Leadership Like Water-Water Canoeing

Although world business is undergoing historic changes, the prevailing view of what constitutes business leadership is stuck in the past. Generally, business leaders view leadership as an order-giving process. The word "leadership" itself comes from old Norse root meaning "to make go." Many leaders believe that they must "make" people go by ordering them to do things.

But today's new business realities are requiring new kinds of leadership, leadership that has very little to do with order giving. Organizations are more competitive when leaders don't make others go but instead have those others make themselves go - when employees are not ordered to do tasks but instead are in the frame of mind and heart that they want to do those tasks. That "want to" is the cutting edge of competitiveness.

Order-leadership in business has its roots in the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution. "Order" comes from a Latin root meaning to arrange threads in a weaving woof. The captains of the Revolution dealt with the relatively uneducated country people who flocked to their factories by ordering them where, how, and when to work. The most efficient and effective production methods resulted from workers being "ordered" or ranked like threads in the woof of production lines. Refined and empowered by the Victorian commercial culture, with its patriarchal power structure and strong links to Prussian military organization, the culture of the order-giver leader reached its zenith in the United States after World War II.

During the post-war years, many U.S. businesses were like ocean liners plowing through relatively calm seas, their leaders, like liner captains and mates, running things by getting orders from superiors, giving orders to subordinates and making sure that those orders were carried out.

But today, with competition increasing dramatically, with the volume and velocity of information multiplying, with the pyramidal structures of order-giving businesses flattening, leaders need skills not akin to ocean liner piloting but white-water canoeing. Order leadership founders where lines of authority are blurred, information proliferates, markets rapidly changing, and employees are highly skilled and educated.

A new kind of leadership, a new vision of leadership is needed - leadership based on the principle that the leader doesn't make others go by ordering them about but instead has them go by creating an organizational environment in which they prompt themselves to go.

This new leadership is:

1. Motivational.
2. Action-based.
3. Results-driven.

Motivational: Leaders do nothing more important than get results. But leaders can't get results themselves. They need the people they lead to get results. And the best way for them to get results is not to order them but to motivate them to take action that produces results. However, the English language misconstrues motivation. English describes the act of motivation as something one person does to another person. Leaders can't motivate anybody to do anything. We communicate - the people themselves motivate. They motivate themselves. Only they can motivate themselves. The motivators and the "motivatees" are the same people. We engage in the new leadership when we recognize that we are motivating people to get results only when we set up an environment in which they are actively motivating themselves.

Action-based: A key aspect of the new leadership lies in the first two letters of the word motivation. Those letters - "mo" - are also found in the words "motion," "momentum," "motor," "mobile," etc. The words denote action - physical action. Motivation isn't what people think or feel but physically do. To engage in the new leadership, leaders must constantly be challenging others to take physical action that leads to results.

Results-oriented: Motivated people are useless to a business. People taking action are useless to a business. Only those people who get results are useful. The thing is that people who are motivated and taking action are more likely to get results. Leaders must have a passion to achieve results. Not just results - but more results, faster results. They must permeate the culture of their organization with a more results faster esprit.

Clearly, many order leaders have a passion for results. But as to the new leadership, how people get results is as important as their getting those results. To get more-results-faster, the order leader demands that people run faster in the organizational gerbil wheel. But there is a limit to how fast and hard people can work before they burn out. The new leader, however, recognizes that to achieve more results faster on a continuous basis that people can't simply speed up, work harder, and be straight-jacketed by tight controls. They must replenish their spirit and energies. They must slow down to develop and employ powerful processes, and they must challenge others to lead for results. The new leader's effectiveness is not measured so much by his/her actions but by the effectiveness of the leadership activities he/she challenges others to engage in.

The recent emergence of interlocking global markets has stimulated a new vision of world commerce, a vision of a single global playing field. Leaders must match their business activities to the demands of that vision. But a corresponding new vision of leadership has not emerged.

Stuck with an outmoded vision of order leadership, today's leaders are not seizing the full array of opportunities before them. When they begin to establish leadership that is not order-driven but is instead motivational, action-based and results-oriented, the world might not beat a path to their door but more importantly, they will beat paths to the doorsteps of the world.

===========================================

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.com

=========================================== 2005 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved. ===========================================

The author of 23 books, Brent Filson's recent books are, THE LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS. He is founder and president of The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. ? and has worked with thousands of leaders worldwide during the past 20 years helping them achieve sizable increases in hard, measured results. Sign up for his free leadership ezine and get a free guide, "49 Ways To Turn Action Into Results," at http://www.actionleadership.com

---

It?s Not All About Cheese: The Missing Component in Employee Development (Part 1)

Spencer Johnson really hit a nerve when he wrote Who... Read More

Leadership Lessons from Pope John Paul II

"Heroes are rebels with a cause. Rebels because they challenge... Read More

The Death of Potential

... Read More

Women in Leadership - How to Get Promoted

It is often much harder for women to get promoted... Read More

Wisdom From The Rock

He grew up in Brooklyn, the son of an ex-con... Read More

5 Power Keys For Leadership Success!

Did you know that you can successfully handle most leadership... Read More

The Compassion Paradox

Effective leaders are comfortable with paradox. They can call on... Read More

A Whack Up Long Side The Head Of Human Resources: The Leadership Imperative

When we perceive the simple center in the seemingly complex,... Read More

The Defining Moment: The Straw That Stirs The Drink Of Motivational Leadership (Part Two)

In Part One, I described the importance of establishing deep,... Read More

7 Awesome Leadership Power Generators!

7 Awe-Inspiring Leadership Power-Generating Strategies!Here's a really simple way you... Read More

Always Be Open To Learning

"We should not only use all the brains we have,... Read More

Leadership Tips From My Dad

Lee (L.B.) Weiss (Sept. 21/25 ? April 30/82)My dad has... Read More

Leaders Click It? Into Gear!

"Click It" Into Gear!Ever wonder how two people can be... Read More

Leadership - L.P.B It!

"Dissatisfaction and discouragement are not caused by the absence of... Read More

Listening Like a Leader

Our studies of the most effective people in corporate America... Read More

Mentor? Who Needs A Mentor?

Who needs a mentor. . .everyone who is truly serious... Read More

Managing Monsters in Meetings - Part 5, Dominant Participants

While dominant participants contribute significantly to the success of a... Read More

Leadership Skills Training Empowers Problem-solving and Visioning

Leadership skills training programs empower you to influence, persuade or... Read More

Wanted: A Dictionary-Perfect Leader

Answers are often before our very eyes or in front... Read More

Lessons In Leadership: What Not To Do... From A Canoe!

When it comes to fishing, my husband takes the lead.... Read More

7 AAA Ways To Succeed!

[Abounding Abundant Ample Ways To Boost Your Growth!] This may... Read More

Are You a Leader or a Manager?

President Ike Eisenhower once demonstrated the difference between leadership and... Read More

Leadership ? Push vs. Pull?

At your next staff meeting consider leading your team through... Read More

Two Leadership Traps: How To Avoid Them and How To Get Out Of Them (Part 2)

Here's how to get out of, or avoid, the "I... Read More

The Power of the Leader Within - The Keys to Martial Arts Life Mastery, Key#1

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"Remember... Read More

Thoughtleading: The Art of Separating Yourself from the Pack

Lately the age-old business dilemma of how to stand out... Read More

The Four Laws Of Leadership (Part Two)

In Part One, I described the laws of motivation. In... Read More

Leadership A Perspective From Tao

Tao Te Ching said to be written by Lao Tzu... Read More

Act on Some of the Facts

Making any decision without having all of the information and... Read More

Career Advice for Business Leaders: Empowering Others

Many potential leaders in business sabotage themselves and their organizations... Read More

People Problems -- Understanding the Dueling Paradigms

You've spent the last 12 years riding your technical skills... Read More

Leadership For Deep Results: Without Them Are You Wasting Your Leadership And Your Life? (Part Two)

How does one go about getting deep results? There are... Read More

The Metamorphosis of the Successful Executive . . . Overcoming Professional Stagnation

You're a bright, successful business executive making good money and... Read More