Testing for Leadership

4 (+1) questions to reflect on leadership cultures.

Leadership is a word encompassing a lot of promises. It resonates with each one of us intuitively and carries a lot of symbolical weight as our interpretation of it contributes to the shaping of organizational cultures. 

Nowadays, many organisations wish for their stakeholders to adhere to their leadership culture, by expressing their values, articulating ambitious senses of purpose, or “claiming to lead by example”, through tailored messages often embodied by friendly faces.  

Unfortunately, such invitations remain broad and unaddressed. In other words, they are not enough to decide whether a leadership culture is a good fit for us, because it is not the culture per se that will define that, but our interaction with it when decisions are made. 

Hence, it is essential to understand the criteria defining what a “good decision” is for an organisation. We have identified four questions which are helpful in that regard., Answers to these questions are not clear cut, unless however you consider them “trade-offs” – i.e., the answer that is most likely to emerge when the organisation has something to lose.  

Question 1: is leadership a moral or a practical concept? 

Testing for the relationship between ethics and efficiency.

Question 2: who can be a leader?

Testing for the balance between hierarchy and community.

Question 3: what is considered a leadership ‘moment’?

Testing for the importance of decisiveness vs. process.

Question 4: what is the relationship between leadership and experience?

Testing for the importance of intuition vs. skills. 

“How aligned do we need to be with our organisation on the answers to these questions?”, asked the Mouse.

First and foremost, the organization should be aligned with itself. Although answers to those questions are not mutually exclusive, they are interrelated. It is worth investigating superficial inconsistencies as the strengths or challenges of a culture will manifest themselves in its nitty-gritty elements. For instance, if a “community culture” (Q2) values “decisiveness” (Q3), then team members need to be empowered.   

Regarding our own alignment with the leadership culture, awareness already provides some leeway. Understanding where, or why, we are likely to feel challenged will empower us to navigate other cultures and not limit ourselves to what we believe to be our comfort zone. In that regard, the approach of the organisation to a much deeper question will matter most: how does it deal with the unknown? 

Understanding the ramifications of this answer will provide clarity on the four initial questions and highlight whether leaders see themselves as risk managers (unknown = uncertainty), conscious leaders (unknown = responsibility), or servant leaders (unknown = the possibility to contribute to something bigger than us). 

What about you? What questions would you consider, to assess your fit with leadership cultures?

Baptiste Raymond - 04/2022.