Having a great leader is very much like that first time we fall in love. When we first fall in love, the moon, stars and the planets seem to align; everything seems to run smoothly and effortless, like a river running downhill and we feel perfect. Louise Wyld was her name, I was 28 and it was my first year as a teacher at a federal daycare center in DC. Ms. Wyld was an older woman and sadly, I don’t remember much else about her or that time, except how she made me feel. Under her leadership I felt valued, essential and inspired. I would have gone a step beyond for this woman, no questions asked. Maya Angelou’s words ring true here, “…that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” She communicated her vision for our center so clearly, she was genuine and transparent and firm, but warm. We all clamored for a part of that vision. I remember I needed a ride to a training one day and she offered to drive me and I chuckle now thinking of how giddy I felt then knowing I would get to talk to Ms. Wyld for 20 whole, uninterrupted minutes, oh what luck! I have yet to feel the same about anyone else I’ve ever worked under.
Twenty years later, I’ve worked under many, many leaders. Sadly, only after having lots of different experiences under all types of leaders can one truly appreciate just how incredibly rare it is to find a leader who not only manages an organization, but one who also unites, inspires, and invigorates your heart to stretch beyond your bare minimum. As a person who is often concerned with structure and foundation in my own artwork, I see a huge parallel here between 3d art and leadership. Any leader’s founding principles must be based with the right ingredients, per se, for the outcome to be positive and effective. The very foundational “stuff” that holds one together cannot be fear, deceit, or manipulation, for those are not going to ever inspire anyone to do great things. While fear, deceit and manipulation may absolutely help you manage an organization, it will never thrive. How do organizations thrive? There are whole college doctorate degrees on this but coming from a non-leader perspective, I have a few ideas.
We all thrive when we are part of a group, a tribe, a team. I worked for a charter school once and we taught students who otherwise could not perform well in a typical school setting. We all worked seamlessly together for we lived, breathed, ate our mission. Our mission was making these students thrive in the real world. This mission was the unifying factor which defined our roadmap. Leaders need to not only decide on a clear and singular unifying factor that would be the capstone for all decisions, but they also need to make sure all decisions are aligned with this mission. More importantly, every person needs to be just as excited about this vision and fully invested in the mission for the inspiration of the mission to work.
I am old school, I love retreats. No matter what group one belongs in, every group needs a retreat in which nothing related to work is addressed and and place and a time when people get to share of themselves with one another. It holds very true that If I personally know a person working down the hall from me I am more likely to not think twice to sacrifice, say, my planning time to assist them when they are in need. Or if I have had a conversation with you about your kids, your pets or shared a laugh with you I am more likely to be more emotionally flexible when things get tough. Managers think they are being strategic by not fanning the social flames at work, yet, amazing leaders know just how important and productive it is to allow people to become more emotionally invested in one another, and social interactions brings that about. Interactions which are purely social are an investment to any organization. Without social interactions embedded in the fabric of an organization, we tend to remain emotionally shut-off from one another and less likely to collaborate when things get tough; without knowing the human beside me at work we all very literally just silos, semi self-employed workers who are out to outcompete each other, and not work seamlessly as a team. All forms of relating to one another halts to a screeching pace when no one knows each other on a human level. So invest in you team, allow time for them to know each other and the rest will flow without difficulty.
What about you? Have you ever had an amazing leader who just brought the very best out of you? what qualities do you remember this person possessing?