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Are you a leader worth following? I ask this question in my leadership development programs. It’s a confronting question, isn’t it? Having leaders worth following in your organisation is critical for a culture to shift to above the line, or if the culture is already above the line, leaders worth following act like a buoyancy device to keep the culture afloat. To achieve this ability to act as a cultural buoyancy device, leaders require, as we briefly mentioned in the last chapter, three key elements:

The combination of the ideas and suggestions offered in this chapter will all contribute in some way to enhancing your ability as a leader in each of these three elements.

Are you a leader worth following?

So let’s revisit the opening questions at the start of this chapter. Many leaders overestimate how worthy they are of following. They think they are doing a good job and are approachable, but when you talk to the people who report to them, you often get a completely different picture. This occurs because more than 75 per cent of leaders answer the question ‘Are you a leader worth following?’ based initially and primarily on their own perceptions of themselves. When I ask them to then consider the question purely from their followers’ perspective, some do not know the answer or cannot adjust their perspective to answer the question, or they fall into the two polarities of ‘yes, absolutely’ or ‘no, I don’t think my team views me as worth following’. Again, the overwhelming majority give themselves a pass mark.

When I talk to the leader’s staff members, the answer is usually the other way around. Not always, of course, but often enough for it to be worth investigating this topic further. I’m sure you can imagine that, when the majority of employees in a workplace culture do not perceive their leader as worth following, it becomes very difficult for the culture to operate consistently above the line. This is because a lot of the employees’ energy gets directed into avoiding or counteracting the negative impact they perceive their boss is bringing into their performance environment. So instead of the culture homing in on its own power, it ends up fracturing in order to deal with the counterforces at work, reducing productivity, performance and fulfilment — all traits of a culture below the line.

So how bad is this leader-worth-following dynamic in the workplace? A survey conducted in 2012, commissioned by jobs website CareerOne, paints a worrying picture of leadership in Australian workplaces. The survey showed that 61 per cent of Australians polled say they have been bullied by their boss at work. Read that again: 61 per cent say they have been bullied by their boss at work! If that isn’t below the line I don’t know what is! Of course, whether they were actually bullied or they just perceived the interaction as bullying is difficult to determine and in fact doesn’t matter. The very perception of bullying by a leader is enough for the people following to withdraw their follow-ship. The mere fact that a leader’s behaviour could be perceived as bullying suggests there is something going on in the culture that will contribute to below the line culture traits emerging in the business. It could even be that there is actually no bullying taking place at all but people’s self-esteem and comfort levels in the organisation are so threatened that even a genuine conversation with a leader in which the staff member is being offered guidance or disciplinary feedback becomes interpreted as bullying. But wait, there is more.

The CareerOne research reports that 37.5 per cent of employees reported being asked to do something unethical or dishonest. Twelve per cent claimed to have experienced sexual harassment. Overall, only 36 per cent of respondents rated their current boss as ‘good’; 32 per cent rated the boss as ‘average’; and a further 32 per cent described their boss as ‘horrible’. It doesn’t make for pleasant reading does it? When asked about their current manager, 68 per cent of respondents described them as people who kept them in the dark and held secrets. Again, we have to be cautious here, as many leaders will recognise what they can share with employees is sometimes legally if not commercially restricted. I have come across dozens of examples over the years where staff have failed to understand that their boss cannot reveal certain information to them, due to its commercial sensitivity and instead resent the leader for not sharing. A recent example occurred when a leader I was working with was asked by his team members if there was any news regarding the possible merger and acquisition the company was being considered for. The leader responded that unfortunately he was unable to share what he knew at that time, but that once he was briefed by the board and lawyers he would be able to share more. The staff immediately took offence that he wouldn’t share information with them. The end result was that, legal and commercial sensitivity aside, the staff perceived that the boss didn’t trust them.

In summary, the report suggested the top three horrible boss traits were:

  • bullying
  • belittling
  • being moody or inconsistent, or both.

The top three qualities valued in a manager were:

  • clear direction
  • strong communication
  • strong organisational skills.

Not all bosses suffer from the level of criticism and accusation suggested by the CareerOne research. In fact, when I first read the report I questioned its validity, given I had, in 30 years of doing this work, only occasionally come across situations where these behavioural traits had occurred. However, when I shared the findings with employee groups I work with to gauge their acceptance or dismissal of the report, more often than not they could relate to the figures. I was relieved to hear that, for many of them, these interactions had usually occurred at their previous place of work, which had provided the motivation for them to quit their jobs and apply for their current role. So it seems people are not afraid to quit a below the line culture to find an above the line culture to work in, as many of the people I interviewed or discussed this with in focus groups were doing the same or similar roles as they had in the below the line cultures.

So the question is, what can you do to ensure you are, or become, a leader worth following?

First, as I’m sure you are aware, there are hundreds of books already published on leadership, so if you are new to this topic, I recommend you explore this vast range of material. Online searches are a great place to start. You do not need to purchase anything initially, as simply reviewing people’s recommendations for books on leadership and customer feedback comments can give you a better sense of what you are looking for or need.

In the rest of this chapter I offer some ideas that I believe position you as a leader worth following capable of contributing, to raising, or keeping your culture above the line.

Five ways to become a leader worth following

I have five suggestions that I have developed as a result of observing and supporting organisational cultural growth over many years. I have fine-tuned embodying and delivery these ideas through my cultural leadership development programs. The five suggestions are:

  • pathway
  • principles
  • power
  • presence
  • perspective.

Pathway

A leader worth following must, by definition, be able to understand and clearly articulate (often repeatedly in a below the line culture), why the organisation exists, what it provides, and how it delivers or executes this. The number one criticism, without fail, that I hear staff members have regarding their leaders is their failure to communicate effectively why the organisation exists and functions, and what actual value it adds into the marketplace. So pathway simply means that a leader can explain in jargon-free terms to people across the organisation why the company does what it does, how the various resources, skills and people’s efforts contribute to creating or delivering the company’s services or products and what the service does to add real value to the customer.

Simon Sinek, in his book Start with Why, captures this concept brilliantly. Sinek uses the example of Apple computers and explains that their communication of their purpose is delivered in the following manner:

Everything we do we believe in challenging the status quo, we believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use, and user friendly. We just happen to make great computers.

This is a perfect example of creating a pathway that both staff members and even customers can understand and buy into. It explains quickly in very simple and easy to understand words why Apple exists: because they believe in changing the status quo. How do they do this: by making beautifully designed, simple-to-use products. What are those products? Great computers. People don’t buy what you do, people buy why you do it. When a leader can clearly articulate the why, how and what of the organisation, they become a leader worth following in the eyes of staff members, because so many leaders fail utterly to explain what we are all really trying to achieve through our collective efforts other than make a profit for shareholders. Explaining the company pathway can be a very a powerful and motivational narrative around which the culture can weave itself. Pathway narratives unite people’s efforts and make the work feel meaningful. Leaders who know and share this narrative effectively stimulate a committed above the line culture.

Principles

The word ‘principles’ refers to what I call a time-tested truth. In other words, over a period of time an idea or a belief or a behaviour has been tested within the culture and found to work, and do so repeatedly. For example the principle might be to greet your colleagues first thing every day, as having been tested over time it has been noted that when everyone starts their day by greeting one another, the team works more synergistically and handles challenges with greater ease and grace. A principle delivers what we want and is reliable.

To become a leader worth following in an above the line culture requires a leader to be familiar with the key principles outlined in this book. The principles have, of course, been tested over time in many organisations and found to be valid, effective and true. The leader of an above the line culture would know which of the principles outlined in this book relate best to the context of their organisation and their desired culture. In understanding these principles, a leader places themselves in a position of being able to observe and communicate what works and what does not in regards to the culture. In doing so, the leader becomes of service to the team and the company culture by offering suggestions and ideas, or asking questions and listening to what can be done to fulfil people’s requirements for job satisfaction, and also deliver the company strategy. In understanding the very nature of the culture that the staff members and leaders work within and being able to explain and communicate these to members of the culture enables the leader to become worthy of following due to their concern for the nature of the work environment and culture shared by all. In other words a leader who understands culture is understood by staff to care about them, their wellbeing and their job satisfaction, and this contributes to them being considered worthy of following. Key principles a leader might share and communicate to members of the culture could include:

  • the link between strategy and culture
  • the role culture plays in delivering on your strategy
  • the concept of cultures existing only above or below the line
  • the six cultures in the above the line model
  • identifying where your current culture sits and where it needs to be
  • the role of the three cultural buoyancy devices to support the lifting of the culture.

A leader, simply by demonstrating their awareness of the key principles of creating an above the line culture, becomes worth following because all but a few pessimistic staff members long to work in an above the line culture. A leader who is inspired by the idea of an above the line culture, who is willing to support everyone to achieve this outcome, is worth following.

Power

A leader must understand and appreciate the role human consciousness plays in determining the level of culture the organisation settles at. Human consciousness, when operating at levels associated with cultures above the line, is empowering! It enables more to be achieved by people with less stress and anxiety. It enables resolutions and agreements to be made more quickly than in cultures below the line.

Human consciousness below the line lacks power. Instead it relies on force to get things done or to be heard and acknowledged. Leaders worth following have to have a consciousness level that is aligned with an above the line culture. If the leader’s consciousness level is below the line, it is difficult at best and, at worst, frustrating or impossible for the culture to rise above the line. Leaders in such a case are in effect endorsing a below the line culture. Below the line cultures never last long as they are destined to self-destruct. By understanding the role of consciousness (as discussed in chapter 12 in which I refer to the work of David Hawkins) a leader can communicate in the appropriate manner to maintain the culture’s level or to inspire people to lift the culture higher. By becoming more familiar and effective with the understanding of consciousness as a real and propelling power, the better not only will your experience of the workplace culture be, but also your life in general. Leaders who understand this can champion and lead people to aspire to an above the line culture, which empowers everyone to experience better work conditions performance and job satisfaction while at the same time increasing customer delight. The higher a culture rises above the line, the greater both the number of people and the regularity with which they experience feeling happiness increases. Leaders who empower people to feel happy at work are popular and have little trouble being perceived as a leader worth following.

Presence

Have you ever felt, when you were having a conversation with someone, that they were really listening to you? That they were absolutely there for you, and in no rush to interrupt you to share their own thoughts? Did you know without question you had their undivided attention? If you have, you were experiencing what I call presence. Presence in a leader is when they make the other person feel as if they are the only thing that matters in the world right now. When a leader makes people feel this way, the people feel the leader is worth following. Let me be clear though. To attempt to pretend you care about people and pretend to listen to them in the attempt to be appreciated, liked and followed as a leader is a folly. People know when you’re faking presence. The very act of pretending to be present with people in the hope that they will want to follow you is counterproductive. The process only works when you surrender the need to be liked or followed and instead just put all your attention on the people in the culture. Ironically, this in turn will deliver a desire to follow you. Striving to be present for personal gain backfires and delivers the opposite outcome. People sense your insincerity and resent it.

How then does a leader develop presence? The first thing to understand is that presence is largely an intangible quality. It is not so much a behaviour as it is a perspective. Behaviour plays a small role in delivering presence but presence is far more intangible than just body movements or just listening and asking questions. Presence is all about a leader’s perspective, intent and attitude towards the people. The key perspective that a leader must have in order to embody presence is for them to perceive the people they are leading as great, or amazing or awesome. The leader must see the incredible power and opportunity the people represent. Sometimes they may have to perceive this before it actually exists! This ability or choice to perceive people as wonderful is important to becoming a leader worth following because it influences everything about how the leader interacts with the people for the better. The leaders are more attentive, the body language changes, for example, from being seen as from aloof or busy or disinterested to really caring. The tone of voice does the same. In seeing people as wonderful or amazing, a leader will begin to see the people not only as being worthy of their time and energy, but in fact that they are privileged to be leading these people. Feeling privileged to lead a group creates a sense of humility which in turn enables a leader to be more fully present with people and more willing to listen and really care about the other person and their feelings and ideas. People who perceive and experience their leader caring about them this much consider the leader one worth following.

Perspective

The old saying ‘we don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are’, lies at the very heart of perspective. Perspective is a facet of being a leader worth following that is very closely related to presence. You may have even noticed that in describing presence in the previous section, I even used the word perspective at times to describe how a leader views or thinks of other people. Perspective refers to the viewpoint of the world and life in general and the people in the culture specifically. When the leader has a suitable above the line perspective of people, then they are likely to have presence. In other words in order to have presence a leader must first have an above the line perspective of life and the world. To develop such a perspective a leader needs to clarify where they view the world from. What are the specific personal values they operate from that colour the way they see life, the world and people? All leaders worth following have a very clear understanding of what they value most and how this influences their perspective of people. In understanding their values and their perspective, leaders are better equipped to self regulate and adapt their views to bring out the best in themselves when working with and leading others. A leader’s personal values are the primary process through which they evaluate and judge others. When a leader knows their values and understands how they function and contribute to an above the line culture and motivate their behaviour and decision making, they are more likely to be able to manage themselves to act and operate with great integrity. Leaders with integrity are leaders worth following.

It’s worth pointing out that these five traits may seem like a lot to work through, and in some respects they are. But I would encourage any leader who aspires to lead a culture that is above the line to pursue the embodiment of these five traits: I assure you every effort to do so will be worth it when you see the encouragement, empowerment and strength it gives people to create a culture above the line.

Having concluded our discussion of the first of the three cultural buoyancy devices, let’s move on in our next chapter to explore the second cultural buoyancy device of creating work worth doing.