Why would anyone want to be led by you?

That was the question posed by the speaker I listened to on Wednesday afternoon. She was Dee Roche, from the Australian Institute of Management and UWA Business School and the talk was part of a networking lunch organised by ALIAWest.

Dee informed us that the question itself is one that has been asked by the researchers Robert Goffee and Gareth Jones when conducting their research on leadership qualities.

The 80 or so librarians who turned up were asked to reflect on and quickly discuss what we thought were leadership qualities. The usual suspects were mentioned: integrity, vision, inspiration. Dee told us that Goffee and Jones found four “unexpected” leadership qualities:

• They selectively show their weaknesses. By exposing some vulnerability, they reveal their approachability and humanity.
• They rely heavily on intuition to gauge the appropriate timing and course of their actions. Their ability to collect and interpret soft data helps them know just when and how to act. [Dee: this is the “heart stuff”; meeting and working to key values is much more difficult than performance based on meeting Key Perfomance Indicators]
• They manage employees with something we call tough empathy. Inspirational leaders empathize passionately—and realistically—with people, and they care intensely about the work employees do. [Dee: leaders are passionate but realistic; hardheaded while being softhearted.]
• They reveal their differences. They capitalize on what’s unique about themselves. [Dee: what makes your leadership unique?]

She pointed out a few myths about leadership:

• Everyone can be a leader – not true. Followers are just as important as leaders. You can’t be a leader if you don’t have anyone following you.
• Leaders deliver business results. We’ve seen what’s happened with major corporate collapses when the emphasis was solely on business results…
• People who get to the top are leaders. Often getting to the top just means knowing how to play the game.
• Leaders are great coaches. This is not not necessarily true, says Dee. Good leaders often have the capacity to share their vision and excite others, but they may not be able to teach others. Mentors rather than coaches.

Dee finished off by telling us about the work of Kouzes and Posner, on the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership. They are:

1. Model the Way. In other words, set an example; “walk the talk”. Find your voice; clarify your own personal values [I want to take a closer look at this].
2. Inspire a Shared Vision. Imagine exciting and enabling possibilities. Be enthusiastic.
3. Challenge the Process. Meet and overcome barriers. Experiment, take risks. Never fear failure.
4. Enable Others to Act. Have the desire to make things happen. Foster collaboration.
5. Encourage the Heart. Recognise and acknowledge contributions of others. Keep going when times are tough. Celebrate. Simple actions/dramatic gestures.

I don’t always find talks on leadership to be very useful because they are too fluffy (my scientific term), and I also sometimes get annoyed by their faddishness. This one was interesting because it was based on research – and I could also relate to the idea of being authentic and human, rather than just pursuing the bottom line all the time.