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Leadership Strength and Courage

Guest post by: Robert Whipple

Article Overview: Everyone knows that leaders need to be strong and courageous. But what do those buzz words mean for the real world? What are the dimensions of strength, and how does a leader develop them? This article discusses these questions.

Leadership Strength and Courage

It is a common misunderstanding that good leadership is happening when things are going smoothly. Being "in control" is felt to be the result of a well-executed process brought about by good leaders. People look to leaders to bring stability and security in an uncertain world.

Ironically, the best leaders are incredible destabilizing forces. They are not satisfied being in control. They constantly try to move us out of our complacency or comfort zone. That makes good leaders unpopular at times. The best ones care more for what the organization can do and where it's going than what makes everyone feel good now. Tichy summarized this as follows:

"...if the marketplace or other external forces don't create problems or opportunities, the leaders do it themselves by breaking down comfortable old structures, setting stretch goals and challenging people to rise to a new level of expectations. They do this because winning leaders understand that times of transition are ‘teachable moments,' when most people are most likely to respond because they feel they must. So they create ‘burning platforms,' and then help people figure out where and how to jump."

Colin Powell provided an outstanding list of 18 key points on leadership in his "Primer on Leadership." His first point is: "Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off," yet most of us associate good leadership with being popular. Powell notes, "Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity."

You cannot score well in most corporate leadership assessments unless you are well liked. Many of them are approval surveys of subordinates. The corporate culture often associates lack of problems and having everyone happy with good leadership. In most companies the advancement and compensation of leaders is tied to leadership surveys, which reinforce mediocrity because they place a premium on harmony. Companies that evaluate leaders on a holistic basis and reward the best regardless of their current popularity will attract and retain the best leaders.

Marvin was a leader who advanced to a high level by trying to make people feel good all the time. He would bend the truth and finesse every situation to avoid conflict and make people feel good in the moment. He reinforced people with soothing words, even when they were doing poorly. This person was popular and scored well on the leadership assessments, but he was a marginal leader. People tended to discount his praise, because they knew his penchant for avoiding conflict and did not trust him. Powell points out, "Ironically by procrastinating on the difficult choices, by trying not to get anyone mad, and by treating everyone equally ‘nicely' regardless of their contribution, you'll simply ensure that the only people you'll wind up angering are the most creative and productive people in the organization."

It would be foolish for you to go around intentionally making people angry. No leader can afford to alienate people unnecessarily, but don't let popularity stand in the way of doing what needs to be done. This is one of the toughest lessons to learn, especially if the organization tends to promote and compensate based on popularity.

Don't get the idea that everything needs to be smooth all the time and everyone needs to be deliriously happy for you to be an outstanding leader. It isn't so. Many leaders who consistently run a smooth ship are surprised when another person who has blundered into disaster, but recovered well, passes them by. A calm stable environment helps reduce the tendency toward ulcers but it does not allow you to exercise your creative leadership muscles. A great leader takes risks, knowing that occasionally there will be problems, but that problems are really opportunities. Bennis writes: "Leaders learn by leading, and they learn best by leading in the face of obstacles. As weather shapes mountains, so problems make leaders."

Great leaders are at their best in a crisis. This is when people need the guidance of a strong leader the most. History is full of examples where leaders who were considered marginal rose to become strong and charismatic in times of crisis. A perfect example is President George W. Bush following the bombing of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Before the attack, many viewed him as an ex-party-boy without much leadership strength. Within a week of the disaster, the majority of Americans viewed him as one of the strongest presidents in modern times. That is a huge turn-around in a single week. History may not sustain the gain, but that is not the point. Crisis times are real opportunities for leaders.

When you feel most vulnerable or threatened as a leader is often the time when you have the greatest opportunity to shine. Properly managed, these situations enhance your reputation rather than destroy it. Therefore, take heart in times of crisis, and stick by your values and convictions. Remain resolute, focused, and flexible. Look at the situation from all angles. Do not panic but move quickly to take charge, and people will follow your lead. Use the energy created by the crisis to direct people toward the goal rather than be scattered to the wind. Tichy wrote, "winning leaders transform negative energy into positive energy...they harness the energy that is generated in times of distress so that their organizations not only survive difficulties that destroy other institutions, but emerge stronger for the experience."

Lead people through the crisis with courage. Your superiors will notice and you will have advanced your reputation as a good leader. The bigger the disaster, the greater the opportunity to shine. As Yogi Berra put it, "To get maximum attention, it's hard to beat a good, big mistake."

Fletcher Byrum, former president of Coopers, wrote a list of "commandments" for people who aspire to be great leaders. His last point read, "Make sure you generate enough mistakes - that's right, make sure you generate enough mistakes."

Obviously, it is not a good idea to carry the logic to extreme. If you go around intentionally creating disasters so you can clean them up, you are headed for trouble.

It takes fortitude to be a good leader. Often, it requires being the champion of unpopular initiatives. The ability to sell unpleasant but necessary activities requires strength and courage.

Weaker leaders tend to blame others for a difficult-to-sell program. They will say "I do not agree with this, but we have to do it because it's mandated from above." This goes back to the desire to be a popular leader. In reality, it weakens a leader's position with superiors and doesn't fool subordinates. This is a trustbuster. It takes real courage to acknowledge there were other choices, but we are going to take a tough route and make it work.

The ability to demonstrate strength is derived from a deep respect that is rooted in credibility. The leader must be highly credible or people will harpoon the initiative. That credibility can only occur in an environment of high trust.

People go to great lengths to avoid disappointing a strong leader. The respect is so apparent, they would do anything to keep from letting the leader down. This is easily confused with strength due to fear. Hitler convinced thousands of soldiers to commit atrocities they would not consider normally. For most, this was not out of respect, but out of fear. Great leaders eliminate fear and install trust in its place.

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Article Tags: Courage, Leadership, Strength, Trust



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