As businesses and industries continuously change and the working world adapts, Richard Maloney writes that leaders must do so as well
It's out with the old and in with the new. The last decade has seen industries and businesses moving at a faster pace than ever before, and to cope with this rapid evolution, leaders, executives and CEOs must adapt to a more modern and agile style of management. Gone are the days of age-based seniority and parental leadership tactics based on control. Today’s employees embrace a flatter management structure, flexibility, accountability, empowerment, development initiatives and continuous learning.
Before you can strive towards becoming the inspiring leader you need to be, it’s important that you identify where you sit within the seven levels of leadership. The first five levels are very much yesterday’s approach to leadership, and the remaining two are about becoming the new and innov-ative leaders of tomorrow. Now is the time to become a more refined, mindful and introspective leader – one who understands that leadership is not about you but about what you can do for others, and how you can best enable them to shine.
1. The disliked manager
The disliked manager is usually someone who has moved up through the ranks of the organisation and has been promoted into a leadership role purely due to seniority. This person has a lot of industry knowledge and knows the environment quite well but does not understand the true ethos of leadership. They have a poor ‘command and control’ approach to leadership and are therefore disliked and disrespected by their team.
2. The disrespected manager
The disrespected manager has gone from being disliked to being somewhat liked but has yet to earn the respect of those they lead. There is a considerable learning curve involved in becoming a successful leader, and how long the person stays at this stage depends entirely on their own commitment and skills development.
3. The manager/leader
The manager/leader now under-stands that there are two distinct skill sets required to becoming a leader: one must be both a great manager and a great leader to lead effectively. This person is learning; they’re reading books or listening to audiobooks, they’re eager and they’re using their initiative. At this point, they’ve attained the two crucial key qualities: they’re a good leader and a good manager, and after a while this takes them to the next level.
4. The respected leader
The respected leader has now earned respect as both a manager and a leader. This person is leading more effectively and harmoniously within a team that is receptive and responsive to their newly refined style of leadership and shared goals.
5. The accomplished leader
The accomplished leader has been in the role for a while and consistently demonstrates excellent values. They have developed a successful, inclusive, admirable approach to leadership, and they are maintaining the levels of respect they have earned through a shared vision and group empowerment.
These first five levels of leadership are focused on the outer environment: on becoming a strong leader in the environment in which they have been placed. The following levels, on the other hand, are more focused on an inner style of leadership. One doesn’t have to have attained the accomplished leader level to embark on levels six and seven, but an accomplished leader who evolves through these next steps will quickly be seen as a revered infl uencer by those around them.
Now is the time to become a more refined, mindful and introspective leader, one who understands that leadership is not about you
6. The stress-free leader
The stress-free leader is somewhat focused on themselves in terms of their own self-awareness and their ability to self-regulate and see the world from a diff erent level – from the coach’s box, you could say.
They’re beginning to understand that their outer world is a reflection of their inner world, and that everything is neutral until you give it meaning. It’s about recognising your thoughts and actively changing them where necessary, and consistently reprogramming your mind.
Stress is an unavoidable part of work and life, but the stress-free leader ensures that when they find themselves in a place of stress, they don’t stay there. They assess whether their thought processes are coming from a place of fear, control or emotion (brain-focused thinking), or whether they are coming from a place of empathy, under-standing, intelligence and acceptance (heart-centred thinking), and they adjust their decisions accordingly.
7. The intuitive leader
As you go up the scale from six to seven, you’re moving into a higher state of self-awareness, and you are now able to self-regulate on a whim.
Your intuitive leadership skills are becoming so refined that you are tapping into your inner intelligence with your everyday decision-making, and rather than chasing life, you’re in flow with life, trusting that your direction is clear and purposeful as you’re now so in touch with your inner compass.
The intuitive leader truly embodies the next generation of leadership.
Richard Maloney is the CEO of Quality Mind Global, an international mindfulness business with over 500 clients in 30-plus countries. He is also founder of the number one employee engagement licensing company in the world, Engage & Grow Global.
