Recently I had the privilege of engaging in a searching conversation with a man who had become a designated leader 18 months ago. At one point he asked me what it took for a leader to help create an atmosphere of ‘freedom’ and ‘trust.’ After some reflection I suggested that he consider that this ‘creation’ depends in a significant way on the personality of the leader. ‘Who the leader is’ will powerfully determine the extent to which he can help create an atmosphere of ‘freedom’ and ‘trust.’
For example, the less the person reeks of and seeks ‘ambition’ – to be the center-stage star – the easier it will be for him to help create the freedom for others to move to center-stage and the easier it will be for him to engender trust in who he is, as a person and as a leader. The more the leader has the courage (think: heart) to take the risk to stay ‘off center-stage’ (perhaps even to stay in the background, off-stage) the more freedom others will have to move to center-stage and take risks.
Those who choose to take the risk and move to center-stage will not ‘act’ in the same way the leader would act and so it is important for the leader to check his or her defense reflexes and focus on ‘outcomes’ not on ‘methods.’ The more consistent a leader is regarding being supportive and in holding those who choose to move to center-stage, and act, and the more the leader holds the ‘actor’ accountable, the more trust is engendered.
Given this, the leader, as person and as leader, must seek to ‘know one’s self.’ Thus, an important self-discipline (think: practice) for the person-leader is the discipline of ‘self-reflection.’ It will help the person-leader to understand the values, beliefs, principles and assumptions that motivate him or her. Some reflective questions that might help the person-leader are: ‘How important is it for me to be on center-stage?’ ‘How unbiased am I, really?’ ‘What biases do I have and why do I hold onto them?’ ‘What hinders me from trusting – either myself or the other?’ ‘How does my presence engender trust?’ ‘How do I strive to re-build trust?’
The leader must trust him/her self. The leader must trust his/her abilities, skills, gifts, talents and capacities. The leader must be driven to achieve (how many settle for mediocrity). In order to engender ‘freedom’ and ‘trust’ in others the leader must also be willing to take risks (calling others to be on center-stage and helping to create space for them to act, for example) and must be willing to be vulnerable (in the end, it is the leader who will be held accountable – the ‘buck does indeed stop here’). The leader must be response-able and responsible while holding others to also be response-able and responsible. The leader is always ‘act-focused’ not ‘center-focused’ and this helps create space for the others to act (think: freedom to act) and for others to trust (the leader and themselves).
I am reminded of the words of the great Chinese sage, Lao Tzu:
The best rulers are those whom the people hardly know exist.
Next come rulers whom the people love and praise.
After that come rulers whom people fear.
And the worst rulers are those whom the people despise.
The ruler who does not trust the people will not be trusted by the people.
The best ruler stays in the background, and his voice is rarely heard.
When he accomplishes his tasks, and things go well,
The people declare: It was we who did it by ourselves.