The root, not the fruit

If something happens that leaders don’t want, they will suffer. If something they want doesn’t happen, they will suffer even more. Leadership is about putting everything in the right perspective in a broader map of human understanding. If you see everything the way it is, priorities will arrange themselves accordingly.

When you want to grow big apples, should you then attend to the visually most obvious parts – the apples, the leaves, the branches, and the trunk – or should you nurture the not-so-apparent roots? By the way, are you one of those who believes that an education from an excellent business school will be a miracle solution?that will grow the apples to double their size? The exact opposite is true. If you nurture the roots of your team, you don’t have to bother about the results – it will come naturally. This understanding empowers you as a leader, enlightening you to the fact that nurturing the team is more important than nurturing the outcome.

In the process of “motive, sensemaking, and action,” leading people means comprehending?that it is all about nurturing the team, not nurturing the outcome of their work. Expect the “double size” outcome because you have an adult education in management. This understanding of leadership's role in motive—action, sensemaking, and action should inspire and motivate you as a leader.

That means establishing and rooting yourself in leadership, then doing whatever you want – it will work. Being rooted in leadership means being rooted in the cohesion of your team and your company. You are inclusive with everything and everyone around you and, therefore, do whatever you want. Consciousness is not an ideology. It is a consequence of high awareness and observing what is going on. If your base is in the experience of leadership, then whatever you do, you will gain learning from first-hand experiences and harvest the results of your leadership job. This understanding should reassure you as a leader and instil confidence in your decisions.

What results you will receive depends on what kind of leader you are. Like different trees give different fruits. If you are the leader in developing “core business” and three people from your team show up with an idea to change the “product.” Even if it is a good idea you will not recognize it, but feel it is a thoughtless mistake.

I see this happen to too many leaders. The best things can come their way, but they do not have the focus to see them. They have something else in their mind that will never happen to them. Your leadership job gets wasted if you don’t know how to relish the results of others' efforts, which are right there in front of you, instead of looking for an outcome that will never arrive at your department.

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Many leaders are interested in something other than how they should be but merely what they should have. People, including your friends, recognise you for what you have, not who you are.

If you call someone a “great leader,” it does not mean he has extraordinary insight, a great heart, or holds great wisdom – it means he has a great job, a great house, and a great car. “What has he got?” is the only thing that seems to matter today, especially between people in social media and the tabloid press. Many leaders think the only way to enhance themselves as a human is through accumulation, not by being a better nor a leader of value to man.

Perceptions differ depending upon one’s social experiences, as mentioned by Albert Einstein. However, that does not determine the nature of your life. First, establish a real-time- truth auto-update mechanism in your leadership role, then forage into the world around you. When rooted within yourself, you will be doing things that will ultimately work in parallel with yours, your company, and the world’s best interest. What you want and know will then be the right thing to do.?