Who You Are is How You Lead: 3 Keys to Leadership

Douglas Lindsay, PhD, U.S. Air Force

If you spend any time in the leadership development space, you quickly see that everyone has an opinion on how to be an effective leader.  In fact, these opinions are often touted as a “new” way of thinking about or doing leadership.  While it can certainly be useful to look at leadership from different lenses or frames, the reality is what we tend to see in leadership is that there are more similarities than differences as it relates to effective leadership.  That isn’t to suggest that context doesn’t matter because it certainly does.  Leading a team of athletes is different than leading a squad of soldiers.  However, if you think back to the effective leaders that you have had in your experiences, you will likely see common themes across those leaders.  So, instead of attempting to add to the variance in thoughts about leadership, I would like to spend a few moments on those themes. 

In order to do so, I would like to share a few commonalities that I have experienced in decades of work in the leadership development space.  This perspective comes from thousands of hours of study, 100’s of interactions with senior leaders, thousands of articles and hundreds of books read on the topic, and hundreds of publications and presentations based on research on the topic.  This is not to suggest I am an expert in any way on the topic.  No one should consider themselves an expert in leadership.  Like you, I am on my own leadership development journey.  However, that journey has allowed me a certain perspective on leadership that I would like to share for your consideration. 

I would offer that it is important for us to understand three things when it comes to our leadership.  Those are:

1.       What you stand for.

2.       How you stand.

3.       Who you stand for.

Let me explain a little about what I mean by those three statements.

What You Stand For

When was the last time you spent some time reflecting on what you stand for?  Has it been a while?  The significance of that phrase is that it is our point of entry into the leadership domain.  Leadership speaker Simon Sinek refers to this as your “why.”  Some refer to it as your character.  However you choose to frame it the bottom line is exactly how Robert Hogan and Robert Kaiser phrase it, “Who you are is how you lead.”  Think about that statement for a minute.  My hope is that you don’t see that from a limitation standpoint but from an aspirational perspective.  That means that we have agency over that.  If we aren’t where we want to be (and none of us likely are), then we can move in the direction that we want.  We can make progress.  We can develop. 

Effective leaders spend time reflecting on what they stand for and who they are.  For some, that is a belief system or moral compass.  For some it is their faith.  The reason it is so important is that it is our foundation, or bedrock, on which we stand.  If it is solid, then we more likely to act in a manner consistent with who we say we are.  If it fluctuates, then we are introducing instability into our leadership which affects our ultimate effectiveness.  You have undoubtedly heard that leaders are readers.  While that is true, what research tells us is that leaders are also reflecters and it is through that process of reflection that we form the foundation of what we stand for.

How You Stand

A second theme has to do with how you are standing or what we often refer to as how you are showing up.  Knowing what you stand for is important, but being prepared to stand as a leader is equally important.  Are you prepared for the challenge?    Part of that preparation is a cognitive readiness. Have you done the necessary leadership “work” to be ready to be the leader that your team/organziation needs you to be?  Another part of that is a physical readiness.  Are you taking care of yourself in a manner so that you are ready to do what you need to do.  There is great research in the area of wellness that has started to shine the light on this important aspect of leadership.  If we aren’t taking care of ourselves, then we are in no position to take care of others. 

Often, we see this lack of preparation in the form of burnout.  Burnout can take many forms but the reality is that if our proverbial tank is empty, then we are limited in what we can give.  You have likely heard the term work-life balance.  The problem with such a perspective is that if creates this false notion that there is an optimal equilibrium that we can achieve where everything is stable.  What it doesn’t take into account is that notion of equilibrium changes.  What works in one job, may not work in another job.  What we should be focusing on is work-life harmony.  At times, there may be more investment into the work domain of our lives.  In others, it will be in the personal.  Both are okay as look as we have a good understanding of where that harmony is for us and that it can change, often from week to week. 

Instead of changing an arbitrary balance, we need to be seeking harmony in what we are doing so that we can stand the way we need to as effective leaders.

Who You Stand For

At the end of the day, our privilege as leaders is to serve in our charge, those we stand for.  Those new to leadership may read that sentence a different way.  In fact, you have probably been under the leadership of someone who views it the other way around: followers serve the leader.  However, the longer you serve in a leadership capacity, you understand that leadership also entails the development of those we lead.  That is part of our responsibility as leaders.  In order to do that, you must get to know your people and take care of your people.  Only by doing that to we enable them to fully develop into who they need to be.  The success of the organziation is really a byproduct of that intentional investment. 

As an example, how many times have you seen a sports team have success well beyond the individual talent they possess?  That doesn’t occur by chance.  It occurs through an intentional investment in the needs and development of the team.  When we understand that as leaders, we are positioned to lead for those we stand for.  This is our opportunity to impact how our teams are standing.  If you think back to the successful leaders you have had in the past, it is likely that they understood who they stood for and invested time to develop your capacity.

Moving Forward

As Michael Jordan once said, “You have to earn your leadership every day.” 

You earn that privilege by knowing who you are (what you stand for), understanding what you bring to the table (how you stand), and taking care of your people (who you stand for). 

Regardless of the domain of work you find yourself, we should all hope to live those three themes.