Leadership That Shapes Organisations

Many, many years ago now, I had the priviledge of working with Enoch, the MD in his company.  An amazing leader and human being.  As a leader he was breaking all the “rules” and achieving the most amazing results we would all wish for

Picture this.  He did not have work hours for his teams.  He did not have leave days either.  He had an open plan office for plug and play.  I can hear HR shudder at this thought.  No control?  Maybe.  But he had something more.  Loyalty.

As a leader he shaped his organisation in the following way.  The sales team would land a project, and then form a project team to work on the project with a plan and a deadline.  The project team, knowing what had to be achieved, managed the timeline and the result.  On successful completion they went off for a few days, and climbed mountains, or swam in the ocean, they did whatever recharged them for 2 – 3 days.  And then they would return for the next project, willing to burn the candle at both ends to achieve the best result for the client.  The value of being able to work on a project utilising their skills, and then having the time to recharge was an incentive that most MD’s would be afraid to implement.  No control but deep trust.

As leaders, where is our level of trust?  I am aware that there are people who may take advantage, and that will always be, but if the overriding culture encourages participation, and a collective growth mindSHIFT, in an environment of psychological safety, where everyone benefits at every opportunity, would that assist business’ to thrive?

Leadership is a motion.  It has a rhythm, it has an energy, it is fluid.  Leaders however, bring leadership into their teams.  As a leader how could you create an environment as Enoch did.  How could you drive a culture of implementation.  What could you do to support your team to work hard and encourage harmony in time out?  Who are you, as the leader?