Yesterday, I attended the wedding of the daughter of my first boss. My first boss was tremendous. He took time to listen. He was present. He met me where I was at in each one-on-one. He leveraged his power to influence me to become better.
Leadership can be about exercising authority to control others to change or about exercising authority and influence to see a person transform. Leadership is a change initiative. It is about moving toward something. It is about change. It is about the current state and the preferred state. Leadership is about reputation. Your reputation is about how others perceive you.
Leadership is action oriented. It is principled. It is not based on personality. Leadership includes power dynamics.
As you consider your leadership, how are you leveraging your authority to see transformation? You may not be leading if you are seeking to keep everything the same. Every one of us leads because every one of us influences. We influence through our presence, our words and our actions.
Our presence is how we show up – anxious, calm, clear, expressive, enthusiastic, positive, grumpy or angry. You get to pick. The fact that you get to pick means that you are a leader and you can influence. Your presence is the vibe you give off when others are around you.
Our words are what we say and even more importantly how we say it. Your words can give life or tear down. If you are in a position of authority your words carry 5x the power than someone in an individual contributor role. Your words still matter. A great leader is mindful and considers using questions, statements or commands.
Your actions occur on the front stage or the back stage. Back stage actions happen when no – one is looking. What you do when no one is around is character formation. Do you spend time on tasks that others should do because you can do it better? Or you are afraid that they will do it wrong? The front stage includes the glory moments of leadership. The quarterly board meeting, the all staff, the panel you sit on and the executive stand up. How are you in the back stage and the front stage should be equitable and consistent.
I am grateful for my first boss. He modeled the type of leader I want to be. I want to influence by showing up and being present. By listening in and supporting others. My first boss spent the majority of his time with the people who reported to him and who are under his care.
John O’Donahue said it best “May those who work for you know you see and respect them. May you learn to cultivate the art of presence in order to engage with those who meet you.”