Self-leadership. Airy-fairy? Warm fuzzies? New-age fad BS? Age-old wisdom? Perhaps the concept of self-leadership sits inside all of these categories (and many more). Where we locate it may depend on where we are viewing it from, and why we are thinking about it. It may also depend on whether we are thinking about it consciously or unconsciously. In this blog, I’m going to share my thinking with you about why I think it’s so important, especially in the context of collaborative project teams, particularly where the project and the team lie at the heart of a learning experience.
I use the term “collaborative project teams” deliberately to separate those where everybody is strongly focused on achieving team goals from teams where there’s an inconsistent mix of work towards unclear team and personal goals, and definitely from groups where the members are working towards their individual goals that don’t necessarily mesh with anybody else’s in the group. The collaborative project team doesn’t mean that there’s no place for individual goals; simply that their place can be alongside team goals, but should take precedence over team goals as an exception rather than as a rule.
If we accept the leadership definition advanced by Rost (cited in Daft and Pirola-Merlo, 2009, p.4) that it is “…an influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend real changes and outcomes that reflect their shared purposes”, influencing others implies a certain ATTITUDE, not to mention comfort with the thought of doing so and skill in being able to do it effectively.
Leadership is about more than where you “fit” according to Henri Fayol’s 14 Principles of Management. It’s about more than understanding how to navigate Max Weber’s Theory of Bureaucratic Management outside the covers of a textbook. Leadership is about more than giving instructions and advice (as distinct from giving orders); it’s about having confidence in where you plan to go and how you plan to get there. It’s about being authentic. That means having and continually enhancing the bravery necessary to admit what you don’t know or don’t have. It means genuinely being who you are, and not pretending to be who you think somebody else expects you to be. It’s about asking for help, rather than pretending to know things you don’t, or assuming you are entitled to being “saved” by somebody else “just because…”
I’ve worked alongside two project teams (three members each) who refused to appoint formal leaders. Their reasoning was that they were mature enough to collaborate on working out what needed to happen, who was the st person to do it, how they would communicate progress, and what they would do if progress deviated from the plan. While much of my previous experience made me reluctant to let them have their way, I ended up glad – both times – that I did, because they really delivered on what they promised.
That delivery came in several different forms. They delivered more than they promised the Project Sponsor they would in the Project Agreement, and they did it within identified constraints. They delivered results that enhanced the standing of our institution in the business/management learning marketplace. Most importantly, they delivered more than they expected in terms of their personal growth over the project’s duration.
How were these results possible? Simply because those members were willing to not only manage their behaviour to fit with generally defined and expected standards – relatively easy – but also to reflect on what they should be doing and the best way to accomplish that (Pearce and Manz, 2005). In other words, they set the example of best practice in their particular circumstances. They set that example for themselves, because that’s what they are mentally “wired” to do. They set that example for other project stakeholders because they didn’t go to work to do half a job, and they aren’t going to let anybody else tell them that doing half a job is acceptable behaviour.
“But I’m not a leader – these things can’t possibly apply to me. I’m just a follower…” I’ve seen and personally experienced team members who openly don’t want to take on a formal leadership role. Some of them have even been quite creative at finding ways of avoiding the formal role, but that’s not saying they were content to do a poor job (the bare minimum they thought was necessary in order to stay part of the team). On the contrary, they’ve really cared about being very good at what they do. Even if their work isn’t exactly their dream role, they’ve still cared about doing it well.
They haven’t depended on somebody else always telling them Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How. They’ve reflected on what it means to be them, and how that connects with performing at their highest level. Whatever they do can be justified, and not just in terms of how it’s good for them. They are self-aware enough to understand how what they do impacts on others in the team. It’s like they’ve made a conscious decision they are going to be the best follower they can be, and that’s setting a great example for the rest of the team.
Effective self-leaders, regardless of their position or role in the team feel more comfortable being surrounded by others in the team who are also good at self-leadership. It’s as though they act as magnets to attract each other. That’s all very well and good if you have a cohort made up of incredibly strong self-leaders. As a Project-Based Learning (PBL) facilitator, though, I’ve never had the luxury of an entire cohort that fitted that description in 20+ years. Some of the most effective collaborative project teams I’ve been privileged to work alongside are the ones where members have collectively taken the opportunity to try things they might not have done before; or have taken things they have done to whole new levels of performance. Even where they took their opportunities at different times and different paces, their teams have still outperformed teams where that didn’t happen because self-leadership is an additive and attractive, rather than a subtractive behaviour.
Their growth has been greater, proportionally, than members who already knew they were good at what they did, and already felt comfortable with taking other people on a journey with them. Often, it’s not until they reflect back at the end of a project that they realise how far they have developed at things they either thought they weren’t particularly good at, or thought they couldn’t do at all at the start. It’s then that they can see their potential more clearly; understand the changes in things like their work ethic, body language, communication with others – and appreciate the real value of being who they are.
As a project facilitator, self-leadership requires certain things that might seem counter-intuitive at first. Letting individuals and teams make mistakes (providing they aren’t life-threatening, illegal, unethical, or won’t cause dire reputational damage). Remembering that you probably made many of the same mistakes yourself in the early stages of your own journey – and that some of your greatest learning probably came from not being smothered to the point where all your actions and outcomes were pre-determined and you were just a passenger along for the predictable ride. Only from you walking the talk can you empower your learners to have authentic experiences whose lessons will guide their development long after they’ve forgotten you and your course.
I saw a post on my LinkedIn feed earlier this week with a graphic that really summed up what, for me, self-leadership is all about. It’s not about knowing what you want to do and simply doing it. It may be about knowing what you want to do, being scared about how it could turn out – and doing it scared. Either way, self-leaders do it.
I’m interested in learning about your thinking on this topic, because it’s through collaborative conversations that we can create even more valuable learning and development experiences. Let me know what you think.
In my next blog on Thursday 26 January, I will build on my thoughts here and share my thinking about active and passive reflection, together with why I think collaborative reflection might just be more valuable than secret reflection.
Rob
References
Daft, R. L., & Pirola-Merlo, A. (2002). The leadership experience (1st Asia Pacific Ed.). Cengage Learning Australia Pty Limited.
Pearce, C. L., & Manz, C. C. (2005). The new silver bullets of leadership: The importance of self- and shared leadership in knowledge work. Organizational Dynamics, 34(2), 130-140; doi:10.1016/j.orgdyn.2005.03.003
Rob Nelson Education 