The Little Red Hen...Perspectives on Leadership.

What is Leadership?

Leadership.? It is such a commonly used word, bandied around like lollies.? Many people like to think of themselves as leaders but I’ve been reflecting of late on what leadership means and what makes a leader.? The following article provides a glimpse into a brief reflection on ‘what being a leader means and what leadership is or is not’.??

Question for reflection:?

Should someone call themselves a leader and expect that everyone will treat them and perceive them as a leader or does it take a little more than that?

The VET sector in Australia is one of the most prolific teachers of nationally recognised leadership training with the major textbook at the Diploma level at least being Leadership & Management: Theory & Practice by Kris Cole, currently in its 7th Edition.? Something that Cole reminds us of is that leadership has a huge responsibility and many privileges.??

Question for reflection:?

Whose perception determines the responsibility and privilege?

An interesting concept that Cole discusses is as follows:

“At the heart of leadership is what in Greek is called agápē and in Latin caritas - a genuine caring about others that puts aside self-interest so that you consider their feelings while making balanced decisions.”

I understand this to mean that you lead and care about others feelings and needs, genuinely and deeply putting aside any thought of self-benefit for if you lead from a place other than this, it is not consistent with being a leader but rather being more concerned with ‘what’s in it for me’?

Questions for reflection:??

Should there be boundaries, even if just imaginary to protect the ‘leader’ from exploitation?? In other words, in fulfilling their role as a leader, they take on the responsibilities of leadership but in doing so in the way Cole describes above, at what point are those responsibilities no longer considered ‘reasonable’?? Is there a place for reasonableness in the ‘leadership’ responsibility equation?? What is considered reasonable?? Who makes that determination?

Cole then goes on to describe how people who are willing to follow a leader,?

‘...expect you to guide them, not tell them what to do.? They expect you to listen to them, and to inspire, motivate and support them.? They expect you to create a sense of purpose, earn their loyalty, dedication and commitment, and lead the way by example.’

The above quote is discussed under the sub-heading ‘The 21st-century Aussie leader-manager’.? This then leads me to contemplate more questions…

Questions for reflection:?

Is the definition of leadership then understood and demonstrated differently if you are leading a team of people working together collaboratively on a mutually beneficial project?? Or, alternatively, is the definition of leadership different if you are a ‘public figure’ for example?? Someone who is recognised as a leader by their peers, someone who is respected by many and doesn’t represent any ‘one’ employer but rather almost being similar to an influencer.

Coaches/Consultants/Experts/Public Figure

For the purpose of sharing these thoughts, I am choosing to identify Coaches, Consultants and Experts as different to and separate from ‘Managers’ where there is a company type hierarchy where all parties work for a common ‘employer’.? This approach to ‘selling’ leadership is also supported by leadership companies around the world where there is a clear separation between corporate leadership and personal leadership.? A good demonstration is provided on the AIM WA website .? The leadership qualities, responsibilities and privileges are likely to be different to Coaches/Consultants/Experts/Public Figure who usually work alone one on one with clients or are paid, or seeking to be paid by large brands to promote their products.

Question for reflection:

Is a public figure who is paid, or seeking to be paid by large brands to promote their products really a leader?

The Little Red Hen

The next thoughts that come to me when considering what leadership is, come in the form of the nursery rhyme ‘The Little Red Hen’.? For those unfamiliar with the nursery rhyme, it is shown next.

The Little Red Hen shows us that ultimately, you reap what you sow.? It teaches the importance of hard work and personal initiative.? To my mind, those qualities or characteristics demonstrate at least some principles of leadership described by Cole; those of initiative, independence, inventiveness.? There are other characteristics and qualities that Cole says make leaders though which are not represented in The Little Red Hen; such as intelligence, self-assurance, a desire to lead and mental toughness.

Questions for reflection:

Is The Little Red Hen a ‘leader’ or is The Little Red Hen doing what she wants to do and then expecting the other farm animals to help; that earlier concept of responsibility?? Is The Little Red Hen genuinely caring about the other farm animals that much that she was willing to put aside self-interest and consider their feelings knowing that her end game was to just make the bread?? Surely a ‘leader’ who demonstrated those characteristics of leadership would share the bread regardless of her self-interest and what she stood to gain from making the bread?? Is that leadership or is it selfishness?

Looking at the story of The Little Red Hen a little further, we can also see that conflict between responsibility and privilege, expectations and deservedness.? We can also see quite vividly that those same things, responsibility, privilege, expectations and deservedness can be perceived quite differently depending on whether you are The Little Red Hen or one of the other animals on the farm.

What has this got to do with being identified as a leader by peers then?

The more I thought about this concept of leadership, the less I felt it really applied to the question.? Although there were times where some characteristics applied (personal initiative and independence for example), it seemed to represent an ‘unreasonable’ measure of self-sacrifice for a greater good.? In other words, should someone’s genuine care for others require them to put aside their opportunity to benefit from their own investment in themselves as leaders?? Or, should they set aside that self-interest and consider the feelings and needs of others and bring them along for the ride for no self-benefit?

Questions for reflection:

Do we have somewhere then a measure of ‘reasonableness’ when it comes to expectations and deservedness as well as how responsibilities and privileges are measured?? Does there need to be a measure?? Is a ‘leader’ entitled to determine when they have ‘more than met their responsibilities’ or is this a privilege afforded to those the leader serves?? If so, what privileges are there for a leader then?? Can they ask to be paid for their advice, opinions and guidance or should it be given freely and this is just a responsibility or a price to pay for being recognised as a leader? Or, is leadership really consistent with the Greek and Latin definitions given to us earlier, a leader should not be concerned with a philosophy of ‘give, give, give’.

The Self-Investment in Becoming a Leader.

For many Coaches/Consultants/Experts and Public Figures, they will have invested a large amount of time and energy gaining the knowledge and experience that they have, thus providing them with the option (or privilege) of becoming an ‘Expert’ or ‘Influencer’, someone whose peers respect the knowledge, skills and expertise of the Coach/Consultant/Expert/Public Figure.? In some cases, these ‘leaders’ have spent decades perfecting their expertise and have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars doing the same.??For some this arrangement may seem perfectly fine, for others it may seem perfectly unsatisfactory.

Questions for reflection:

Is it therefore reasonable to expect that they would provide that leadership for free?? Is there an expectation that these people should, as leaders or as Coaches/Consultants/experts/Public Figures that they should give away some of that for free and if so, what amount is reasonable?? What amount is expected?? Who determines if the measure of reasonableness is sufficient???

As a Leader who is a Coach/Consultant/Expert and/or Public Figure, there are also additional responsibilities that a leader in a corporate organisation may not have.? For example, investing in public indemnity insurance, personal and management, professional indemnity insurance, etc.? These responsibilities can become significant depending on the industry area in question.? If the costs (investments) of those additional responsibilities is one of the rewards or benefits that others benefit from during the ‘leader’ exercising their skills, knowledge and expertise, this too then sets up another avenue for reflection.

Questions for reflection:

Would it be reasonable to engage in ‘crowdfunding’ to cover the costs (investment) of being a Coach/Consultant/Expert and/or Public Figure?? How would the value of such an insurance policy be measured?? How would a claim be made?? How would detriment be determined and measured?

A Lesson from Moana.

In the Disney Pixar movie Moana, Maui is a Demi-God that has been present in Polynesian history and folklore for centuries.? As revealed in Showbiz Cheatsheet ,

“According to Polynesian myth, Maui had done many good things to help the Polynesian people. He created the islands, taught man how to make fire, and tied a lasso around the sun until it agreed to make the daylight last longer in the summer."?

The Heart of Te Fiti, an amulet allegedly stolen by Maui causes chaos and destruction in the islands until the future leader of her village, and the next in line heiress to the throne, Moana and Maui can work together to bring peace and harmony to the islands, restore the Heart of Te Fiti and Maui almost handballs the leadership reins to Moana.??

A closer look at the story in Moana demonstrates how Maui, who considers himself ‘the leader’ for want of a better description, becomes so angry with people over their lack of gratitude for all that he does and gives, that lack of gratitude and self-obsession is seen best here:

A Lesson from The Lion King.

Unlike Moana where we see Maui the Demi-God as the leader, in The Lion King, we see different forms of leaders in Simba, Nala, Mufasa, Sarabi and Scar, even old Rafiki the Baboon/Mandrill shaman can be some as providing leadership throughout the film.? There are many different musical (and visual) moments in this film that give great examples to leadership in its many forms from The Circle of Life , I just can’t wait to be King , even Timon and Pumbaa providing leadership to a young, lonely and lost Simba and the moment when Nala finds Simba and she encourages him to return home and face his Uncle Scar for his right to the throne and become King of Pride Rock.

Relationships

In closing, I guess what it all boils down to is relationships and specifically, the types of relationships that we have with ourselves and others.? Are we the type of person who genuinely casts aside their self-interests for caring about others needs all of the time, part of the time or none of the time?? What sort of person do we wish to follow?? After all, following is partly how a ‘leader’ is measured, by how many and which types of people follow the leader and why.? The relationship that we have with ourselves will help identify the relationship with others.? If our relationships are respectful, established on firm boundaries and nobody feels that there is an imbalance of power, then perhaps the determination should only really be made by those people involved in that relationship - whatever that looks like.??

I know it sounds like another handball but really it’s not.? It’s just that, as you have possibly learned through this article, a true leader is always introspective and looking for ways to improve the lives of others and if in doing so, it comes at a cost to the leader, then only the leader can (and possibly should) determine how much of an investment they are prepared to make.? At the end of the day, each person will ultimately have their own perception of what leadership is and should be, including how it should be measured and that perception will come from a place of expectation, responsibilities, privileges and agápē caritas.? So for now, I say...Hakuna Matata.

Who says our lives are not really influenced by fairy tales?

What’s your opinion on this issue?

Share below in the comments.

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All reference to Kris Cole, 2019, Leadership and Management: Theory & Practice, 7th Edition.