GENTLY DOES IT

Much has been written about leadership. Every business school has a leadership module as part of its course, and dozens of former CEOs have extolled the virtues of their own leadership styles in driving their respective businesses to greater success.?

Most will agree that to be a leader requires an individual to possess vision and courage. Most will agree also that they need to be organized and efficient. But to be a leader also demands the ability to understand and inspire the people with whom you work, to create strong teams and communities that are more cohesive and resilient, and as such more capable of achieving a common purpose.?

Leaders that inspire self-confidence in others, and nurture their skills, enhance their team’s motivation and commitment. But crucially, self-confidence will rarely, if ever, be achieved by adopting a ‘command and control’ style of leadership. It needs a more ‘gentle’ approach.?

Of the same clan?

The word ‘gentle’ is derived from the Latin gentilis meaning ‘of the same clan’. The original sense was to describe one who was nobly born, and as such courteous and chivalrous. It has since evolved to mean one who is mild or moderate in action or disposition, free from harshness, sternness or violence.??

So at a practical level, what attributes does a ‘gentle’ leader display? And in doing so, what benefits can the art of gentle leadership actually deliver??

At its core, there are three key elements of gentle leadership: caring; sharing; and embracing.??

Care?

Many of us will remember times when a caring attitude was seen as a sign of weakness. Happily, this is no longer the case. Indeed, today, a caring attitude is seen as a strength, and essential for companies that want to have a better understanding of their employees as well as their customers, thus gaining their commitment and loyalty.?

To care means having the ability to listen, and to be ‘present’ in the very moment in which communication is taking place with another human being. It means making promises but, more importantly, keeping those promises and in doing so building trust and confidence. It also means seeing and understanding the needs of others and to consider the implications that your actions will have on your team.?

Share?

Sharing is a strong ‘feminine’ characteristic. Regardless of whether it is information, food or clothing, sharing has allowed women and mothers to survive and thrive, to protect life and secure its continuation since time immemorial.?

Whereas once it might have been said that ‘knowledge is power’, and that sharing knowledge would therefore rob you of that power, today the opposite is true. Failing to share ultimately makes you the loser. Sharing information freely among employees, between disciplines and functions, with customers and your ‘publics’ is an integral part of an effective’s organization’s daily routine. Sharing means creating and maintaining networks that circulate knowledge, feedback and ideas. It is also, crucially, the back-bone of the increasingly wide-spread practice of co-creation, which is a growing interest among customers and a new way of driving forward product innovation and development.??

Companies who promote sharing ensure that their employees are contributing to their business and give them a sense of purpose.?

Embrace?

Embracing is similarly a characteristic perhaps more associated with women than it is men, but on so many levels, this is precisely what we need to do both as individuals, and as organizations.?

Some leaders fear change, but in order to be better leaders they need to embrace change and accept it as an essential part of life, especially since things are changing now faster than ever. Embracing the new generates positive energy. It opens up new and different perspectives and offers new solutions. It also leads to innovation.??

Embracing the different cultures and ideas that surround us helps leaders to become more disruptive, and disruption invariably brings about progress and positive change. It helps to ensure that diversity and inclusion, for example, are not just words or ticking a box, but rather part of a living culture that values human beings regardless of gender, age, race or religion. This in turn will enable them to be in charge of their own destiny.?

A paradigm shift??

In recent times there has been a paradigm shift away from the clichéd authoritarian approach to leadership. Leaders have increasingly recognized the need to bring their teams along with them on the journey, to be more agile in their decision making, and better able to adapt to changing environments.??

That doesn’t mean, however, that the autocrats and dictators will no longer exist. Neither should we be so na?ve as to believe that the shift will be absolute, but rather that one style of leadership will counteract the other, and be distinctive because of it. What we do know is that the successful leaders of the future will be those who put people at the heart of their business, and in doing so unleash the potential that a culture of caring, sharing and embracing can help to deliver.?