By Eléna Hogarth
A YEAR into a global pandemic and fresh on the heels of the Scottish Parliamentary elections, leadership is in sharp focus, and along with it issues around trust, values and integrity. In a time of uncertainty, authentic leadership is something we can lean on.
Authentic people make the best leaders. They seem trustworthy because they’re not masking their intentions, say when they don’t have the answers, listen to others, and admit their mistakes. An authentic leader wants respect not admiration. They’re not propped up by sycophants, and they know that some decisions will be unpopular.
When it comes to leadership, a "one size fits all" image persists: a loud, dominating decision-maker. There remains a focus on the title of "leader", but leading is an activity not a position, and effective leadership is about other people. It’s not about you.
Servant leadership puts others’ needs at the forefront. It is simple – listen, understand, have an open dialogue – but it is harder in practice. A good starting point for anyone considering leadership is thinking about why you want to be a leader. If it’s because of the status, you won’t get far. If it’s to invest in positive outcomes for others, you’re on the right road.
We struggle with trust when it comes to public leadership. Saying one thing and doing another; giving no clear explanation of motive and intention; and making decisions in an opaque way erodes our trust in leaders. "The buck stops with me" is a phrase often heard from leaders, but strong, effective leaders don’t make decisions by themselves. They let others lead and listen to their expertise – and trust it.
Values are trumpeted in politics, business and sport; endlessly talked about, enshrined in strategies, painted on office walls. But they need to be demonstrated every day in what you do as a leader.
Integrity is another buzzword. But what does it mean to you as a leader? Is it just "doing the right thing"? Making decisions that are unpopular in the short-term because they will have a long-term benefit? With servant leadership, the focus is on needs more than feelings. A leader shouldn’t strive for popularity. If people feel aggrieved about a decision, listen to them, but it is the need that comes first.
Is there such thing as a "natural leader"? We hear that term all the time, as though there are individuals born with innate leadership skills. But the activity of leadership is learned – through experience, peer-to-peer learning, and practice. It also implies that those with natural ability do not need additional training to adapt to changes.
The problem with the "natural leader" is that it forms an exclusive club. Open up leadership through learning and you share decision-making, hear more voices, understand others, have stronger and better ideas that serve more of society.
As we face post-pandemic challenges, trust is more important than ever. Leaders will have to rebuild trust publicly, and those who embrace authenticity will create a better world.
Eléna Hogarth is co-founder of Compass Consultancy, a Scottish start-up that delivers leadership training. See compassconsultancy.org
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel