By João Costa
Country manager at Expense Reduction Analysts Portugal
Are leaders born leaders? They may be born with conducive personality traits, but children and young people who prove popular at school and among groups of friends are not necessarily future leaders, since they need maturity and other characteristics of adulthood. These young leaders do not always develop these attributes; on the contrary, they are often unremarkable adults.
A leader, even possessing particular traits, It is built by following a path, learning and developing..
Bill George worked on the concept of True North as a point of orientation, a reference, that helps the people in leadership positions staying on the right track. It's a point that stems from your deepest beliefs, your values, and the principles by which you lead. It functions as your internal compass, unique to you, representing who you are at your deepest level. It is, therefore, a an idea based on authenticity, which has developed as the gold standard of leadership, assuming that people only trust those who are genuine and authentic.
Therefore, first and foremost, it is crucial that the leader knows himself and identifies his strengths and weaknesses, because that is where his essence and genuineness lie. Recognizing weaknesses is important. So that you can surround yourself with people whose strengths complement yours. Identifying qualities is also useful insofar as they can help team members who don't possess them. In this way, teams become richer because they are supported by strengths that balance weaknesses.
A great leader is committed to fulfilling a mission and leaving a legacy; that is, they prioritize their work and results, not the pursuit of gratification, power, prestige, money, and success. It's not wrong to desire recognition and success, but... It is necessary that the desire to serve something greater than ourselves be paramount.. Otherwise, feelings of power take hold, with all the dangers associated with them: egocentrism, narcissism, an exaggerated sense of entitlement, etc.
Another important idea for a leader is to achieve a balance between rational and emotional aspects. In fact, both are necessary to manage a company and a team. A strong rational mind can more deeply identify business needs, present and future threats, outline or create opportunities, and have the discernment to define objectives and strategies to achieve them. A strong emotional mind senses dangers and threats that the rational part does not yet recognize because they are not visible, applies insight to its analyses, is empathetic to the problems and difficulties of others, and... has empathy for the members of his team. Therefore, it has been argued that emotional intelligence, EQ, should be associated with intelligence based on reason, IQ.
From the perspective of some authors who state that life is the result of 10% of events and 90% of our responses, having a balance between the rational and the emotional seems far more robust than having only one part stronger, since our responses will largely shape the contexts in which we act. Therefore, The key to effective leadership lies in the ability to integrate the brain (IQ) and the heart (EQ)..
Authentic leaders have discovered that their True North It aligns people around a shared goal and values, and empowers them to lead authentically and create value for stakeholders. Therefore, they should be aware that... Management is about objectives, and leadership is about values..
