Limp Leadership, when to stop being mediocre & other stories

When the topic of leadership arises, discussions typically focus on vision, strategy, and direction. However, an equally vital yet more challenging aspect to master is the embodiment of character and integrity within leadership.

Courageous leadership is the hallmark of character. It involves advocating for your team, ensuring their voices are heard, their well-being is prioritized, and instilling a sense of psychological safety, respect, and results in any high-performance environment.

This fearless approach cultivates a culture of trust and respect, while presenting a unique set of challenges. A common dilemma is the conflict between the interests of the employer and the needs of the team you're leading. How does one navigate this?

Prioritizing personal interests, such as job security, might seem self-serving until we consider responsibilities like family care, dependent parents, or a new mortgage. These genuine concerns link individuals to their employers and are valid motivators. For these personal commitments, you may be willing to endure situations that don't feel right at work, such as discrimination or exploitation of a particular group. This may happen over and over again, for several years at a time.

Thus, while integrity may be compromised at work, at the very least you maintain the financial resources to support yourself and those you care about outside of work. This is often a difficult compromise.

The Willingness to Walk Away

Everyone can appreciate the competing interests of financial security with personal convictions. Courageous leadership's real challenge is the delicate balance between convictions and the practical realities of life. True leaders demonstrate that integrity and responsibility toward one's team can coexist with the desire for job security. The art is in maintaining a balance. We might call this 'politicking' (the good version as described in the Niven Postma wonderful book IF YOU DON'T DO POLITICS, POLITICS WILL DO YOU...)

However, a courage leader must take one step further, beyond the balancing act and the savvy political manoeuvring.

To be counted as a courageous leader, you will need to have the willingness to walk away. As standing up for your values and team may compromise your security, a courageous leader must have the willingness to walk away. I call this "the exit story" – and it is a story anyone can have. It consists of the set of circumstances that so conflict with one's sense of integrity and justice that you are willing to forgo the pseudo security of a paycheck. You exit story will protect you from the following poor justifications you say to yourself:

1. "It's just business, nothing personal."
2. "The partners asked, what was I supposed to do?"
3. "Everyone else is doing it, so why shouldn't we?"
4. "I have to follow orders, even if I don't agree with them."
5. "We need to meet our targets, no matter what it takes."
6. "I can't afford to lose my job over this."
7. "I had no choice"

Admittedly, the luxury of choosing to walk away is not available to everyone, but it is precisely what unlocks the freedom to be creative and courageous. It provides an air of authority and integrity that allows a leader to be genuinely respected and admired, rather than being ridiculed, disrespected, and disliked behind closed doors, because of the perception that you are up for sale to the highest bidder.

Not Easy, No Judgment

What courageous leaders do is not easy. As a leader, how do you feel about making difficult choices, sometimes at a personal cost, for the greater good of the team and the organisation? I know I have faltered.

Courageous leaders, despite the personal risks involved, remain steadfast in their values, setting a compelling example for others to emulate. Here is the crux: courageous leadership is about character, about knowing oneself and what you wish to stand for. These leaders are often perceived as disruptors of conformity but are the champions of integrity and principled leadership.

I am immensely grateful to have worked with and learned from courageous leaders. Such leaders are the trailblazers for genuine change and inspire others to elevate their best selves. I am still evolving my own version of courageous leadership looks like based on the many examples I have witnessed. What for me is clear, is that I prefer not to fall into the limp leadership category: one for which any situation is justified, however compromised you are internally, so long as you stay on payroll. This is a choice. Not a judgment.

#InnovativeLeadership #Empowerment #WorkplaceCulture #EthicalLeadership #ResilientLeadership #PeopleFirst #AuthenticLeadership