Be the right answer for the question your organisation faces

David Lloyd recognises that you need to leave your ego at the door if you are practising the gentle art of leadership. He suggests that leaders must not see themselves as the answer to whatever question the organisation is facing at a particular time. Leaders need to explicitly imagine the enterprise without them. In most cases it once was that way in whatever organisation you are part of, and it very likely will be again in the future. 

David’s experience is that leaders often feel almost compelled not just to know what the answer to the organisation’s question is, but to be the answer to that question. The pressure to be the answer for everything means they must forever try to prove to their colleagues, staff, and board that they chose well. 

David thinks that as a leader you need to do the exact opposite. You need to be curious about what the business looked like without you and to make an honest appraisal of whether you are the answer. It means being interested in and willing to listen and learn from others. 

David has found from experience that it’s not just about looking at an organisation that way; it’s about being curious about the whole industry that you are operating in. 

The person who starts a new initiative may not be the answer to building it to a new level. Adopting this approach means you’re not building yourself in as the answer. It is liberating to not have to talk about yourself as the answer for all time. You’re talking about the story of the organisation moving from one point to another. You’re saying, this chapter I can write, but I couldn’t write the others. 

Being able to set aside one’s ego, and the belief that you are the answer to whatever question the organisation thinks it’s facing at a particular time enables other wisdom and insights to shine through. 

These leadership insights from David Lloyd are outlined in more detail in the new book, which Dean Phelan and I co-authored – The Gentle Art of Leadership.

The perspectives we gathered from our interviews with 50+ leaders like David from around the globe and the original research we drew on, form the basis of the book.  

🙋 Which part of David’s perspective stands out to you the most? 🙋‍♀️

PS: Develop your superpower in the next Personality and Behaving Transactionally Program.

Best regards, Brian