Where do all the different leadership theories leave us today? If you are not certain, then you are not alone. If I was to tell you that great leaders are effective at leading groups, have specific traits, demonstrate certain behaviors in the right circumstances, and act in ways that show they are cognizant of their organization’s culture and values, I’m sure you would have no argument. But does it really explain what leaders do? More importantly, does it even begin to capture the “juice” of leadership ¾ that elusive mix of energy, personality and circumstance which seems to catalyze the world around the leader?
I don’t think we’ve gone deep enough yet.
The theories that we rely on to explain leadership are very safe and sanguine. And yet, there is very little about leadership that is safe and sanguine. Leaders are not easy to be around. They often have difficult personalities, with impossible demands, abrasive rough edges, a relentless sense of drive, blind spots and dark sides ¾ in addition to all of their wonderful qualities such as an ability to make things happen, to create and build, to push ideas and products toward profitability, to motivate, inspire and teach. But focusing only on the positives, while overlooking everything that makes a leader difficult is a bit like orbiting high above a planet, unwilling or unable to land.
The rough stuff, I call the taboos – those sensitive nerve endings which leaders and followers touch by accident all the time, and immediately pull away from. I believe that such places are critical to understanding leaders. But since the theorists, researchers and teachers are not able to see those areas, and the biographers and leaders themselves are unwilling (or would be unwise) to talk about them openly, who should we turn to get the real dirt? In my humble opinion, the people that understand leadership at its most elemental (both ugly and awe-inspiring) are the executive coaches – a group that is only now coming into its own.
Coaches see leadership up close and personal, in all its glory and all its warts. Speaking for myself, I’ve learned how leaders view the world and witnessed the gap that exists between that perspective and how followers view leaders. While I rely on intellectual theories about leadership as tools or frameworks, I find that what really matters is helping a leader work through all of the messier aspects of leadership, those issues that “feel right to the leader, but look bad to the public.”
In my view, leadership is a process whereby a leader pursues his or her vision by intentionally seeking to influence others and the conditions in which they work, so that they can perform to their full potential for as long as they possibly can. All of that effort is done in the context of helping the organization realize the leader’s vision while also contributing to the personal development of everyone involved. What leadership style and approach is right for a particular situation? In some situations, for example, the caring boss is effective. But at other times, a forceful, demanding, and even manipulative boss has tremendous impact (although there may be long-term costs and benefits to consider in either approach.) No one approach is right for every leader in every circumstance. Instead, an effective coach focuses on what leaders need to do to push forward their agenda while helping others realize their potential.
Anthony Smith is Co-Founder and a Managing Director of Leadership Research Institute and author ofThe Taboos of Leadership: 10 Secrets No One Will Tell You about Leaders and What They Really Think (Jossey-Bass, May 2007). His forthcoming book is ESPN: The Company (Jossey-Bass, September 2009). This article originally appeared in different form in his book, The Taboos of Leadership.
