Generosity of Spirit and Winning Leadership
As a coach, I know the power of different perspectives. Often, we can get stuck in one perspective or we are blind to the possibility of other perspectives. As a simple example, I may despair about the fact it is raining. One more bad thing to deal with on top of a global pandemic, political chaos etc. I could choose a different perspective. Rain may make me nostalgic for home (I am Irish after all!), rain can be refreshing, it can make me grateful for my warm and dry home. The rain is a fact. However, my energy and attitude is dramatically different depending on which perspective I adopt about the rain. The perspective I adopt is a choice. This is equally true in leadership.
I have been fortunate to work for great companies with many inspiring people. I have seen the perspective leaders consistently adopt about work dramatically impact both business performance and fulfilment (their own and others). In my experience, leaders who consistently adopt a perspective of generosity of spirit are more successful in driving sustainable business success and engagement.
CHANGING NATURE OF WORK
The nature of work is changing. The old model of compliance, control and command is becoming less relevant. This model of work is based on a low trust perspective. It is often associated with a focus on inputs (visible hours worked for example) rather than on business outcomes. It invariably comes with a high level of bureaucracy and checking.
Our expectations from the work we do are changing. The expectations of consumers, customers and wider societal stakeholders from business are certainly evolving. What it takes to be a leader is changing. The perspective we adopt as leaders therefore needs to change as well.
GENEROUS SPIRIT LEADERS
In my experience, the best leaders focus uncompromisingly on the “how” as well as the “what”, having clearly communicated the “why”. These are leaders that adopt what I call a Generous Spirit perspective.
The “how” is based on the cultural and behavioural standards they insist upon from others but especially from themselves. The words behind culture are important but the actions behind behaviours are critical. Culture is always determined in practice not by the best behaviour leaders celebrate but by the worst behaviour they tolerate. This is true in business but also in sport. James Kerr in his book Legacy on the All Blacks, the world’s most successful sporting franchise, shares the historical importance of policing their “no dickhead” rule for preserving their winning culture.
The “how” is also driven by the perspective adopted on leadership. Generous Spirit leaders have the humility to recognise their role is to win collectively by lifting others. Generous Spirit leaders consistently demonstrate their humanity and authenticity as leaders. They do this by genuinely and empathetically connecting with the individuals they lead not as employees but as people. This is the right thing to do at a human level but also is good for business. Simply put, people contribute more when they feel respected, trusted, valued, empowered. Sadly, many recent surveys show that the majority of employees do not feel this way about the companies they work for.
It is not just the “how” however, Generous Spirit leaders are equally obsessed with the “what”. The “what” for them is always based on business outcomes, sometimes key outputs but never inputs. They are pleasantly unreasonable in the pursuit of ambitious, market-leading growth.
This perspective starts with an understanding of the “why”. Our purpose as a company but also as leaders. Simon Sinek powerfully elaborates the importance of this in his many works beginning with “Start with Why”. As he writes, people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you are doing it. People willingly follow Generous Spirits leaders because they consciously or subconsciously understand their why – why they choose to lead.
The “how”, the “what” and the “why” are the irresistible combination of Generous Spirit leaders. Together they generate sustainable competitive advantage. Combined, they allow for a balance between short-term and long-term delivery and not just focus on this month or this quarter’s performance as many leaders are guilty of. Together they ensure Generous Spirit leaders fulfil the needs of all stakeholders – consumers, employees, shareholders, wider societal stakeholders and the planet itself.
Truly successful leadership can therefore be a matter of perspective. In my experience, this perspective is often based on generosity of spirit.
In future articles, I will review in more detail topics such as the benefits of generosity of spirit and why most companies will sadly not successfully adopt this perspective.
I would welcome your feedback. Does this resonate with you? Can you share examples of generosity of spirit from your work?