-In today’s corporate environment the term “Leadership” is used (abused) to describe a multitude of meanings. To some the term means authority, other it denotes level of influence, or creativity, charisma, one of my favorite misuses of the word is as a synonym for management, and the list goes on. There are definitely distinct characteristics, and qualities of “Leadership” all leaders should possess and exhibit and this article is not intended to define those dimensions. Let’s begin with the definition of leadership according to “businessdictionary.com” is stated as follows:
1. The individuals who are the leaders in an organization, regarded collectively.
2. The activity of leading a group of people or an organization or the ability to do this.
The part of the definition that refers to the activity of leaders is the focus of this post.
In my career I have experienced really great leadership and really poor leadership, however, I have also experienced very good leaders that were not very good leaders. Confusing, I know, but let me explain in simple terms. In every organization I have observed three type of leadership. The first type, and usually most common) is technical leadership, leaders of this type are particularly strong in a specific craft such as sales, engineering, supply chain, or regulatory, etc. Second type, people leadership, this form of leadership focuses less on technical skill and much more on “Emotional Intelligence”, self-awareness, and interpersonal relationships across the organization. Third is cultural leadership, this type refers to the level of understanding leaders possess about an organization as its own ecosystem. How decisions are made, the unwritten work flow needed to things get done, what the organizational focus is, and how to navigate the organizations political environment.
All three types of leadership are important to an individual’s and an organization’s success long-term. Individuals and organizations, in my experience, develop these types of leadership in much the same way. Initially, technical leadership is needed to establish capability of an individual or an organization, then understanding the culture of an organization, and finally to grow the leadership of people. This is in no way intended to be interpreted as the only way or the right way in which these three types of leadership manifest themselves, merely one individual’s perspective throughout a 20+ year career.
I have experienced that to advance within an organization you need to have all three developed to a high degree. In my opinion, the more senior the role for an individual the lower the smaller the part technical leadership plays in career success. For example, if you are striving to be a General Manager, COO, or CEO, it will be nearly impossible to be the technical expert in all the facets of the business you manage. Therefore you must have much better developed skills as a cultural and people leader. Just remember there’s no “I” in “Team”, so you have to be able to lead people, and the value you may provide your team could be cultural in nature.
Organizations, on the other hand, unless they’re start-ups, which require a high level of technical leadership, must maintain a strong balance of the three types of leadership to be successful long-term. Particularly, in today’s manufacturing environments. The ability to innovate products for clients engage employees empower employees and nurture relationships with employees, customers can require different levels of the three types of leadership at different times.
The questions I’m posing with this article are and the discussion I hope to start are:
• What type of leadership is important to you currently?
• What type of leadership is important to your organization currently?
• What type(s) do you and your organization need to improve?