Who Are The ‘Everyday’ Leaders?

This is a version of an article originally written by a highly experienced and highly respected change and development professional.

The trouble with leadership is that for most businesses and organisations, it’s two-faceted.

On the one hand, each organisation has a particular way of doing things, an ethos or a mission statement about how they operate on a holistic level and how they want to be perceived by customers, suppliers and other stakeholders but on the other hand, each individual leader has their own ideas and a way of doing things.

This can (and often does) lead to uncertainty and confusion but, with a complex balance of skills and understanding, if you can seamlessly marry the two, the results can be spectacular.

It’s this new breed of bright, forward-thinking people that are being dubbed ‘Everyday Leaders’.

An Everyday Leader instinctively knows what the business or organisation wants and comes in with a clear objective that balances the needs of the business with his or her own personal needs.

Perhaps most importantly, they know how to embed positive leadership habits in themselves and crucially, into their teams both through saying and doing.

A Sign of the Times?

We live in a society that has embraced the cult of the individual. You see it all the time. Children are now brought up aspiring to be YouTubers, following their god-like heroes online and yearning for the next fix of Minecraft or guys locking themselves in IKEA overnight for the giggles.

As consumers in a free market economy we are afforded choice. It’s become ‘this or that’ rather than ‘yes or no’ yet the personalisation of leadership development has arrived very late to this particular party, ‘more talked about than practiced.’

The traditional views of leadership development are that there’s a right way and a wrong way but in the business climate we find ourselves in, this view is as outdated as a video recorder.

‘Leadership development can only be brought to life by understanding the unique context to which it needs to be applied, the personal development each leader needs and wants, and the assurance that leadership learning is becoming fully embedded through daily practice.

And that’s the key. It’s about each organisation being able to clearly state what it wants and needs from its leaders and managers and in addition, each customised development programme needs to match the business’s strategic needs as well as fitting in with the corporate culture.

Not too much to ask…!

As we said at the top of the post, success comes from the marriage of the needs of the business with the needs of the leader and it’s up to both parties to make sure each has what they need.

Above all, and with everything of this nature, practice makes perfect. Whether you’re learning the piano or learning how to manage a department of 50 people, daily practice and coherent, manageable plans of action makes it a whole lot easier and here at Vital Minds, that’s exactly what we do.

Leadership development is a complex art form but get it right and you win.

For more information on how to develop today’s new breed of great leader, please contact us today.