From Transformational to Transcendent Leadership
Transparence=Accountability
The digital age has unveiled a new climate of order. Twenty years ago you could use your hierarchical power and get a away with being a jerk as a boss. Then came climate surveys and eventually the 360’s. Accountability started to happen but many were able to avoid such systems and managed to hide in the dynamic of coercive power.
Then came the twenty-first century with its blogs and online news. All of the sudden the power started to shift into the hands of social networking. The world flattened and the power dynamics began to change. I remember the first time we realized the power of this in the hotel business over a decade ago when we had a very unhappy customer at one of our hotels. This person posted a very damaging report about how this particular hotel managed the service recovery process poorly and within weeks it was all over the internet. I remember our Brand Marketing team exclaiming in dismay at the power this had on lost customers in that hotel brand within a very short time frame. Welcome, the Age of Transparency. Companies are waking up, one by one.
The Popularity of Transformational Leaders
Add to that dynamic, the sentiment most of us share in the western world that we have loved our charismatic leaders a little too much. One of the temptations of the mind, is what critical reasoning experts call social conformity. The mind is like any other system, it likes to be lazy (aka efficient) and come up with easy solutions to hard questions. So when a leader shows up in our midst and tells us with confidence that they know the right answer, the right vision, the right path to success..we enjoy their confidence and let ourselves be seduced by it. In a free enterprise system, we love to love our entrepreneurs and our big company leaders and whether we like to admit it or not, many of us jump right on board for their agendas without doing our due diligence.
The positive aspects of the “great man” leader who has such motivating charisma, is that they are fun to be around, they motivate us emotionally and they seem to make big things happen very quickly. They have big bold visions and can make us believe in ourselves. The truth in the research is that they can indeed gain exponential results and fast, so it appears on the surface that this type of leadership works. In the field of Organizational Development Research, we have been studying the power of the Transformational Leader for the last three decades and continue to be enamored by the power they wield in our organizations today.
The Big Hidden Problem
But here’s the problem that lies hidden just beneath the surface. When we follow a Transformational Leader, we don’t always know about the motives, values, ethics, integrity and beliefs that lie beneath the surface of the leader when no one is looking. They may have a compelling vision, they may have smart strategies, but they MAY be motivated by underlying character issues that will cause them to make grave errors in judgment. Case in point, the tragic ripple effect of Mr. Maddoff’s leadership. Why is it that those who trusted him were not able to see the hidden motives of the man? Because we wanted the promise of financial returns that were too good to be true. That one is a pretty clear cut case. But there’s more..
Unconscious Leadership
Perhaps even more precarious, are the Transformational Leaders who are not quite so obviously bad underneath, even to themselves. What about the leader who is simply moving too fast because they get enamored with the power they build and become the kind of leader who simply moves too fast without considering the unintended consequences of their decisions on the various constituencies who put their trust in them? There are times when the problem is simply a lack of personal self-awareness. Unconscious leadership happens every day. The sense of urgency in the climate of acceptable norms is usually the culprit. When the pressure is on, who is going to take the time to consider the impact on all of the people depending on solid, just, long range decision making? The ripple effect of unconscious leadership is all around us now and our desire to move too fast may feel good in the short run, but reeks havoc in the long run. We have not kept balance in our perspective. The system upon which our lack of patience was built, is now crumbling around us. And waking us up this year.
Multiple Perspectives
It would not be fair to present only one side of this perspective. There are many Transformational Leaders out there, who are exemplary in their judgment and impeccable in their integrity. This is the age of their glory. But you won’t find them on stages so much as you will find them in your community, looking for ways to contribute without seeking attention. They don’t care about overstuffed compensation packages that make them into rock stars. They wouldn’t think that it is fair to their employees. They are not that interested in fame, but more in how they can set a good example and be part of the solution. These Transformational Leaders have the right formula for sustainable success and they truly care for the community in which they reside. They are the true leaders that have held us together in tough times and are the inspiration that will give us the resilience to bounce back.
The Good News
It’s not all doom and gloom in this story, because the impact of the last few decades of Transformational Leadership (based largely on consumerism and opportunistic marketing) have given us THE BIG WAKE-UP call. Nearly everyone has been impacted by the ripple effect of the few leaders who have made poor decisions and broken the foundation of Wall Street, making us vulnerable and putting us in the biggest crucible since the Depression.
But we are a resilient bunch. Everyone we talk with lately have battened down the hatches and are paying attention to financial mindfulness. The adversity we are experiencing is building character and we are being more careful in our decisions. That is what happened during The Great Depression too. This historic period spawned the responsible “silent generation” who earned the name “The Greatest Leaders”. Our grandparents were good people for a reason. It was because they found character in their strategy to survive and thrive. And we can do that too.
Transcendent Leadership
“Leadership of Self” is the start and how we can take personal responsibility for being part of the solution. And Transcendent Leadership is the key to a more positive future where we can build sustainability through the mutual governance of a flattened world that has shared goals. Character and great nations are built on many people doing the right thing. Now is the time. Rising above our selfish interests and considering the greater impact of our actions is what its all about. The term “transcendent” is used in history every time there is a population that becomes highly creative due to some kind of previous adversity. Stay tuned. We are poised to grow in big ways.
Transcendent Leadership is the leadership of NOW.
Pam Boney
CEO Tilt, Inc
Copyright 2009
http://tilt360leaders.com
Next: How can I become more self-aware and conscious of my own underlying motives through observation of how I am perceived?
Posted by Pam Boney, Executive Coach & Strategist Founder and CEO of Tilt, Inc.