Leadership through inner strength

Leadership is linked to change. Everyone can be a leader by taking the initiative.

Know yourself

Good initiatives and good examples will always be followed. As a leader, you are therefore rarely alone. You are always in touch with those who follow you and to whom you give direction. You can get to know yourself better in the relationship with others, at least if you are willing to accept others as a reflection of you, and to learn from them. As the leader of your own fate, you are also in connection with yourself. That relationship is all about your internal theatre, your emotions, your feelings for others, your motivations and your fears. People who take the lead know themselves and are open to others.

Misconceptions about leadership

The first misconception is that leaders are heroes who rescue a business.

The leader as a hero is a recurring theme in myths, legends and stories. However it is not always the leaders who are the heroes who rescue an organisation. The real essence is to organise the interplay that makes innovation possible. Any such process of course calls for initiative takers. But the initiative for change can be found anywhere. In being an innovation leader, the key issue is the people who truly want to do things differently, who are willing to stick out their neck, and take the initiative.

 A second misconception is that leaders are people who occupy a position at the top.

There is a clear idea that leaders are above all to be found in the upper echelons of any business. As a rule, they are men of a certain standing. However, it is nonsense to say that leaders are synonymous with leading men. The opposite is in fact the case. When it comes to initiatives for innovation, the women and men involved often have an extensive network both inside and outside the organisation. These informal leaders ensure the spread of new ideas and innovative practices.

 A third misconception: there are leaders and there are followers. 

According to the traditional view, leadership is all about influencing the behaviour of others in a particular desired direction. Over the past few years, much more attention has been paid to the behaviour of followers. I am fascinated by the idea that followers are more effective if they adopt a position that is independent of their leaders, and actively choose a role for themselves. Leadership is all about the interplay between leaders and followers, whereby in many cases leaders would do better to leave the leadership to others.

 A fourth misconception is that leaders are always self-assured and always have a solution. 

Leaders who always know best disempower others in coming forward with ideas and contributions. They make themselves strong and weaken others. True leaders are  willing to express doubt and understand the art of not knowing. They are willing to call in assistance and believe in the strength of others. Leaders do not come up with solutions but instead contribute to the power of the people in a community to design their own future.

A fifth misconception is that leaders hand leadership over to others

You above all take leadership for yourself. The skill lies in reining in your ego, and not allowing yourself to be turned into a hero. Leaders give themselves leadership by contemplating their own life course. Which people, events and places have made you who you are today? What convictions have arisen as a result? Effective leaders organise honest feedback about themselves. They ask others around them what they have  done well, what proved useful for others, what would have been better if it had been left undone and what they could do to improve in the future. Successful leaders are constantly in search of ways to improve their self-awareness and themselves.

 New angles of approach

By expressing doubts about the standard views on leadership, new angles of approach emerge. Uncertainty is seen as a force for innovation and conflict as a source of the vitality to go in search of new opportunities. New visions for the future emerge precisely at points of complexity, where interpersonal relationships are difficult and where problems arise. Once stagnation, convictions and fears can be discussed, then a breakthrough is near to hand. Managers are rarely willing to talk about their fears based on their conviction that they must appear strong. True leaders are not afraid to be afraid and to recognise their fears. They are not afraid of confrontation, opposition, loss of face or doubt. They are willing to discuss taboos even if they relate to themselves. Nonetheless, they are self-assured when it comes to their own value and are conscious of what drives them personally, and what drives the people around them. They understand the dynamics of the world in which they operate and are willing to stick out their neck to break through old habits. Naturally, this brings uncertainty with it. Leaders understand the art of embracing that uncertainty in the equal certainty that something good will emerge. Vulnerability is an intriguing character trait in leaders who wish to contribute to true innovation. By sharing their own personal struggles they can create inspiration for others, as so magnificently expressed in the poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley. In the film of the same name, we see in awe-inspiring pictures how this poem gained significance in the process of conciliation between the peoples of South Africa, following the end of apartheid. The art of leadership lies in sharing uncertainties and vulnerabilities, and calling upon others to take the initiative and rise above themselves. Leaders do not work in the system but on the system of which they themselves nonetheless form part. They create a context in which others are able to shine and contribute to a valuable future. If you have a clear vision of that future, you can overcome all uncertainties, and will be able to work indefatigably together towards a valuable world. Invictus by William Ernest Henley Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeoning of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds and shall find me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul. By: Jaap Boonstra