that as a foundational point we come to another major
challenge of being a powerful leader.
The challenge— Having a clear understanding of what the 3
most valuable roles of powerful leadership are and how to fulfill them.
The reason understanding the roles of powerful leadership is
so challenging comes down to the sense of overwhelm you can feel the minute you
consider any of those roles. But, as
they say, “knowledge is power” so let’s broaden your knowledge and right here
and now! ;<)
VISIONARY
First among the 3 valuable roles of powerful leadership is
being a visionary.
As a leader, before all else you must (while in the here and
now) see a clear direction into the future of your organization. You must see past near horizons to the
potential beyond.
The way you do that is to look at where you are now as an
organization. Project that here and now
reality and create a vision of the future reality as it will be in three to
five years.
If you can’t see the vision of your three to five-year
future reality, then you have no chance of leveraging you’re here and now
reality to achieve that vision.
There shouldn’t be ten pages of text to explain it,
either? You should be able to describe
your vision in no more than three sentences.
With vision the here and now will become the then and
now. In the entire cast of characters
you could play, being a visionary is a MAJOR role as a powerful leader.
CHANGE AGENT
The next role is a “supporting role” to your visionary
role. There is no way the vision of
tomorrow can allow you to remain as you and your organization are today. In short, realizing the vision requires you
to fulfill the role of change agent.
What is a change agent?
The answer is simply a person(s) who helps an organization transform
itself from what it is into what it needs to be.
Therein lays the relationship between the role of visionary
and change agent. You will not reach your
vision without change!
Change is always a challenge because it seems scary. Organizations, as people, can get too
comfortable and inevitably begin to decline, as a result. So, the fear of change has to be overcome,
and a powerful leader helps people and the organization through it. Here’s how:
6 Steps to Managing
Change
1. Define
what needs to change
2.
Identify why the changes are needed
3.
Develop a compelling story around the first two
steps
4.
Tell and retell your story throughout the period
of change and enlist support of people
5.
Celebrate the “wins” along the path of change
6.
After the change is completed, start the process
of managing change all over again because powerful leaders know change is a
never-ending necessity.
For a deep dive into this whole topic of change
agent/management there is a great article that was published in Forbes Magazine. I’ve provided you
the link because the information is way beyond the scope of this post but, if
you need a greater depth of understanding, the article is an excellent source.
MENTOR
The third role of a powerful leader is one of being a
mentor.
Your people will not embrace your vision or the needed
changes in them and the organization without trusting you. It’s absolutely true!
You can have the most inspiring vision of the future. And, you can have a compelling story of why
the organization must change so it can realize the vision. Neither of those facts will overcome the
inertia created by a lack of trust in you as the leader.
Having your peoples’ trust is the “starring role” of a
powerful leader. It is the thing that
will bring home every award you could wish for related to change and achieving
your vision.
Everything in the organization breaks when you, as the
leader, break trust.
Conversely, if your people have a firm belief in your
reliability and strength of character, realizing your vision and handling the
required changes is almost automatic.
Then, when the curtain comes down and the lights go up the applause will
be thunderous as you all take your bow in the warm glow of a job well done.
Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? The question in the spotlight right now
probably is how do you build trust? It’s never easy but the process is a simple
step-by-step.
1.
You have to care, and your people have to know
it
2.
You can’t be seen as compromising for expediency
3.
Collaboration must involve everybody…not a
chosen few
4.
You hold yourself and everybody else accountable
as appropriate to the roles being played
5.
Feedback is provided frequently with particular
emphasis on reinforcing positive behaviors
6.
Corrective feedback involves a collaborative
discussion with agreed upon specific direction for change
7.
In general, communications to you and from you
does not involve retribution but a search for understanding
8.
Everybody participates in the wins and
collaborates to overcome the losses
9.
The above steps are etched in stone and are
never skipped
Like I said building and maintaining trust is never easy but
following the above 9 steps makes it simple.
When you do all that, you are successfully fulfilling your role as a
mentor…a trusted advisor.
“Here and now” you have a deep enough understanding of the
most valuable roles of a powerful leader:
Visionary—Change Agent—Mentor.
What is your first step toward fulfilling
each of those roles?
Please share your
thoughts by commenting below.
And…please forward this information to others by following the social
media share link at the top or bottom of this post.
Thank
you.
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