Make the Positive Leader in you shine!
“All of us have the spark of leadership in us, whether it is in business, in government, or as a nonprofit volunteer. The challenge is to understand ourselves well enough to discover where we can use our leadership gifts to serve others. We’re here for something. Life is about giving and living fully.”
- Ann Fudge -
This article is largely inspired by my former Professor Paul Gibson of the Royal Institute of Technology in Melbourne[1] who, by his teachings and his generosity of transmission, has impacted the course of my professional career, and therefore of my life.
Young 21-year-old student who has just landed in Australia, speaking a few words of English, I am late for this first lecture of the semester: "Leadership & Management". Trying to catch a word out of twenty from this professor who speaks very quickly with a well-asserted Australian accent, I quickly feel discouraged and demobilized. When, suddenly, my Professor throws a ball across the whole amphitheater to support one of his words. The experience speaks to my childish side and I decide to refocus in order to give a second chance to this course so attractive by its title. One semester and a high distinction very much later, I leave completely captivated by the discipline and begin to question my legal career which is looming. Today I am a trainer in Positive Psychology. This course, and especially Paul, were a starting event in the discovery of my potential and my aspiration for life. This is why I would like to share with you today some discoveries that have marked me, including the key skills and attitudes required to become a true positive leader. This article is a summary.
In Positive Psychology, positive leadership is defined as "the ability to mobilize, facilitate and develop a community of exceptional collaborators, using individual strengths, optimism, motivation and energy"[2].
In the footsteps of Indra Nooyi: An inspiring positive leader
Simone Weil, Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, Steve Jobs, Aung San Suu Kyi… and so many other leaders who have marked the world with their commitment and their ability to engage others. What do these great leaders have in common and why do they stand out as real role models? To begin the answer, I would like to draw on the practices of a great leader: Indra Nooyi.
Indra Nooyi took over as CEO of PespsiCo in 2006. Upon her arrival and until the end of her activity as CEO, she led one of the biggest transformations in the history of PepsiCo which enabled the company to increase its turnover of about 80% and also to be recognized as Great Place to Work® (Trust Index survey on the quality of life at work). Indra Nooyi inspires by the principles she upholds and is known as one of the ten most powerful and inspiring women in the world, according to the Forbes and the Wall Street newspaper.[3].
Her magic formula for success, true philosophy of leadership, is simple and focuses on five principles, the "Five C's of Indra Nooyi"[4] :
1. Competence: Stand out from the crowd and continue to learn all your life;
2. Courage and Trust: Make decisions and dare to assert them as a true leader;
3. Communication: Motivate the troops, and adapt your communication to your interlocutor with social intelligence and empathy;
4. Consistency: Being a stable, reliable and determined person in order to be credible;
5. Compass: Keep your internal compass activated, stay honest and aligned.
What lessons about positive leadership?
This great leader in her own way takes up the well-known Quinn model "Framework of Competitive Values" presented below.[5] According to Quinn, a positive leader must bring together the attitudes / skills of the four quadrants and be able to juggle depending on the situation and the interlocutor.
By adopting flexibility and an external positioning, we find ourselves in the model of adhocracy advocating creativity, innovation, agility and openness. It is an "Entrepreneur" position.
With external positioning and stability control, we have a market orientation that induces productivity, vision, customer focus, competition and results. It’s a "Leader" position.
An internal focus correlated with control corresponds to a hierarchical model which supposes order, process, organization, stability and efficiency. It is a position of "Manager".
Finally, an internal positioning and flexibility brings us to the family model which encourages the development of human relationships, personal growth, bond, cooperation, teamwork. It’s a position of “Coach”.
How to develop each of the position?
As one does not go without the other, it is essential to develop our positioning in each of these four positions of positive leadership. Depending on your qualities and your personality, some positions may seem more familiar and easier to adopt than others.
- Entrepreneur: Promote change, use power ethically and effectively, advocate for new ideas, fuel and foster innovation, start and support change
- Leader: Develop and share a common vision, make sense of it, set goals and objectives, motivate troops, lead to success, be authentic.
- Manager: Plan and manage projects, measure and monitor performance and quality, set and enforce a framework, organize the flow of information.
Coach: Communicate honestly and effectively, mentor and develop others, work on yourselves, encourage non-violent communication and conflict resolution, cultivate your emotional intelligence[6], get to know your people really, foster team spirit and collaboration, manage with the heart.[7]
To become a true positive leader, cultivate your capacity to be in turns Entrepreneur, Leader, Manager and Coach. Reveal and grow the seed of leadership that lies dormant in each of you!
- Camille Lamouille -
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Pour aller plus loin sur le sujet :
- Amy Cuddy, Matthew Kohut et John Neffinger (2013). “Connect, Then Lead”, Harvard Business Review, pp. 55-61
- Bill George, Peter Sims, Andrew N. McLean et Diana Mayer (2007). « Discovering Your Authentic Leadership »,Harvard Business Review, 85(2), pp. 129-138.
- Daniel Goleman (2000). « Leadership that gets results”, Harvard Business Review, pp. 78-90
- Daniel Goleman (2013). « The focused leader”, Harvard Business Review, pp. 50-60
- Greg Brenneman (1998). “Right Away and All at One: How We Saved Continental”, Harvard Business Review, pp. 162-179
- Herminia Ibarra (2015). “The Authenticity Paradox”, Harvard Business Review, pp. 53-59
- Hirotaka Takeuchi (2012). “Fast Retailing Group”, Harvard Business Review
- Laurie Bassi et Daniel McMurrer (2007). “Maximizing Your Return on People”, Harvard Business Review, pp. 115-123
- Nick Craig et Scott Snook (2014). “From Purpose to Impact”, Harvard Business Review, pp. 105-111
- Peter F. Drucker (1994). “The Theory of Business”, Harvard Business Review, pp. 95-104
- Susan David et Christina Congleton (2013). “Emotional Agility”, Harvard Business Review, pp. 125-128
- Susan J. Ashford et James Detert (2015). “Get the Boss to Buy In”, Harvard Business Review, pp. 72-79
[2]Source Positran
Youtube : « Conversation with PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi and David Bradley”
[5]Kim S. Cameron, Robert E. Quinn, Jeff De Graff, Anjan V. Thakor (2014); Competing Values Leadership ; Ed. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd
[6]Susan David et Christina Congleton (2013). “Emotional Agility”, Harvard Business Review, pp. 125-128
[7]Amy Cuddy, Matthew Kohut et John Neffinger (2013). “Connect, Then Lead”, Harvard Business Review, pp. 55-61
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