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Leadership Skill #1 – Strong Leadership

Guest post by: Iris Barrow

Article Overview: What is a strong leader? Perhaps the most important quality of a good leader and motivator is strength but often this term is misunderstood. Find out which qualities and attributes a truly strong leader should have. And learn to recognise, through a case study, what happens when strength is misread.

Leadership Skill #1 – Strong Leadership

What is strong leadership? The following example* of ‘strong' leadership may seem exaggerated, but is more common than you'd expect. Read on to discover the attributes of a truly strong leader. Tim prided himself on his strong leadership. He considered himself a man who knew where he was going, knew what he wanted and was going to get it. If some egos were bruised, or a few people upset on the way, well, that was the name of the game.

He had at times been called aggressive; this didn't upset him in the least, as he saw it as a virtue and was secretly rather proud of the fact that people saw him as tough. What Tim didn't know was that he was generally despised for his unnecessarily aggressive approach, which bordered at times on ruthlessness. He commanded little or no respect from the many people working under him on the retail side of his company's office furniture business. He was, in fact, disliked by many of them.

Tim didn't know the meaning of the words kindness, fairness, consideration and courtesy, let alone sensitivity to other people's rights and feelings; what's more he wasn't interested in knowing. For a 'strong' leader he displayed many weaknesses (which other people were only too aware of), not the least of which was his habit of playing favourites. The general office joke was, 'So-and-so is Tim's man of the moment'. It wasn't very often that this saying was applied to women because Tim was chauvinistic in the extreme. He tolerated women but did not respect their business acumen or ability very much. He was markedly ill at ease with female colleagues at his own level within the organisation.

Tim's 'man of the moment' was invariably the newest member of the organization; in the early stages he would have Tim as an overall supervisor and trainer. Or he might be someone who was a good athlete, and who would talk athletics with Tim (he considered himself a bit of an athlete). Tim would favour and encourage these people for a time, seeming to be willing to push them up the ladder quickly. If he got on really well with them he would tend to promote them before they were actually ready to take on the extra responsibility.

The hot favourite, however, usually became fairly quickly disillusioned because Tim's interest and backing never lasted for any length of time. Suddenly he would find himself out of favour (often for reasons he did not understand), and he would begin to see the other side of Tim. The bullying and aggression that Tim would dish out for no apparent reason would confuse and shatter the 'out of favour' man of the month.

This sudden switch and change of treatment could happen simply because the newcomer had disagreed with Tim on something, or had put forward an opposing viewpoint in a meeting; there was no rhyme or logic as to why and when it happened.

Tim didn't forget either. He would mentally wipe the former favourite, regardless of how well he or she performed from that point on. The standing joke within the organisation concerned joining the club of Tim's ex-favourites.

So Tim continued on his path of so-called strong leadership, bullying and being aggressive when and where it suited him, and consistently alienated people.

Why did he continue to hold his position, then? Surely management knew what he was like and the effect he was having on people? The reason he held his position was because he was extremely efficient in the task-oriented side of his work. And yes, management knew the impact he was having on people, but for various reasons it suited them (in the short term) to turn a blind eye to what he was doing.

Staff working for the same organization who were managed by Tim struggled with his leadership style. Some said they had come to the company with high ambitions but had become demotivated due to Tim's attitude and treatment of them. They'd also become disillusioned with management for making little or no effort to control Tim's behaviour.

Management acknowledged that Tim's people skills were very poor and that he wasn't liked much by those he worked with but said he was extremely efficient and got the results when they put the pressure on, even if he did alienate his staff in the process. They'd discussed his attitude towards people and the fact that he killed their motivation. They realized that long-term they would need to do something about it, but that they would leave things as they were in the short-term to see what developed. If there were serious ructions among the staff they acknowledged they'd have to act sooner.

What is strength?

Perhaps the most important quality of a good leader (and motivator) is strength. Often this word is misunderstood. People may see strength as a cover for aggression, hardness and inflexibility. It is nothing of the sort. The above example is a very good illustration of this.

True strength certainly consists of being firm when necessary, setting limits where appropriate, being consistent and not giving in to pressure - but it is much more than this. It is also having the ability to be compassionate, caring, and considerate of others' rights and feelings. Good leaders will not only display qualities of quiet firmness and sureness in the way they interact with others, but will also show above average sensitivity to the feelings and circumstances of others.

The truly strong person does not need to put up an aggressive front. The air of calmness and stability which they exude comes from their own inner security and knowledge of themselves - and what is. Those who mistakenly see strength as being tough and inflexible at all times are merely putting up a hard shell to cover for their own low self-esteem and lack of inner security. They are not confident and sure of themselves, so they need to present as always being right, knowing it all, being tough and uncompromising. Consequently they are often 'rough' on people. They defeat their own purpose in the end, for they do not inspire confidence and feelings of security in others. Quite the reverse, in fact people may fear them and perform only because they are worried they'll lose their job, promotion, status or whatever. This type of manager does not win people's loyalty and respect. There are many instances in industry of passive resistance and a begrudging 'doing the minimum to get by' as a result of this kind of leadership. In the end it is self-defeating.

The qualities of true leadership speak for themselves

The truly strong leader knows and acknowledges that others may well have better ideas and solutions than they have. They will encourage other people to speak up and express their thoughts, opinions and feelings about relevant matters, and will focus on building the confidence of those working for them. They are committed to the welfare of their staff as well as to achieving maximum results, and people know it. This doesn't have to be stated because their actions and attitudes show it in everything they say and do. With this quiet, confident type of leadership, people are more likely to feel secure, and therefore be more motivated to achieve a standard of excellence.

Such a leader is their anchorperson; they know they can rely on them. They know that their leader will not play games such as favourites, or set one against the other. Consequently their energies are directed towards their work and not misdirected towards emotional survival. They can, in a sense, relax and focus on doing the best they can without a lot of distracting negative emotions - evoked through bad leadership - getting in the way. The successful leader creates a positive climate with quiet calmness, confidence and fairness, and takes a personal interest in both the person and the job they are trying to accomplish.

In such a climate morale is likely to be high. The general feeling among staff will be that here is a person they can rely on and trust, and who will treat them with fairness and consideration. There is, of course, an unspoken knowledge that this strong leader is no pushover, but that he or she expects people to give of their best. People will want to 'deliver the goods' not only because of the satisfaction and sense of achievement it gives them, but also because they feel they are valued for themselves, and for the part they play within their organisation. In other words, the strong leader makes them feel valued and valuable people, and not just tools to be used.

* The example is fictitious and serves as an illustration only.

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Article Tags: aggressive, alienation, bullying, chauvinism, fair, favouritism, leadership, management, people skills, sensitive, strong



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