A leader that knows

A leader that knows

With the South African general election happening next month (along with approximately 60 elections happening around the world in 2024), leadership has been on my mind even more than usual. This past week I came across two posts on the social platforms that showcase vastly different ways leaders could choose to relate to their followers:

The first way: The leader in question is the president of a hospital in the US and also a qualified nurse. Once a month he works a shift over a weekend as a staff member in the trauma unit of the hospital he runs. This allows him to stay close enough to the coalface of treating patients and interacting with his fellow employees that he doesn’t lose touch with either. Also, during his shifts in the ER, he has to take orders from the doctors on call since he is a nurse, and the way of work does not allow him to pull rank. On a normal day, he is their boss, but in that context, he has to take orders from them. Interesting…

The second way: A (very) prominent South African politician was asked during a recent radio interview whether he knows how much bread costs. Since they were talking about the price of food and this is someone who professes to represent “the people” the interviewer expected him to know the answer (which is a fair assumption). The leader answered (laughingly) that he doesn’t know, since he is in a position where “other people take care of this sort of thing for me”. Interesting, again.

I know which leader I would be more inclined to trust, follow, work or vote for. You are welcome to make up your mind.

The goal is not to sound judgemental – but rather to point out that it can be very easy to lose touch with “your people” when you get into a leadership position. You have important decisions to make and many things to pay attention to. This is just a fact. If you are keen to avoid that happening, we offer two suggestions:

Serve somebody: Find an environment where you can offer your time and efforts where you are not the top dog. Put yourself in a lower position on purpose, where you must take orders from somebody else. Just so you remember what that feels like. Recently I came across a story of a CEO of a very large organisation that helps to put out the chairs at his church on Sundays. Everybody knows who he is but in that context, he is no more important than anybody else.

Be a beginner at something: Many leaders we speak with feel they constantly need to have all the answers. The pressure is immense to have perfect solutions for every challenge. Innovation and growth by their very nature are messy and imperfect processes. When leaders fear the “failure” of imperfection, they get stuck in their ways and become less likely to take the risks necessary to move forward. But being a beginner reminds you that failure is part of a very natural process and it’s the only way you will improve. It also reminds leaders that they will not be in complete control of every situation (and that they don’t have to be).

I’ve mentioned this before on our blog: as a born and bred Gautenger, learning to surf has been one of the most humbling experiences of my life. I’m the type of person who likes to feel in control, but getting on that board has taught me that it is OK to completely suck at something. It won’t kill you and it keeps you teachable.

A stuck-in-their-ways, out-of-touch leader will be ineffective at best and immensely destructive at worst. None of these situations will benefit the team, company or country they lead.

Whether you are an official leader or not, we hope you find some useful food for thought in what we’ve shared this week. Thank you for taking the time, have a great weekend!

If you would like to enhance your leadership style, get in touch. You can reach us at info@purposeworks.co.za.

At PurposeWorks we are all about Making You and Your Work Rock. Our focus is on Organisational Health and Design, Employee Centered Culture, Leadership Development and Performance Coaching. For more information on how we can help you create a work environment that rocks, develop a great team, become an inspiring leader or unlock your personal excellence talk to us at info@purposeworks.co.za.