Exclusive Trusted Magazine Q&A with Regina Huber, CEO of Transform Your Performance.
From your perspective, what are the main limitations of traditional leadership models in today's rapidly changing business environment?
While we could certainly come up with more examples, I’d like to briefly discuss three of them:
Traditional leadership models don’t focus enough on the fact that all leadership starts with self. Based on my experience and analysis, self-leadership is the most essential leadership trait of all. It includes a list of different aspects, such as deep self-awareness, emotional intelligence,the willingness to continuously grow, and more. All other aspects of leadership depend on self-leadership: your leadership presence as well as the energy and attitude you convey; your communication; the extent to which you can build and expect trust; whether you can engage your team and foster high team creativity andperformance; your interactions with everyone around you and in all directions; your stress level; and ultimately, your success and impact as a leader, as well as the satisfaction and fulfillment you derive from it. Excellent self-leadership translates to excellent leadership of others; and leaders who transform themselves, can transform the world.
Traditional leadership models don’t always place the human at the center of leadership. But you cannot lead a company without leading humans… because there is no company without humans. Humans are the heart of any organization, and they deserve to be treated accordingly. Humans are not just the brain that feeds the company’s activity but also the organ that pumps blood through its veins, so to speak. They are literally the life of the company. Humans are not just the brain that feeds the company’s operations but also the heart that pumps vitality through its veins, so to speak. They are indeed the lifeblood of the company. It must be a priority for any leader at any level to respect and support every single individual in their team with their unique brilliance, needs, aspirations, and challenges. This includes being both appreciative of contributions and transparent about shortcomings. The aim is to promote the growth of team members, while reaching common goals. Appreciation goes a long way when it comes to retaining top talent. Involving team members in the creation of a joint vision leads not just to a better understanding of the big picture and greater enthusiasm, but also automatic ownership and accountability.
Traditional leadership models are often too competitive and hierarchical. Excessive emphasis on competition creates toxic work environments, making it inherently more challenging to establish trust in all aspects and relationships. Employees may perceive that success is not necessarily determined by competence, but rather by demonstrating the greatest agility in navigating organizational politics, or perhaps by being the most vocal. In teams where team members perceive advantage in competing with one another, optimal collaboration and co-creation become unattainable. Hierarchies can impede optimal collaboration. Leaders may feel compelled to safeguard their status by hesitating to share power and decision-making, thus missing out on valuable perspectives and potential game-changing ideas.
How do you envision a new paradigm of leadership, and what key characteristics should leaders embody in this new era?
One of my three leadership frameworks is called New-Paradigm Leadership (NPL)™… for the very reason that we need new paradigms in leadership. Its four puzzle pieces are: Mind, Message, Heart, Trust. Its key purpose is to build more engaged and happier teams.
Mind stands for mindset and the way it impacts the team’s vision and achievements. Message
encompasses all forms of communication, verbal and non-verbal. Heart represents the people of the organization as well as our connection with other humans through our hearts. Trust is the glue that holds teams together and allows creativity to flow.
New-Paradigm Leadership (NPL)™
What strategies can emerging leaders employ to adapt to and champion this new leadership paradigm within their organizations?
Start by showing up as the leader you’d want to report to. Embody the leadership qualities you admire in others or would have liked to see in them.
Cultivate a deeper understanding of yourself and your leadership style, leading by example with authenticity and integrity. Demonstrate your values through your actions and foster trust and respect within your team. Recognize everyone’s greatness and potential, and when you don’t see it right away, explore it before judging prematurely, always seeking to understand their strengths as well aspossible barriers they could have encountered when trying to apply them.
Embrace diversity of thought and perspective, expanding your knowledge base and avoiding hasty conclusions, or you could miss out on the next million-dollar idea. In general, always inform yourself from many sources, including those you may not agree with, and avoid being a poorly informed or even mind-controlled leader of whom we see so many these days. Curiosity is a valuable leadership trait!
Also be curious about what else is in your team members’ potential that you haven’t tapped into yet. Allow them to grow by delegating tasks and trusting them to succeed. – Remember, trust is a two-way street. You cannot expect trust from your team, while you are not willing to trust them as well. Provide guidance and support as they take on new challenges.
Remember that you don’t only communicate through spoken and written words (although words do matter). You also communicate through your behavior, your attitude, the presence and energy you convey, your body language, and of course all aspects of your voice. Even avoiding communicatingsends a message. When in doubt, don’t expect to be understood. Expect to be misunderstood.
Through these practices, you can experiment with implementing some of these paradigms and inspire positive change in your leadership approach, for which I wish you all the best.
Regina Huber
Transformational Leadership Coach, Inspirational Speaker, Author
CEO of Transform Your Performance
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