The abrupt, and it is worth saying, badly planned and badly negotiated, the arrival of globalization in Colombia, brought with it very important changes to the business world; Thus, from a certain moment on, companies were forced to start making large and important investments in terms of resources, always seeking to be in the best position to face the challenge and take advantage of the opportunities offered by the globalization.
They bought everything, implemented new management tools and concepts; thus ending up going through them all from Taylor, passing through Total Quality, Kaizen, Empowerment, Downsizing, Coaching, Reengineering, Emotional Intelligence and as many others as the manager attends seminars; as if it were a fashion, which in addition to being brought from another culture and with a delayed arrival, changes rapidly, leading us to lack a managerial identity in companies. Even so, we talk about organizational culture.
It is not my style to continue complicating management theories and concepts with terms whose meaning may not be the same, with the use of gringo-paisas words that only confuse people (this is why more and more books have to include glossaries?) and the author's goal is to sound interesting. I will try to be as simple as possible (it is not an easy task) and I will do so based on some questions that I have received in my work for more than 15 years as an advisor to companies in crisis. (A topic that I will deal with in a next opportunity) and that makes reading more educational and enjoyable.
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication"
(Book the Power of the Simple by Jack Trout)
"People with the clearest and most prepared mind are the simplest"
(Jack Welch President of GM)
Then, two first questions arise as a starting point; Transcendental questions for the success of the company and that the manager must solve:
- And who is going to manage those resources that we buy, and who is going to lead those people?
When those couple of questions arise, and when trying to solve them, we see how employees play a preponderant role in the success or failure of the company, that although we have always known, we have done little about it. It is not enough to know it, it is not enough to say it, it must be done, it must be shown with facts of LOVE, from the conception of loving as a verb (behavior) and not a noun (feeling); where "works are loves and not good reasons."
- And who is willing to do this? Where is the LEADER?
Oh surprise, did we forget to buy leaders?
- And who are leaders?
People who voluntarily exercise leadership.
- So how is leadership defined?
From considering leadership, such as: the art of influencing people to carry out their work voluntarily, with enthusiasm, with passion and in pursuit of common goals; we are going to focus on why comprehensive leaders, true leaders, are rare.
Let's start by understanding that an art is a skill that anyone can develop; as long as you have the will; and to have a will requires an immense desire; and the ability to influence is in direct proportion to the authority you have. It is common to use the terms power and authority interchangeably, which is a very serious conceptual error.
- So what is the difference between power and authority?
It is essential to bear in mind that power and authority, in the practice of exercising leadership, are not mutually exclusive, both are required and it is the skill of the leader to know when, in what situation and with whom to exercise power.
Let's continue then, giving clarity to what we want.
- What is a leader made of?
Of countless personal attributes that identify him as a person; but all framed in loving and serving; because we cannot forget for a moment that within a company, we lead people, emotional and thinking beings; full of desires, needs and expectations which should lead to leadership based on authority, as the main axis, and not on power.
"He only has a vocation and actions to serve others, who truly loves"
It is the leader's greatest challenge, to make each one of the members of the group feel that they are protected, and that he is here to help them, that he is at their service; to provide them with the necessary means so that each one fully satisfies their needs; not your wishes; and thus, achieve the necessary motivation to efficiently obtain the objectives. (I am not referring to the particular objectives of the company; also those of its collaborators)
"The leader must be aware and responsible that he is only the means, it is the tool through which his entire team must achieve full satisfaction of their needs."
Over time, we have come to the conclusion that organizations are better managed with the ability to influence than with the right to influence others to get people to do the job efficiently; and above all, with taste, passion and love.
Therefore, we cannot forget that the leader is there to achieve positive results for the company and he must move between technique and personal relationships, and it is not easy; You cannot allow the balance to tilt to one side, as it will always be to the detriment of the other. Here we approach the leader in his personal integrity;
Today we mostly find people who claim to call themselves leaders with the balance always inclined to technique and exercising power. I would dare to say that the technique is easier to achieve with a transparent and fair personal relationship, always framed in serving and loving, than in a contrary situation.
The discomfort of the people, the lack of motivation, the lack of commitment and therefore, not very good results for the company; they are the logical conclusion to deteriorated personal relationships and that originate in the lack of leadership; leadership at the SERVICE of people; and only SERVES who truly LOVES and who is determined to put people's happiness and results in the foreground above their ego and personal interests.
It is evident that in Colombia we are going through a deep crisis in all areas; personal, family, economic, political and social; and all because of the lack of true leaders; of people with sufficient values and above all, with the ability to shed their ego and dedicate themselves to SERVING with LOVE and without petty interests. I recommend my article: "The new management model" and I hope to communicate again.
Any contribution will be well received. I am not a writer, I am a thinker with an immense desire to build.
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