“Whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your servant; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (NIV, Matthew 20:26-28).
Are you a leader? What kind of leader are you? Why?
Many management books point out various types of leadership styles based on the achievement of organizational goals, as well as provide guidance to leaders on how to influence followers to meet and exceed those goals. Some leadership books teach people leadership transformation by providing practical “how to” sections, such as changing behaviors or attitudes. While researching and writing these books is undoubtedly a noble endeavor, true leadership change happens from the inside out. The leader who seeks a real transformation of leadership style must first explore the intrinsic motivations of it from the heart and then recognize the behavioral impacts on people and the organization.
Organizational leadership styles
Many types of leadership styles used in organizations achieve results in the hope of producing effective results. For example, charismatic leadership can produce loyalty to the leader and passionate ideals of him; transactional leadership can achieve urgent project goals through the use of bonuses; while human-oriented leadership, preferred in South Asia, shows achievement based on collaboration. Regardless of the socially and culturally accepted leadership style, leaders are influenced by both their own intrinsic motivations and perceived results when operating within organizational parameters trying to achieve “effective results.”
Whether an individual or a group achieves effective results is a subjective opinion tied to cultural, personal, and ethical biases: one manager may require tasks to be completed at a fast pace to achieve goals, while another manager may discourage intense pace because he considers it employed. bullying According to author Peter Northouse, balancing both types of leadership styles, task-oriented and relationship-oriented, makes it possible to achieve organizational goals. However, Northouse’s research does not show “a consistent link between task and relationship behaviors and outcomes such as morale, job satisfaction, and productivity.” Therefore, it is doubtful that employees who operate with low morale, mediocre job satisfaction, and average productivity will generate effective results. Is this effective leadership?
Consideration: the heart of the matter
Although management and leadership books advocate effective leadership, surprisingly, researchers “have been unable to identify a universal set of leadership behaviors that consistently result in effective leadership,” according to Northouse. Gary Yukl, author and scholar of leadership, states that “the only solid finding about leadership styles is that leaders who are consider (emphasis added) have followers who are more satisfied.” In essence, this satisfaction encourages follower motivation, which, in turn, produces desired organizational results.
Merriam-Webster defines consideration as: continuous and careful thought; thoughtful and understanding consideration, esteem; an opinion obtained by reflection. Imagine a self-centered leader with greed as the motivation for him trying to have real “consideration” for other people. It just doesn’t work. Consideration is rooted in thinking of others and is therefore a sincere value that is not instantly gained by reading about leadership behaviors in a book. Trying to change leadership behaviors on the surface can produce short-term results; however, people see through someone who acts insincerely and inconsiderately. Therefore, a leader who tries to transform the leadership style without transforming the values at heart still finds it difficult to achieve organizational goals.
Change of heart, attitudes and behaviors
Author Bruce Winston believes that a leader who embraces the leadership values and behaviors outlined in The Beatitudes of the Bible ultimately achieves leadership effectiveness. A person who strives for this type of values-based leadership operates in a continual self-reflective mode, filtering feedback from others, whether they be followers, peers, mentors, or other leaders. According to leadership consultants Chris Watkin and Ben Hubbard, “The willingness to personally engage and change as a result of feedback is what sets the best leaders apart from the rest.”
Once a leader makes the decision to transform the heart, changes in attitudes and behaviors evolve based on adopting a new or transformed set of values. Followers take notice because the leader exhibits true behaviors on the outside that reflect internal motivations. Christians believe that the values embedded in the heart eventually find expression in words, whether good or bad, in healthy conversations or heated debates. Furthermore, although leadership experts and organization development theorists group people by leadership style labels, each leader has a unique moral foundation and thus a different leadership style.
Leadership “Consider Others”
Many moral values exist within religious and social belief systems. Buddhists believe in “Right Intention”, a commitment to ethical and mental self-improvement, such as the intention of harmlessness, which means not to think or act in cruel, violent or aggressive ways, and to develop compassion. Hindus believe in “karma”, a moral law of cause and effect, and in “moksha”, a realization of the unity of all existence: perfect altruism and knowledge of the Self. Muslims embrace Islam by accepting, surrendering or submitting to God. Christians believe in loving one another, loving their enemies, and loving their neighbor as themselves. One aspect stands out among all these religions: dying to oneself. A kind of selflessness that puts the believer last and the other person first: true consideration.
Jesus believed in serving others; what leadership experts consider a “servant leadership” style. Robert Greenleaf first coined the term “servant leadership” in an essay, “The Servant Leader it is serve first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, serve first. So conscious choice leads one to aspire to lead. That person is markedly different from the one he is Leader first; perhaps due to the need to mitigate an unusual power impulse or to acquire material possessions… Leader first and servant first are two extreme types.” Leaders, motivated by a deep sense of consideration, look to others first and not in their own interests, and this shapes their personal leadership style.
Motivate your leadership style
Heartfelt-motivated leaders exhibit courageous and genuine outward behaviors of honesty, trust, respect, kindness, and kindness, regardless of social norms or what others say. Once sincere consideration is accepted by leaders, motivation shifts toward achieving organizational goals using transformed leadership styles. Followers who experience consideration through their transformed leaders in leadership style exhibit higher job satisfaction and higher morale that enables motivation, which, in turn, produces desired organizational results.
Once a leader recognizes that his or her leadership style is based on intrinsic motivation, it suddenly seems much easier to achieve effective organizational goals.
What motivates your leadership style?