How do you apply leadership theories to real-world challenges?

Yes everyone has some strong traits. Identifying these is a powerful step for success. Tools such as the Myers Briggs Type indicator for example can highlight traits that are naturally in your toolbox. Leaders should be aware of the unique strengths of their team and help their staff lead out with those natural strengths. Helping your broader team understand all team member strengths can also help you get wins and solve problems.

Leadership, like sailing a ship, requires both innate skills and adaptability. The captain must possess traits like courage and charisma - akin to a sailor's compass, pointing the way. But that's not enough; the sea is ever-changing. The captain must also adapt to the weather, the ship's condition, and the crew's morale. Relying solely on his compass, the captain might hit a storm or run aground. He must also learn from his crew, adjust his course, and be open to feedback, navigating his ship towards success.

In my experience, trait theory is the secret key to the secret door that unlocks the best in each individual contributor. For instance, my strengths are building trust and relationships with people and I excel in Executive Search and Business Development leadership roles. My colleague, let's call him Director X, has strong analytical, data, and logical reasoning traits. We work fantastically together as we balance each other out and collaborate charismatically to get the tough stuff done.

Knowing the theories is all well and good, and useful no doubt. But learning to apply it to the real world is ONLY possible via practise. We don’t want that practise to be on real-world situations because until you’re proficient, the risks are high. So, the best way to practise is to get yourself on a training course that uses roleplay. I really am not saying that because I’m a roleplay trainer - I truly, passionately believe it’s the only way to improve behavioural and communication skills. We don’t learn to drive a car by talking and reading about driving a car. We get in and drive it, with support and feedback.

It's about two main archetypes: task-warriors and people-champions. Now, task-warriors, they're laser-focused on smashing goals, enforcing standards, streamlining the battlefield of work. Efficiency is their war cry and every task, a mission to conquer. On the flip side, people-champions bathe in the art of relationships. They're maestros in motivating, supporting, fostering connections within the team. Their canvas? The hearts and minds of their crew. The beauty of this theory? It's a tool, a compass. It guides you to juggle and optimize the task vs people aspects of leadership, sculpt your style to the terrain - the context, the team's growth stage.

Brian Fink's perspective on Behavioral Theory strongly aligns with my unique perspective. I strongly believe though, some out-of-this-world leaders are people-orientated task achievers. I'd like to think of myself this way. I like to execute tasks for leaders and am always thinking of people first, but driven by results. I need tasks, a list, bullet points, etc. to stay focused. I do agree that behavioral theory has the limitation of oversimplifying the complexity of leadership- in my case, I overanalyze the simplicity of leadership.

This is similar to a sailing expedition. The Boat: organization or team represents the boat, carrying the members toward a common goal or destination. The Captain: The leader is akin to the captain of the boat. They have the responsibility of navigating & making critical decisions to guide the team toward success. The Ocean Conditions: The environment in which the boat sails represents the situational factors, such as the industry, market, competition, and internal dynamics of the organization. Just as a captain may employ different strategies like adjusting the sail, changing course, or utilizing different techniques based on wind direction, wave conditions, or storm warnings, a leader must adapt to best suit the circumstances.

Leadership, as defined by contingency theory, is like being a savvy DJ at a diverse party. The DJ must read the crowd, consider the atmosphere, the event purpose, even the hour of the night, and adjust the music accordingly. He can't stubbornly stick to classical tunes if people are in the mood to dance, nor switch to techno at a sophisticated gala. However, constantly changing tunes could confuse dancers, and reading the room requires keen awareness and adaptability. The goal is harmony - aligning beats with hearts.

Get this right and you're looking at a thriving team culture, brimming with innovation, creativity, and commitment. It's like your own personal renaissance, an eruption of ideas and passion that fosters a climate of positivity and productivity. But, and it's a big but, there are pitfalls here that can turn this leadership utopia into a dystopia. Transformational theory can breed unrealistic expectations - remember, Rome wasn't built in a day. It can also tempt leaders to overlook the nitty-gritty, the practical, the everyday leadership tasks that keep the ship afloat. So, aspiring leaders, wield the transformational theory as your sword, but remember, it's a double-edged one. Power is a gift, use it wisely.

The key ask from the future leader is Agility and so in his leadership style. The frameworks of leaderships are good to be informed but on the court leadership can’t be evolved from one framework. A seasoned leader would look at the results on people and pick the framework or blend the framework rather than the other way round. Interestingly all frameworks evolve from real case studies and many those happened for the first time or trying something new. So the focus that I see in my executive clients is on the “why” they are doing it, “who” they are to their people rather than “ how “ the do it or “what” frameworks they follow. A quick was to understand it would be to listen to the Ted-talk of celebrated leadership Expert Simon Senek.

History provides wonderful, real world case studies in leadership. You can look at leaders from the past and reverse engineer lessons from their experience, even potentially placing them into one of these models. Some leaders seemed predestined to lead from an early age - e.g., Winston Churchill. Others seem to rise to the challenge - e.g., Harry Truman. I write the #HistorysLeadershipLessons newsletter here on LinkedIn and love discussing lessons from history.

While finding new concepts to employ is great, the biggest transformation comes from REMOVING things that AREN’T contributing to your ‘leadership’. The biggest opportunity lies in finding tasks that waste your time or #GreyBehaviour. You likely have 20% of this filling your week and removing it can give you a day extra to lead! Meetings is where most of it sits. To find it, before you go to a meeting, ask yourself… “If this meeting were cancelled and never rebooked, what would I lose?” If the answer is “nothing” or “I don’t know”…that’s #GreyBehaviour. DON’T GO!