Reframing Leadership to Meet the Moment

When you search Google Images for a “strong business leader”, most results will show a man at the helm, with his arms crossed and a serious expression. If we encountered this image, many of us would think that this leader is very competent– he is probably capable, powerful, and effective. If you do another search for “empathetic business leader”, suddenly you’ve got a lot more women at the helm, with open arms and wide smiles. Many of us will think this person has very high EQ – she looks like someone I can trust, like, and be friendly with. This explanation is not to generalize differences among men and women but only to call out common assumptions that are made.

The harsh truth? Neither of these extreme representations fully embodies the leadership we need in today’s world. A study led by Dr. Susan Finke from Princeton University revealed we need to have a balance of both their qualities to be successful. And what I’ve found in interacting with hundreds of leaders over my career is that having this balance is difficult and requires constant work. While we ALL should be working on achieving a better balance of having both competence and EQ, we can surround ourselves with people who complement what we are naturally good at. To put it bluntly – in today’s environment, a significant factor of organizational success is based on the quality of leadership. A capable leadership team embodies strategic decision-making and a relentless drive for results, but also the ability to cultivate inclusive growth strategies, harnessing the collective talent and energy of its people. As a leader, this means you need to seek out people who are different from you: people with different skill sets, expertise, lived experiences, and leadership styles. If everyone in your leadership team is highly competent but lacks EQ, people are not compelled to follow you. And when people aspire too much to be liked, they might be over-collaborative and not make the tough decisions your organization needs.

There are a handful of best practices for organizations to slowly develop this balance in their leaders. Here is what I’d recommend:

• Invest in leadership development programs that focus on both technical skills and interpersonal skills. SHAMBAUGH Leadership has worked with many organizations whose development programs focus on technical business skills. However, we notice as these highly competent people advance further in their organizations and become managers or leaders of others, they need to further develop their EQ and interpersonal skills. They need to work with and through other people, and to do this, they need to develop their interpersonal skills.

• Tackle business issues by asking if you have a diverse set of perspectives and expertise in the room. Today’s environment is complex, and sustainable growth only comes when organizations are agile and collaborative enough to listen and adjust. When facing a tough business situation or even a key growth strategy or goal, ask first if you have the right people in the room. If you don’t, invite those experts in and give them a seat at the table. Leaders today need to be able to take perspective from multiple stakeholders to make decisions that are informed, inclusive, and impactful.

• Constantly evaluate if you have equitable hiring, promotion, and succession planning practices in place. Many times we are blinded by personal attributes rather than considering if the person has the skillset, results, and experience to tackle the task at hand. Many organizations are still playing to traditional masculine traits such as confidence and a commanding “drive-for-results” leadership style. Emotionally intelligent leaders can be seen as “weak”, but they bring a unique value because they understand that cultural norms, collaboration, and building healthy teams are critical in delivering the business. We need to remove these unconscious biases in our staffing practices.

• Champion each other’s strengths and articulate the benefit it has to the business and the team. In a culture where there is a drive to get ahead and stand out, we need to be champions for one another, using language that elevates each other’s strengths, especially if that strength is what the organization needs. The culture of speaking up for others when they are not in the room does not take anything away from you and in fact, may strengthen people’s perception of you as a leader.

Organizations are waking up to the fact that the old models of hierarchical decision-making — the traditional leadership mindset, behaviors, and culture — won’t work in the new era we’ve now entered. Great leadership will demonstrate and inspire others to move beyond the current assumptions or comfort zone of leadership traits and evolve into a higher level of excellence and ambition that is needed to lead thriving organizations in this new and disruptive era.

If you’d like to expand your strategic leadership skills and capabilities, get in touch with us at info@shambaughleadership.com.

Visit SHAMBAUGH’s offerings on Executive Coaching, Leadership Development, Coaching and Development Programs for Women, Keynotes, and Fireside Chats. 

Rebecca Shambaugh is President of SHAMBAUGH Leadership, Founder of Women in Leadership and Learning, and author of the best-selling books It’s Not a Glass Ceiling, It’s a Sticky Floor and Make Room for Her: Why Companies Need an Integrated Leadership Model to Achieve Extraordinary Results.