The Transformative Power of a Leader

I have found that effective and powerful leaders hold three fundamental beliefs about their teams that provide them the power they require for the transformation they seek.

Last week I shared the birthplace of personal, team and organizational transformations, the breakdown. I told you that only after a breakdown can you experience a breakthrough.

Leaders by nature are transformers. They transform individual effort into collective energy, they transform collective energy into new outputs. They are creators, leveraging the skills of others to turn ideas into new realities, products and services. They are continually transforming their teams and organizations for the better. They transform their organizations to morph and mold to fit a new reality, to stay relevant, vital and alive.

But transformations take enormous amounts of resilience, effort and power. Where does that come from??

I have found that effective and powerful leaders hold three fundamental beliefs about their teams that provide them the power they require for the transformation they seek. These beliefs give them the permission, the privilege and the opportunity to collect and combine the energy of the people around them to create a better future state. Here are the three fundamental beliefs:

First, they inherently and deeply believe that people matter.?

People are not consumable or disposable. Their value is not tied to their ability or output, nor does it change from day to day. It is not dependent on their position in the hierarchy. Leaders see people as the most necessary and valuable resource they have. Leaders know that those they surround themselves with will be the lifeblood of all creativity, ingenuity, effort and energy they will need. If their people don’t matter to them, their goals won’t matter to their people. The greater the degree that they recognize the inherent value in their people, the greater the allegiance and effort of their people to fuel the transformation.?

Second, they believe that those same people are uniquely gifted.?

Each person brings something of great and scarce value to the team. The transformative leader knows their role is to inspire and engage that which lies within each person. They must call out and tap into the potential, most of which they do not yet see but by faith know lies hidden in each person and can be called upon as needed. They believe that the sum total of the answers to the problems that lie ahead lay dormant in the people around them.

Third, transformative leaders believe that this unique giftedness is unlocked in the togetherness of a community.?

The transformative leader recognizes that those skills, talents and gifts will only flourish when people work together. Teams are the fertile soil in which collaboration and camaraderie will germinate. It is in the community that people become aware of the team’s shortcomings and how their unique giftedness is needed to advance the cause. This is where individuals realize the value of their contribution, put their shoulder to the wheel and give of their strength and power.

So you see, these three beliefs create an environment, rich in power, that the leader can tap into to fuel the vision they have shared and begin the transformation they desire. This is where the transformative power of the leader comes from.?

Without these three beliefs, people are simply a consumable resource, a means to an end. The leader is then left to rely on their own power of coercion, manipulation or charisma and that power is never enough.

What power source are you drawing on to fuel the transformation you desire??

Think about it.?

If you need help to navigate through your transformation and find your next breakthrough reach out to me at www.MarkFrezell.com

Mark Frezell helps leaders transform their teams and organizations to capture their full potential by following a simple but powerful process that focuses on four team fundamentals: goal clarity, organized engagement, effective execution and continuous improvement. Mark works with individual leaders, frontline teams, boards and executive teams and can be reached at www.MarkFrezell.com