The Guarantee of Leadership Success

          The more work I do in supporting leaders in their development the more I notice one thing that guarantees success. I am coming to believe that when an individual is leading change the only sustainable way of doing so is if they do so from the real understanding of the cultural context in which operate. This contextual understanding brings congruence.

          My husband would describe me as a ‘grassroots’ kinda of person. I believe he is right, and, what’s more, I believe this has real validity. Grassroots has more validity incrementally, the more senior the leadership role is.

          Reading  “If Women Rose Rooted” Sharon Blackie I was really struck by the seemingly direct correlation between the increase in business decisions taken at the top of high rise blocks and the lack of respect that we have for the planet that supports us. It’s like that physical remove actually informs our emotional distance. Out of sight is actually out of mind…

          And, I believe that the same sensory effect occurs when any leader is too far removed from the ground. If decision makers have lost connection with the people who are ‘front of house’, with the social contexts of the customer, with the natural resources we use, then bad decisions will be made. If that leader has lost connection with themselves as a person, and it is very easy to do, then extremely bad decisions will be made. We. Are. Sensory. Beings.

          If we cannot see it or hear it or if we cannot hear, smell, taste or touch it, then it ceases to exist to us. If we do not interact with the people and the planet that our actions affect, then we will likely leave these things out of the Venn diagram of our decision-making. What looks good on paper, at the top of a tower block is often a totally ineffective solution at ground level. This isn’t about taking the grassroots approach. What I am expounding here is that however senior the leader, however many ‘direct reports’ you might have and however high up the tower click your office…

          Never. Ever. Lose touch with those You serve. Meet with the cleaner, invite valuable input from your customers and your customer service people. These are your most valuable asset because they know what does and does not work. Go and shadow the roles of each layer in your organisation. Go undercover on reception, not to catch any staff out but to experience a day of trying to meet a customer’s needs in an organisation where protocols are redundant. Go experience it for yourself. However ‘grassroots’ you were back in the day when you started out. if you have some leadership power today, the chances are that there is a time lapse between then and now. You need to know what is actually happening now, not take guesses based on what we needed ten or twenty years ago.

          Most importantly attend to your own needs: Make time to step right off the conveyor belt of success in order to reflect. I’m guessing that your desire to lead in the first place it was connected to a value filled desire to see things working better or differently. Check in with yourself to see if you are still fuelled, whether you are honouring your values and whether the decisions you are taking are still of use on the ground.

          Literally, get down of your high horse and take a look around you. Are you as a leader still fit for purpose? Are the changes you champion relevant to yourself? to your business sector? and to the wider cultural context? I guess it looks different from ground zero. Check that view out VERY regularly.