an icmr-iipm think tank publication - Cycbth.org

INTERNATIONAL COLUMN
TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP:
WHAT WILL BE YOUR LEGACY?
AN INTEGRAL ELEMENT OF CRAFTING A LEGACY OF
LASTING TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP IS TO TAKE
ACTION BASED ON OUR EVENTUAL LACK OF EXISTENCE
COURTNEY ANDERSON
JD, MBA, The Workplace Relationship Expert
She has the degrees on the wall, the cars in the
garage, the high end furnishings, lush landscaping,
the luxurious homes, thriving business,
dedicated staff and loving family. The accoutrements
of power and societally defined success surround
her. Her passport is a testament to her travels and
worldly experience. She is fluent in the language of the
privileged, sharing preferences for high end hotels, top
restaurants and the finer things in life. Awards, recognitions,
praise and financial security are woven together
to blanket her world and wrap her in the warmth of
safety and importance. She has sacrificed immeasurably
and worked beyond her limits for years. Pushing past
sleep requirements, she has greeted the sun and the late
night in her quest to reach further, to dream more eloquently
and to create business entities that could survive
even the harshest economic and market environments.
Most significantly, she ached to create a life and
a future with options. She wanted to have room to
stretch, to grow, to explore herself and the world. As
financial security almost always accompanied success
and power, that element was also part of the equation.
Yet, the primary, and perhaps primal, drive was simply
to make a mark on the world.
She had nothing to begin her life’s journey other than
determination, vision, self discipline and a relentless
tenacity. She was a calibrated risk taker and started a
micro (or miniscule) business venture as soon as she
could. Every single bit of money that came in was carefully
and deliberately stretched to cover her business
costs and keep her going for just one more day. There
were interminable days of anxiety while she just held
on, put her head down and kept pushing forward. She
had nothing but her faith in herself and absolute refusal
to surrender and quit to keep her going.
Many others warned her that she was “doing too
much” and that she should stop. She found herself wishing
that they could understand that she had no choice.
She was possessed by forces that even she did not fully
understand to pursue the limits of her abilities. Yet,
every time she thought she had exhausted every breath,
every idea, every plan, and was through; she encountered
new reservoirs and energy and set new limits. This
process repeated daily, weekly, monthly and annually
for decades brought her to her current gilded position.
Although she received only praise for her behaviour,
she was not immune to the pain that her words and
behaviour caused other people. She rationalized it by
telling herself that she was “toughening” them up and
helping them “become leaders” one day. Yet, one question
gnawed at her. What is the legacy she will leave?
It is a question that haunts her, and it should.
Transformational leadership is at its simplest element,
the forces of entropy (systems moving toward
disorder) and homeostasis (systems maintaining stability)
at war. Yes, I am fully aware that I am not a scientist
and have applied a rudimentary (and debatable) interpretation
of these concepts to the business world. Yet,
the acknowledgment that there are powerful forces beyond
the control of individuals and organisations that
impact (if not cause) transformational leadership, is
important and useful to business leaders. This helps to
guide the leader towards comprehending that they
alone are not the beginning and end of all action and
that the process will continue after they leave the organisation.
The stereotypical focus of transformational
leadership is on the organisation that is stuck in the
status quo and then a transformational leader emerges
(or enters) who, like a magical being, utilizes their
unique skill and intellect to change that entity into a
dynamic and hyper-successful organisation. There are
differences in individuals’ motivation, attitude, innovation
and self discipline. Many of those changes and predilections
manifest themselves in business leaders, entrepreneurs
and scholars who do empirically work more
hours, create higher measureable results and create a
culture reflective of those values and attributes. Yet,
what price is the transformational leader charging for
this process? Are they stifling opposition due to their
strong personality? Are they missing opportunities due
to their overwhelming confidence in their own opinion?
Most importantly, are they personally content?
count your chickens before they hatch 36 april 2012