I'll start by emphasizing that the best leaders are highly self-aware; although according to Freed eight practices are required to achieve the wisdom of a leader.
In general, a leader can be considered as someone who has the passion, intelligence, energy and integrity sufficient to support and inspire others to achieve their goals, objectives and feel successful.
Freed in his book, "The Wisdom of the Leader," states that a leader must have the following characteristics:
- Must know who you are Does not let the ego beat you Establishes bonds with empathy and sensitivity Is not afraid to admit that you make mistakes and that you can learn from them It is easy for you to integrate into a community Create a healthy work environment and Live your legacy
When a leader is aware that he is; this intentionally or intuitively makes you more thoughtful. In one way or another, they will seek a way to learn to "achieve nothing" (Mindfulness) as this allows them to grow as a person and at the same time inspire others. At the same time, they will be aware that they must learn to think about the how and the what.
Mindfulness is understood as the knowledge of one's own thoughts, living in the present and directing the attention of said thoughts to the now in order to make the best decisions.
Hanh (1976) says that mindfulness is keeping one's own consciousness in contact with present reality. On the other hand, Cardaciotto (2005) says that it is the tendency to be aware of one's own internal experiences in a context of acceptance of those experiences without judging.
Leaders often learn to take care of themselves, mind, body, and spirit. They develop a good practice that allows them to make a list of those pending to learn and avoid those that should not be done. As they advance in this practice they learn to focus towards the future creating a vision of where they want to go.
When making a list of what you should learn, you have to make a space in your day for this and so you can focus on what is really important.
Since its inception, man has sought meaning, purpose or meaning in his life. Finding what motivates you to get up every day can be the key to your success. In this sense, being clear about the purpose, vision, mission and values results in people feeling happier and with a sense of satisfaction. It means then, that a leader must be clear in his purpose.
Part of knowing yourself is identifying your strengths, weaknesses, and abilities and how to keep them in balance.
Low productivity and low quality of products and services in an organization are mainly due to the toxic environments that persist in them. These toxic environments are generated by bad habits, lack of training and poor leadership skills, even when the leader or leaders and employees are compromised. Fear is the main reason many good leaders fail and workplaces become toxic.
Positive emotions in an organization can be threatened if grudges and resentments persist between employees and employers, the problems that can arise are lack of maturity, low development and little growth, and if in addition to this the leaders cannot deal with this type of situations, then organizations can really be in trouble.
It is common that when a person does not know himself, he is afraid to show his vulnerability, some weakness or insecurity to perform a task. Obviously this can lead the team to failure. It is important that the person considered as a leader, can put aside the ego and learn to work on their weaknesses, because by facing their fears they can achieve great confidence in themselves.
Freed mentions that Caroll (p. 35) describes the "ego: as a set of deeply ingrained habits that keep us misinterpreting our situation all the time." So that the ego does not get in the way of our success and happiness, it is necessary to overcome insecurity, hostile competition, overdeveloped responsibility, the belief that we can control everything, fears of change or maintaining a paradigm just because it makes us feel safe..
The dark side of the ego is described by fears, attachments, the need for control and the right to speak. Fear is considered the first and the one that originates the other three. David Richo defines it in the acronym FACE (face in Spanish):
- F is for fear: We do not have confidence and we feel vulnerable A for attachment: fear of loss C: due to grief E for the right to claim our rights: it is the need for power
The author gives us some tips to avoid being a bad leader, including:
- Sharing power, not assuming that only they can get the job done, is creating a collaborative and cooperative environment with your team. We avoid losing touch with reality Not believing in advertising, sometimes we hear something so many times that we can believe it to be true Compensating for weaknesses, being willing to admit that you can't or don't know how to do something and that other people can do it better Be authentic Maintain balance by living a holistic and healthy life Be thoughtful to know who you are.
It is important to understand that leaders do not have all the answers, they just have to "do" the answers (Heifets & Laurie, 1997). Therefore it is necessary to have an ego, but it must be a healthy and balanced ego. The following table shows some of the differences between a healthy ego and a less so.
| HEALTHY EGO | NEUROTIC EGO |
| Watch | Denies or separates |
| Evaluate | Judge and blame |
| Learn from their mistakes | Repeat old mistakes |
| Live in the present | Live in the past or future |
| Is free from compulsions | Is compulsive and obsessive |
| Fear does not move or stop him | Unable to commit due to fears |
| Can relate, make and keep commitments | Unable to commit due to fears |
| Motivates himself | It is driven by external forces |
| Has a lively and serene energy | Has a nervous and anxious energy |
A bad leader produces shadow and a good leader produces light.
Other characteristics that are considered to be a good leader are sensitivity and empathy, it is then necessary that they can communicate being authentic and reflect compassion.
A leader must be willing to admit his mistakes and let go, to achieve empathy and sensitivity. It should be taken into account that leadership is established more by relationships than by position, but it is also important to put aside the ego, forgive, be empathetic and sensitive. For example, apologizing for mistakes and forgiving others becomes a powerful action, this makes the leader regain his power, accept his responsibility and control his feelings and actions.
In an organization, leaders work to establish functional departmental connections. Some decisions that organizations make can be destructive such as layoffs, staff cuts, reduction of hours and other traumatic events, this can generate an environment of mistrust, people will be defensive, causes isolation, fear and low productivity. Great leaders minimize the impact of these types of decisions simply by being honest and involving the community in those decisions.
Technology should be used as a tool, not as a substitute for human contact. A relationship cannot be substituted, although separated people are easier to control in an organization, if this is what is intended.
Technology creates a connection and there may be diversity of opinions, but there is no such sense of emotional, spiritual and security ties between those involved. People do not know each other, they do not trust each other and the effectiveness of the work decreases. Teamwork and collaboration are organizational challenges when relationships are established virtually.
In this sense, leaders must consider this to create adequate conditions and thus overcome obstacles and create or reconstitute a community that is committed, generates a good relationship and learns to work as a team in this new environment.
The author also talks about how to overcome situations that can take a person to the limit, the term is known as resilience. This is from his point of view another of the characteristics that a leader must have. That sense of curiosity and creative thinking are essential to developing a resilient mindset and attitude. This also applies to organizations, which in one way or another break paradigms, to adapt to a globalized and constantly changing environment.
To develop that attitude and resilient thinking, the leader must be certain of reality and accept it, his life belief must be based on strong values and also have skills that allow him to improvise. All of this can lead you to change direction when necessary and by creating an environment of well-being, your followers will feel safe.
Returning to toxic work environments, when conducting a cause analysis, the responsibility almost always falls on the highest level leader in an organization.
In the author's interview with Fasha Mahjoor (p.123), he comments that to avoid toxic environments it is "crucial to create a culture of property so that people understand their impact." Involving staff in the life of the organization generates a positive force for people. Likewise, establishing a work-life balance as much as possible makes sense to each of the workers. Right now, companies are assuming that first and foremost employees are human beings with needs and motivations. And it is precisely to meet these needs and to achieve their personal goals, that they work. Companies can then offer them a dignified treatment, where they feel valued and less stressed, this generates a sense of belonging and commitment.
Leaders are responsible for creating healthy, engaged, productive, and reliable work environments. It is a difficult task, however to the extent that both organizations and leaders bear in mind that people need to find meaning in what they do, feel involved, have clear responsibilities, defined goals, possibilities for personal and professional development and get recognition.
Says Edward Deming (p.135): "Most people are not bad employees, but they are stuck in bad systems." This especially draws my attention because errors almost always fall on employees and processes are rarely reviewed, this causes discouragement, guilt, insecurity, among other negative feelings and attitudes. This is when a good leader must look at the failure from a broader point of view and determine the true cause. When conducting the analysis, it will be important to determine if the person did not want to do it, did not know how to do it or only does it because it is written that way. What is truly important is to achieve an environment where commitment and productivity are generated.
Each leader, in whatever type of job he or she performs, creates a legacy and this is built on the small or large actions and decisions that have served to inspire or encourage their colleagues. Sharing your experiences with another makes you feel that a leader is a better person.
As final thoughts Jane Freed believes that:
- Satisfaction is obtained when leaders know their talents, values and live them with integrity. Life is not a linear sequence, achievements are obtained through growth and discovery. Understanding and understanding the transition processes of any change is useful so that you can guide and influence others Recognizing our fears and how to face them allows us to be healthier people Relationships in person are better than virtual ones Think about the way we want to be remembered, to live accordingly To be a good leader, you must first be a good person.
This book exposes a series of experiences of great leaders and the way in which they have faced some situations. How by creating healthy culture and work environments in an organization, they make them more successful. But the important thing that I rescue from this reading is that a LEADER will always be that person who acts with integrity, who cares and takes care of his colleagues, the common welfare and the satisfactions that come with doing a good job.
Bibliographic reference:
- FREED, J. (2016). THE WISDOM OF THE LEADER (1st ed.). MEXICO CITY: EDICIONES CULTURALES PAIDÓS, SA DE CV
