Three Faces of Leadership

John Maxwell says, “Leadership is ALWAYS the problem and Leadership is ALWAYS the answer”.

I agree with him. And want to extend what he is saying beyond just typical leadership situations. I believe this quote is true across the whole of life. There are three faces of leadership.

For me, Leadership is not confined to a particular position or performing leadership tasks.

Leadership begins with the leader as a person and their ability to lead themself so they become a person others can trust. This face is called Self-Leadership. Then there is the leadership of people or teams within organisations or businesses which I like to call Organisational Leadership. The third face is all about empowering others and raising them up to become successful leaders. I call this third face Next Generation Leadership.

All three faces of leadership are vitally important!

1. Self leadership – leading yourself
2. Organisational leadership – leading a group of people within an organisation
3. Raising up next generation leadership  – all about empowering and releasing others

Leaders must stretch their thinking away from just learning skills about how to better perform a particular leadership role.

Here’s a thought:

I believe that you cannot be an effective leader unless you develop all three faces of leadership.

• Without self-leadership skills and character you will somehow self sabotage.
• Without organisational leadership skills you and the people you lead will be totally ineffective, and your leadership tenure will be short.
• Without investing in and empowering the next generation of leaders, no matter how well you lead yourself and your organisation, you will leave a limited legacy.

Self-Leadership:

How do you rate in the following kinds of things? Personal organisation, being on time, being true to your word, having a strong sense of purpose, living by your core values, looking after yourself physically, emotionally and spiritually; knowing your strengths and weaknesses, managing your mood and emotions, being consistent, and many more…..

Organisational Leadership:

There are so many details in every day for someone leading an organisation or small business, it can be overwhelming. A leader must not let their role devolve into simply ticking off their list of things to do. I’ve learned that it is impossible to administrate an organisation to make it grow or to achieve its potential. The challenge is to make sure that, as boss, you always remember that you are leading people. Whether there are 2 or 200 people a leader will impart vision, encourage, empower and appreciate their people so that together as a team they achieve far more than they could if they were all working as individuals. The skills required to lead begin with self leadership and setting an example, but are mostly related to being able to build strong working relationships with a range of personalities, and helping each to feel a significant part of something good.

Next Generation Leadership

By Next Generation I don’t just mean young people, but the next level of people coming through your organisation. If you always have to import quality people and are rarely seeing people rising up through the ranks within your own organisation then I suggest that you need to focus on this face of leadership.

People do not automatically know how to be successful. They need training. They need someone to believe in them, and give them a go. Wherever you see an organisation that has a steady stream of people being empowered to become strong leaders, I guarantee that there is a real leader at the helm.

Conclusion

All three faces of leadership are important!

In which of the three faces of leadership are you strongest?

On which do you realise that you need to focus and make an effort to grow?