Needs driven leadership part 1

This article is part of a series of 3. In the first part, Shay McConnon analyses what it takes to be a Leader of Worth.

The secret to your leadership success is not written in this article, it is not in seminars, books or audio programmes. It is locked away in your people, in their minds and hearts. To access this information you need to talk to your people, get to understand their criteria and then connect.

It seems we cannot universalise on what makes a good leader, on why minds and hearts are won. Leadership, it would appear, is person specific. What is critical to one person will not be for another. Some people are turned off by the outgoing, dynamic, high energy, charismatic style of leadership. There are ‘quiet’ leaders in the workplace who have genuine followers making real differences.

Effective leadership

The most effective style of leadership would appear to be related to the personalities and needs of the people being led. People follow because their criteria are met. Leaders need to measure themselves against the criteria of their people rather than the textbook or the expert criteria. Successful leaders know the criteria of their people. They have fluency and flexibility in their leadership style. They individualise rather than universalise.

Management and leadership

You manage systems, budgets, and time, but you lead people. Leadership is about the people side of things. It is about rapport, communication, loyalty, trust, helping people believe in themselves and inspiring them to higher levels of performance.

Leaders need to understand people and the dynamics of behaviour. They need to understand what motivates people and how they can be inspired, excited and moved to action.

We are dramatically different

The single biggest mistake people and hence leaders, make in their relationships, is to assume that people are like them, have similar needs and values and would like to be treated as they would. People are dramatically different, so different; it is as if they are from different planets. The criteria for winning minds and hearts can differ widely from person to person.

As early as the fifth century BC, Hippocrates described groups of human characteristics, each cluster very different yet equally valuable in its own way. There have been many variations and developments of these fundamental groupings over the years.

Remember my publication: “Successful Motivators Individualise not Universalise”, which described the three basic personality types – carers, doers, and thinkers.

People will have a mixture of these motivations which in turn explains how they need to be treated.