When asked what a great leader is all about, many people will say that a leader needs to have a vision, a leader inspires and motivates people and knows how to get people to follow him or her; A good leader is a visionary who leads the way for others.
A leader however only exists by the grace of his followers. Without followers, there’s no leader. Thus, leadership is not something that one person- the leader- does to another person – the follower. Leadership occurs in the relationship between the leader and the others. And, that relationship is a symbiotic relationship from which both leader and the other benefit.
In an organizational setting the benefit of this symbiotic relationship for the leader is the accomplishment of organizational goals and objectives. For the other people in the organization the benefit should manifest itself in the opportunity to grow and develop their potential, while working to achieve the organizational goals.
I belong to the school of thought that believes that the ultimate purpose of leadership is the growth and development of individuals in order to create change and to lift both people and organizations to a higher level of performance and fulfillment.
By helping people to realize their potential people will feel empowered and become more autonomous and self-directed. And when people feel empowered they will take responsibility and ownership for their actions, on every level of an organization. In turn this will enable an organization to sustainably grow to a next level of excellence, because only as long as leaders enable others to develop their own initiative, they are creating something that can survive their own departure.
Although this view of leadership is rooted in a human centered worldview, it is not as ‘touchy feely’ as many might think. The intent of helping others to grow and develop their potential is not to please everyone, but it’s to serve the vision and direction of the organization.
Ank Stuyfzand
Coach & Consultant
ank@insideoutenterprise.com
www. insideoutenterprise.com
Ank Stuyfzand
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