Such interesting research — would love to continue the conversation. But first two things:

1) has anyone noticed that the vast majority of comments emanate from service/solution providers and not from the leaders who need to be centered?

2) I’m curious as to how this piece, given the original centered leadership study on which it was based, would only include a story from one woman, or 20% of cited leaders? Regrettably, I know this stat reflects the hard number of women in leadership positions but it’s also an ideal opportunity to leave a larger footprint. Including at least one other woman’s story could demonstrate how naturally women’s innate strengths dovetail with the centered leadership model.

Also, it would help make the case for appointing more women to boards (a whole other study indicates the business case for doing so).

Managing Energy is such an important aspect of productivity and is the crux behind the idea of “Strategic Disengagement” from the Human Performance Institute.

It’s a simple idea that a 15-minute break can re-energize you to get more work done. The break could be meditating or “thinking about nothing” or it could be enjoying something humorous, or maybe even stopping by McKinsey Quarterly... = )

I have been working with an assessment tool (The MAP created by Susann Cook-Greuter as part of her PhD at Harvard). This assessment looks at the qualities associated with later-stage leadership—what we now equate with Level 5 Leadership. Much of her work talks about the ability of “later stage leaders” to take responsibility for their own meaning making. As this happens, we as leaders recognize the impact we have on our lives and we have much more freedom of choice and control over our internal processing.

I am very excited to see that your research is pointing to similar qualities. What was previously seen as “soft” now turns out to be critical to being highly effective in our increasingly complex and interconnected world.

Thanks for sharing this work!

This article provides great insights into visionary leaders. Leaders are those who thrive in times of crises and are capable of converting threats into opportunities.

Thank you for the interesting perspective on leadership development. But most of these the concepts on ‘Leadership’ seem to be focusing only on the CEO/CXO level leaders, and not much on those who actually execute the job. Have the authors interviewed any low-level workers who do not have the exposure to even the concepts on leadership? Example: what is the motivation and drive for a unit leader of the railway track inspection team of Indian Railways in a rural town in India? Does the author’s model include this fellow too? Indian Railways is the world’s largest employer, completely a state run machinery, and leaders there are not from the likes of the Ivy Leagues Schools. I wonder how one could motivate a large bunch of less educated people of this organization.

Whether an executive, a labourer, or a homemaker, we are not defined by the things that give us meaning, we are defined by the things we give meaning to. When we grasp this we realise that all things, however humble, and all tasks, however menial or mundane, have meaning. It is in the very act of our “being” that meaning springs forth.

In management, “meaning” is three-fold: first, it is the value of creating a stable, positive work environment where people can grow while sustaining their families; second, the value of giving back (taxes, scholarships, etcetera) that only a healthy business can deliver; and, third, the value that the company’s output adds to the society.

On the subject of meaning and value creation, creating wealth always has a higher purpose and obligation. Wealth is created from natural and intellectual resources. A “profit-only” mindset is against the order of a higher purpose, whatever you believe in.

I wonder if the authors interviewed any Japanese or Chinese or even Indian executives during the course of their research. I would like to believe their priorities or ‘meaning’ would be somewhat different.

“Meaning” has been rightly identified as the most vital dimension. It is also the most elusive in today’s scenario.

It is vital because the leader coming to terms with his idea of “higher meaning” is critical as it will set the context for others to find theirs. It is elusive because achieving the right alignment of one’s personal value system with work goals and vision is a precondition.

Leaders when they are able to “inspire” take an organization to a great level—the team just follows when inspired and they are full of energy, which is the only quality which is critical. Gandhiji is the best example. There are many such leaders in the corporate world, with both big and small organizations, thanks to them they are big assets to their organizations. Another aspect which leaders work on to achieve extraordinary results is to identify talent within the team and create more leaders—creating leaders is a combinaton of both talent and skill.

Perhaps the perversions of leadership that take place, when it is wielded for the wrong cause, the wrong reason, or with the wrong methods, is a result of some jobs not having “meaning”—that is, not having meaning other than to make a buck or win a battle or to acquire or hold on to power.

I suggest that most organizations are predicated only on these meanings, in which case the leader who hopes to avoid their inevitably limited or even horrid outcomes has to invent better meanings—meanings that, however, are false.

It is this eternal contradiction between what most of us are asked to do and what most of us (leaders and followers) would like to be doing, that plagues leaders today as it has over the millennia.

It’s a matter of personal realities contending with socially constructed ideologies. In our time, it’s the contradiction between capitalism as a unidimensional driver contending with more idealistic, collective visions. In recent times, it has been fascism or fascism that have defeated good leaders, as in earlier times Empire and Church had that fatal function.

The best leaders transcend the ruling ideology and their own narrow visions to produce powerful social narratives that have, as Daniel Burnham desired, the power “to stir men’s blood.” It takes an inordinate amount of courage to take on social mores and in our time, the capitalistic ethos.

It didn’t even show up among the five traits praised in this article, so unlikely a quality it is. And then, having ducked the challenge to be really different and creative, great leaders, we wonder why we fail.

While leadership is tangible and real, it’s effectiveness is “in the eye of the beholder.” Every leader should have an ability to:
1. Achieve and win. No one will follow a loser.
2. Motivate staff, particularly direct reports
3. Take on the tough decisions him/herself and not shirk/delegate these to subordinates.
4. Ensure that he/she has no visible favourites amongst subordinate staff.

An excellent article that is particularly timely given the challenges facing organizations and their leaders in this difficult economy. Two of the survey’s findings jump out: 1) the need for a centered leader to look beyond the leadership team to cultivate relationships with individuals at all levels across the organization’s ecosystem, and 2) encouraging others to take risk and confront the unknown through the use of a “risk mitigation” process. When combined with the positive framing approach referenced by the authors, encouraging others to speak their mind and share their perspective it is easy to see the potential inspirational and motivational impact these traits could have have on employees, suppliers and customers. This approach, in and of itself, provides an excellent mechanism for sustaining positive organizational energy.

An excellent research of the five dimensions of leadership, but there is one critical point which is missing. A leader is a person who leads people towards DESIRED targets.

The five dimensions certainly contribute to the first part of that definition. They are about constructing a car that will be moving for a long distance in tough conditions.

The second part is about vision. It is the driver’s ability to drive a car to the target destination in time without going out of fuel or smashing the car into the nearest tree.

Vision is everything. It is the missing point. It enables the person to “feel” the situation and to take right decisions at the right moment. It is what defines a truly good leader.

What if a person is excellent in terms of the five dimensions but he or she leads the team in the wrong way?

Leadership is about creating right and vibrant culture that inspires people to feel energised about their contribution. Finding “meaning” is more of a personal pursuit.

I would say ‘meaning’ is the most critical of all these factors, because it is the quality that can inspire individuals to see things beyond the everyday. In response to one of the comments above, it is in these intangible areas that leaders really excel and become more than managers. One soft drink brand grew because people wanted to make sure there was a bottle within reach of every US soldier stationed around the world—that was not clearly just for their refreshment, it was to provide them with an instinctive link with something better and reassuring. This is a time when the more intuitive and instinctive qualities will come to the fore, and where creativity will prevail over process. The more meaning leaders can find and share with their people, the greater the commitment they will generate.

Very valuable lesson for all leaders. The points should be converted to a personal project for tracking and implementation. Obviously, each leader will have his or her own style. The personal project plan should be customised to choose the one-out-of-five points to leverage maximum benefits. I personally liked the last point Managing Energy and then Connecting.

Excellent articles and based on my personal challenges running businesses, the anecdotes ring very true. I have always adopted a style of leadership that attempts to bring people into the same space as the business is in, by sharing information that allows people to see the logic and the need for change. The degree of optimism that things can change in the right way, has to be combined with a relationship with people in the business that the solutions are realisable and that staff had a say in the how to achieve the goals. Sometimes in a crisis situation, the end result seems alarmingly easy to work out but the how to do it is not. Ensuring that we succeed or fail together is a strong bonding agent. I recently read a quote that said, “a leader is someone who convinces people that they can do things they never thought were possible” so being inspired is a foundation for inspiring others.

Completely agree with ‘meaning’ having a very strong impact, not just for business but for personal happiness. Increasingly it is important for all employees and in particular for Gen Y to believe that what they do has value. Best achievements happen when a leader believes in what she/he and his/her company does—enthusiasm is contagious, and often meaning motivates as well as (or better than) financial rewards.

The 5-elements chart covers many aspects of emotional intelligence as well, which is crucial in modern world. I’ll be definitely using this model to look at myself—and my leaders.

Dalai Lama, said “If you seek enlightenment for yourself just to enhance yourself, you missed the purpose. If you seek enlightenment for yourself by helping others, you are with purpose.” And I think that’s the style of leadership that we increasingly need in today’s world. And my definition of leadership is very simple: if you positively influence someone, you are a leader.

Do you think that managing energy is more important than managing time, vice versa, or that the two are equally important?

The article gathers very well the art and science of leadership in times of challenge. The five elements speak volumes about the necessary ingredients of leadership. What I also believe is that each one of these dimensions can be consciously practiced and grown upon. Particularly important here is positive framing of a situation. Positive framing has a infectious quality about it which gets percolated very fast. It is one way of blinding people to some historical negatives which have worked on for many years. Positive framing also helps in instilling confidence.

Leadership is about reassuring and creating conditions such that human beings feel secure in their surroundings and are prepared to give off their best; it is about communication, knowing how to listen as well as give direction; it is about having the management and organizational structure in place that allows others to assume responsibility and for succession planning; and, it is about motivating and training others such that they gain the confidence to succeed. The qualities any leader should aspire to and cultivate are:

1. CANDOUR - Integrity and openness are paramount. If people discover they have been misled they are unlikely to forgive or forget. If you cannot trust other people they are unlikely to trust you and, without credibility you have no followers.

2. COMMUNICATION - learn to listen to the people who work with and for you; we have two eyes and two ears and only one mouth and perhaps we ought to learn to look and listen twice as much as we talk.

3. CONDUCT - Responsibility and accountability go hand in glove with position and status. Do not take people or organizations for granted. Make a point of keeping others involved and informed and expect them to keep you informed.

4. CONCLUSIVE - listen to the facts, take advice, make a decision and stick to it. If it turns out to be wrong then actions can be taken to resolve the matter, but there is nothing worse than procrastination.

5. CONTROL - No one thrives on chaos, only chaos itself. It is not necessary to be methodical, that is for automatons, but it is important to be organized and treat people, employees, and business contacts, fairly.

6. COMPOSURE - strive to exercise control over emotions such that, even in the heat of battle, people will recognize you will do your best to extricate them. You achieve nothing by losing your temper through anger or frustration.

7. COMPASSION - you cannot lead people when you are or appear to be distant or disinterested. Learn to care for and be enthusiastic about many things in your organization and most importantly your employees.

8. COMPREHENSION - make the time and take an interest in other people’s problems and listen to their suggestions as to how they might solve them.

9. CONTACT - it may be necessary to formulate policies and plans in isolation or in a small group but you do not lead from behind a desk. People need to see and know who is making decisions affecting their livelihood, career, or in military circles, often their life. Get out and about, look, and listen.

10. COMMITMENT - people want to be part of a successful team and to be able to do that they will respond to those they see accept responsibility and accountability and taking decisions. Leaders provide the direction and impetus to succeed. If you are not prepared to accept responsibility and accountability then you have no place pursuing the position and status of a leader.

Going through the research results, it is indeed revealing to see that “meaning” plays such a significant role in leadership. As corporate leaders, what is the essence of “meaning?” Why should a corporate leader believe that the dynamics of selling soft drinks has a higher purpose in order to be a great leader? It is not clear how such intangible assets could be translated into real meaning for corporate leaders.