Your Avatars and You

All leaders carry multiple avatars in them.?They manifest themselves in different ways. Sometimes consciously. Sometimes subconsciously.

As a leader can you recognise your most visible avatars? The ones that are on display most often. If you do you will find some great enablers. And some derailers. Sometimes your avatars support each other. At other times they pull in you in different directions.

Would it be not great to recognise your avatars? ?And make them work together?

Here are a few leadership avatars - modelled on real people that I have had the opportunity to coach. See which ones that you resonate with. The ones you would like to grow in you. Or the ones that you would like to grow out of.

By way of abundant caution – this list is just illustrative. You can define your own avatars(s). There are many variations out there. A bit like avatars of the Gods.

Leading Light

You are the hero of the Bollywood plot. You make things happen. Effortlessly. You are the winner. You are popular. You have many talents and can solve most if not all problems. People aspire to be like you. You are present in most frames. And you just cannot accept roles in which you are not the hero.

Puppeteer

You are the one who holds all the strings. You are mostly invisible – behind the curtain. You have dexterity in your fingers. You can weave great stories. You write the plot. You make it happen. You make others dance. But your puppets have no life of their own. No story that they can own. Without you they are pieces of wood.

Eveready Energiser

You are the battery that lights up situations. With your humour, wisdom, solutions, creativity – and more. And you do not even need anyone to switch you on. You are on – all the time. You don’t mind shining the light on situations, people and problems. You sometimes forget that the battery needs to be charged. Or it gets rundown irrevocably.

Mover and Shaker

You are always on the go. You must always have something to do. Something to accomplish. A problem to solve. A project to create. You are the self-starter. You go to bed with a dozen ideas swirling in your brain. And you get up with some more. If you don’t have something to do you turn into an impatient, angry, frustrated being. Someone who people like to avoid.

Future Perfect

You want the future to be perfect. You are the planner for all contingencies. You have a dozen eyes for detail. ?You want to make sure that all the bases are covered. One backup is never enough for you. You can see beyond the obvious in most situations. You like to pore of over plans and go over them many a time – to cover all angles. You can also agonise over decisions – forever.

Trouble Shooter

You are the person with the focus. And the gun. The one who can solve most problems. The dreary world of routine is not for you. You get alive if there is a crises. Otherwise, you would rather be somewhere else.

Ringmaster

You like the limelight. The centre of the stage. You are always there through the entire show – keeping a watchful eye on things. As people do their stuff. You can fit into most roles – from taming the tigers to playing the clown. You also hold the whip. And keep cracking it – mostly in the air. Just so that people hear it.

Trapeze Artist

Precision and smoothness are your special skills. Along with a strong sense of balance. You are comfortable at heights that would make others giddy. And can move smoothly from one task to another. Teamwork is a virtue you are adept at. You like to come in, do your act, take a bow and disappear till the next show.

The Perfectionist

The slightly tilted frame on the wall gets your complete attention. You will – you must – straighten it. Now. You can see disorder in everything. And the ordered world is the only world to live in – for you. You will end up doing a great job. If you get ever finish it. If you do, it may be long after the deadline has come and gone.

The Joker

Your work is fun for you. Or you excel at making your work look like fun. You don’t mind people laughing with you – and at you. You believe that playing the fool and being a fool are entirely different things. You are a master of disguise. The real you is always well hidden. You like to nurse your wounds alone.

The Rebel

You cannot help it. Being contrarian is your de facto response. You like to question. You like to push boundaries. You like to challenge the established order. You also like to be challenged – or so you like to believe. The old way is boring, tiresome and useless for you. You just have to rock the boat. Sometimes rather strongly. People describe you as difficult to work with. But someone who gets things done.

The Navigator

You know the routes. You have the maps. You know the shortcuts. And the obstacles enroute. You are very alert and watchful. You can sense things on the road. You can be very patient. You can give very detailed yet precise directions. But you do not like the responsibility of driving yourself.

Buck Stopper

You are responsibility personified. You like responsibility. You will take on all that is thrown at you. And sometimes even what is not thrown at you. Not just one but all bucks stop with you. And once you take something on you will not rest till you have fulfilled the responsibility. Headache pills are your trusted companions.

Symphony Conductor

You are the being who puts is all together. The one who gives the beat, who knows each nuance, who sets the tempo, who unifies the team, controls the pace of the music. And you can do this because you have the experience, the mindfulness, the sensitivity. You may not be able to play any instrument really well. Yet you can make them all play.

The Great Charmer

You are the one who can build rapport easily. Who tells engrossing stories. Who makes people laugh. The one who remembers all the names and the faces. Who always knows what is the right thing to say. The go to person for all. You can start projects and activities with gusto. Get a lot of people involved. But often you cannot take them to completion. Because your mind has wandered to the next challenge of charming someone.

The Preserver

You cannot help it. You simply see no point in changing anything that is not broken. And if it is broken you want to first mend it. You like to preserve everything. The old ways of working, the ancient files, the ideas that have worked for years, the stories of old times. The past is your loyal friend who is never far away. Even if the world around you has moved on – and found new friends.

Comfortable Collaborator

You are the team man. Always ready to help. And never afraid to ask for help. You can share ideas and resources freely. And are always there to support colleagues. For you the team is larger than the individual and the only goals worth scoring are the team goals. Unfortunately for you the team members don’t always think like you.

Solution Provider

You always like to offer a solution. Sometimes real. Sometimes not. Helping to find an answer is your motto. And you jump in with answers. Works most of the time. ?Except when others just want to talk – and don’t really want an answer from you. They would rather find the answer on their own.

Logic Lover

Data, numbers, proof, facts are your staple diet. You live on them. Given a logic you are ready to move the world. In the absence of one you are fish out of water. Consequently, you are most uncomfortable with ambiguity, semi defined ideas. Shades of grey are not for you.

Blender

You are the blender. You create smooth operative teams from diverse elements. You mix and match. You have all round strengths and expect others to have the same. You also blend into the team. You are not visible in your individual capacity. As a result you may not be known at all.

Risk Calculator

You firmly believe that risks should be taken but only when they are calculated. So you look at all decision variables, consider all possible outcomes. You would rather work out the cost of failure instead of the profit of success. Uncertainty makes you uncomfortable. You take your time over decisions to come to right one. Sometimes it is too late. Your motto is Better Safe then Sorry.

The Rock

You are always there. At the same place. With the same straight face. With the same brooding air. With stoic indifference to the weather and everything else that is going around. You do not like movement. You don’t like risks. You are more than happy to be there for people – when they need you.

Banyan Tree

You see yourself at the centre of a banyan tree. The big trunk which spreads out and spawns many roots. Each branch grows its own roots but remains connected to others. Like a big family. Independent and interdependent. Other trees spread their seeds – you spread your branches. Works fine till a member of the family wants to be entirely different – a new type of tree.

If you have found some that sound like you that is great. You can also try to look at people around you and see their avatars. Both will help manage the dynamics of human interaction better.