Outstanding leaders care more about productive relationships
with their team members than they do about “making the numbers”, according to a
study recently completed by researchers at The Work Foundation and titled, “Exceeding
Expectation: the principles of outstanding leadership.” The researchers
conducted in-depth interviews with 77 senior leaders and their managers and
direct reports in six “well known and enduring” companies in the UK. They
looked for differences between “outstanding leadership” and merely “good
leadership.” They were surprised by their own findings.
They write:
What
is striking is that the research has uncovered clear differences between good
and outstanding leadership. There is now evidence to support a systemic, people
centred approach to high performance leadership. This is a paradigm shift for most
leaders who remain focused on the numbers and has implications for all
organisations seeking to improve their performance.
Apparently, outstanding leaders involve their team members in decision-making, remove barriers that are getting in the way of team members being successful, and make engagement a priority. And this emphasis on employees and their needs does not change in times of severe economic pressure.
The report concludes with this statement:
The
report’s researchers stress that the emphasis on people-centred leadership is
particularly critical while the world is still experiencing tough economic
conditions. They point to the widespread tendency to assume that in difficult
times, people think they need powerful leaders, with a controlling,
target-driven approach. Yet, evidence from the research indicates the opposite,
demonstrating that this instinct can be counter-productive.
One might expect that when leaders are feeling pressure for results, they will revert to a command-and-control style of leadership. But according to The Work Foundation study, the best leaders stay focused on achieving high performance by creating a climate of trust, respect, and honesty.
