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Title of the Book: The Inspiring Leader
Authors: John H. Zenger, Joseph R. Folkman, Scott K. Edinger
Time is rapidly running. Society consistently changing. Organization’s structure and system are pressed to cope up with all the ‘ups and downs’ of business demands. Thus, ‘leadership’ becomes really complex. There is already thousands of books in the market that deals with different theories and leadership models. Most are about characteristics and traits of good leaders based on the success of their organizations. Seldom are those that deal with non-measurable factors in leadership such as spirituality, spirit, soul, INSPIRATION.
“The Inspiring Leader” is one of those books that dared to venture into the world of the so-called soft skills of leadership. It is said to be of less interest for its hazy link to productivity and organizational outcome. But what is unique about the book is how the author established the relevance of the study (inspiration) using empirical research or data. It was the outcome of the extensive database consisted of more than 200,000 multi-rater and 360-degree feedback instruments that described 20,000 managers.
INSPIRATION IS THE MOST IMPORTANT LEADERSHIP INGREDIENT. It is the “silver bullet” that can make the significant difference in leading. There are indeed numerous competencies talking about leadership but it became clear in the book that “inspiration and motivation for high performance” were the single most important quality or competency for the leader to possess. But as the authors said, it does not mean that the other elements of leadership are not important.
ATTRIBUTES OF THE INSPIRING LEADER. There are three fundamental characteristics that are vital in order to make inspiration come to life; Role Model, Change Champion, Initiator. The most effective leaders are excellent role models, has the ability to motivate a change, and becomes the cause of a new direction or change.
EMOTION IS THE DNA OF INSPIRATION. The leader’s ability to inspire subordinates comes down to the leader’s willingness and ability to be aware of and feel comfortable with emotions. In simple terms, we can conclude that leadership is not just about what is in our head, but of more importance are the ‘enthusing stories and realizations residing in our hearts’ that we are willing to share with our people. Emotions are highly contagious, strong emotions can arouse similar feelings to those being lead. For this reason, leaders should really have the capacity to “introspect” or in Gardner’s multiple intelligence, the “intrapersonal” intelligence of a leader. The book highlighted the importance of the leader being attuned to his emotion, being transparent (emotionally) and expressing it with great amplitude and frequency.
The message of the book is clear in shunning the traditional control and bureaucracy and offering inspiration and motivation as a better alternative in leading people. May it be the competitive world of corporations, complex system of education or the not-so-good realm of politics, to inspire is somehow a catalyst that can make a significant-positive-difference.
I honestly cannot imagine ‘leading without inspiring’ or ‘demanding without motivating’. The book is a must read for all in the leadership position. Especially now that culture of workplaces is more on compliance and survival. In education, teachers need enough inspiration and motivation amidst the struggle for small take-home pay and confused educational system. The world of politics is in need of inspiring people who can spark change and new direction.
We then ask ourselves, “AM I AN INSPIRING LEADER”?
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