Power vs Concern
BOLD LEADERSHIP DISTINCTIONS
I believe that bold leaders always use their voice regardless of the risk. They speak up and initiate conversations about what matters most in their organisations. They do it because they care. It’s their concern, not their power that comes to surface.
Bold leaders activate bolder conversations and that leads to bolder cultures, which means more creative, innovative, inclusive, human and meaningful cultures. Bolder conversations activate better solutions to what we all need (but often times do not dare to address). Their individual boldness therefore exists in service of the collective one.
This was in brief my response to the topic of the HR conference held last week in Zagreb, Croatia: letting go of a manager to allow for the leader to come in.
Holding this belief about what bold leadership is and why we need it in organisations, here are my 5 distinctions that I always like to scratch surface with to encourage the conversation when I speak about leadership.
1. Power vs Concern
2. Integrity vs Conformity
3. Control vs Create
4. Knower vs Learner
5. Unreasonable vs Consciously Bold
Read more about the first distinction below. See how the entire list sparks your own reflection and then:
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POWER vs CONCERN
““We can all do something about anything in the world around us. It’s not a matter of power; it’s a matter of concern.””
Many leaders that I work with, and particularly those on lower levels, pause when facing the question: “Help me understand, how is it that you’re shaping your organisation?” That is when we open up the conversation about the power and the concern.
There is an underlying belief in many of us that carries much of this message: In order to demonstrate the concern, one has to have power. And we usually associate power with some sort of a formal status we automatically link with the ability to make change. That’s normal and that’s human. Having said that, I’d like to offer a different perspective – the one that bold leaders choose.
Bold leaders hold a different belief. They know our world is being shaped and impacted by how much we act on something that is of our interest and importance. In other words, their power is based on how much they care and are ready to act on it in order to empower the collective action.
Leadership Circle Profile as an individual leadership assessment tool offers one competency called Community Concern in the developed creative leadership domain (as opposed to the reactive leadership styles). This is what this competency measures by definition: Community Concern measures the service orientation from which you lead. It measures the extent to which you link your legacy to service of community and global welfare.
Leaders that score high in Community Concern competency are the leaders with the most positive influence. They are the leaders of today and tomorrow committed to making a positive contribution to the larger society with their high-creative leadership. Research behind Leadership Circle Profile suggests that because these leaders have an expanding awareness of the world in need together with a conviction to serve, they demonstrate the high level of leadership development.
I believe that truly bold leaders hold and dare to create a vision that goes beyond individual level and focuses on system. Depending on the context, it can be their team, their organisation, their community or the entire world. They are aware of the system and are open to sense what it needs. Then they act daringly. They first speak up and initiate bigger conversation as they hold the vision. The bolder the vision, the bigger the discomfort of their conversation.
“The first thing we can do to initiate change that matters around us is to open up a conversation. The more uncomfortable it feels, the more it is needed.”
Because they sense the need, bold leaders are up for what feels like a risk. Are you?