We often hear “strength” used to describe leaders in our communities, at work, and certainly in politics. Often, those who talk about being “strong” equate that strength to “power.”
While I do think there is a power component to strength, I don’t agree with literal power, where the “strong” leader uses/abuses his or her power over other people. That’s a simplistic view of leadership and strength.
Instead, we all have more power when we use power with others.
But that’s not a direct or simple idea. This idea of power-with requires we rethink the idea of what leadership strength is.
I need to separate those two ideas before I can consider how to bring them together. First, leadership.
Clarify Your Vision of Leadership
Some people think that leadership means, “Here’s the direction to go. I’ll start. You follow.” That can work, especially if the direction is murky or the trail is not distinct. (I’m using hiking as a metaphor, but that works for business and life.)
I prefer a more nuanced view of leadership, as in What Does Leadership Mean to You? where I discussed Weinberg’s MOIJ model. That’s where the leader assesses the current state of the people and offers what they need.
Sometimes, people need Motivation. Other times, they need Organization. Often, they need Information. Every so often, they—and the leader—need a Jiggle. The more a leader can access all four of those options, the more adaptable and resilient the leader is. That leadership adaptability can make the team more adaptable, too.
When I think about leadership, I focus on the leader’s adaptability. That could mean:
- The speed of a leader’s initial decision. While some people like ambiguity, more of us prefer to have a decision, work toward that, and then assess if that decision is working.
- How fast can the leader change their mind when they realize this direction will not work? We’ve all seen leaders stuck on their initial decision for way too long.
- How well does the leader work by attraction, not fiat? There’s a huge difference between attraction or invitation vs. demand (that fiat). People like to be invited, not demanded.
All of that shows a leader’s adaptability and resilience.
Then there’s strength.
We Derive Strength from Our Values
When I think about strength specifically for leaders, I think about our value-based integrity.
Think about the leaders you know and admire. You might not even agree with all their values. However, you admire them because they do have values and live those values often. We are not perfect humans, so we might not live our values all the time, but the more we live our values, the more strength we accumulate.
Think of a leader who changed his or her mind based on the last person they spoke with. Do you think that leader was strong? I certainly do not. Yet, too many supposed leaders do this. It’s hard for me to respect those people.
It’s even worse when these so-called leaders try to bend other people to the leader’s perspective with power-over.
Instead, I am much more likely to respect a leader who lives by their values and can change their mind and can use power-with. The more the context changes, the more leaders need to change.
Context Matters
Leadership is context-dependent. So is strength. The more a leader can show what they believe in and how they use their strength, the more other people can choose to follow them.
I don’t believe that every leader needs followers right away. Do the work with your inner strength and your values. That’s when people will find and then follow you. Especially if you choose power-with, not power over.
That’s the question this week: What does leadership strength mean to you?