In business, there is a surplus of authoritarian bosses and a lack of inspirational leaders. The new reality of the workplace requires people who know how to develop the potential, talent and creativity of their employees.
Today, self-interested politicians, rulers, leaders, statesmen, bureaucrats, managers, executives and administrators abound everywhere, but true conscious leaders serving the common good of society are lacking everywhere. At the company level, for example, most employees complain about the dehumanising relationship with their superiors. Times may be changing, but “authoritarian bosses” are still too often referred to. While they are all different, they share some common features:
1.They believe in hierarchy. They still think in terms of “superior” and “inferior”. Hence, they treat people according to their professional position. They tend to show their best side to those “above”, while showing their worst side to those “below”.
2.They are focused on their professional career. They care little about the impact their work has on society. In fact, many change companies for economic reasons. Their goal is to rise up the business ladder, holding positions of greater recognition, prestige, and remuneration.
3. They give orders. They believe that their main function is to tell their team members what to do, abusing their power. In general, they do not listen to the ideas of their collaborators or take into account points of view other than their own.
4. They penalize errors. Due to the pressure to which they are subjected to achieve results in the short term, they do not tolerate the failures of their collaborators. Sometimes they fight when things don’t go as expected, creating a work environment based on fear of being punished.
5. They wear a mask. They base their identity on the name of the position they hold. They are so obsessed with productivity that they do not take into account the human dimension of their collaborators. They do not usually talk about what they feel or allow others to do so.
6. They take all the credit. They compete with their team members. They can’t stand that any of their collaborators stands out more than them. They blame others when the results are mediocre and put all the medals when they reap some collective success.
7. They are distrustful and controlling. They spend a lot of time supervising and correcting the work done by their collaborators. They do not contemplate the option for people to use new technologies to work from anywhere, preventing them from enjoying autonomy and freedom. They are the main cause of the demotivation of their teams.
CHANGING THE RULES OF THE GAME
“The greatness of a leader is not measured by the size of his ego, but by the height of the purpose he serves.”
( Martin Luther King)
In the current macroeconomic scenario, the main source of wealth for companies is their human capital. That is, the talent, creativity, passion, motivation and intelligence of the people who work in them. More than anything because it is the only thing that cannot be copied, automated or digitized, nor can it be relocated to emerging countries with cheaper labor.
And since more and more professional functions do not require work routines, authoritarian bosses are no longer necessary in the most avant-garde companies. Essentially because employees are no longer paid to obey orders or are subject to rigid schedules. Now the important thing is that they meet certain objectives. Hence they depend entirely on their ability to think for themselves.
As a direct consequence, the most progressive companies are changing their inner workings, starting with trusting the people they hire. They just try to pick the right people. In other words, talented professionals, committed to the purpose of the company. You no longer have to motivate them based on rewards or punishments. They come home motivated. And unless the function requires it, they are not forced to be present eight hours a day in the same physical place. The moment the company feels that it has to control one of its collaborators, it means that it has made a mistake when hiring him. When the company learns to recruit talented and responsible people, it no longer needs hierarchy or control.
By being very clear about what your contribution of value is, it does not matter where, when and how the collaborator performs his work. If they prefer, people can work from home. No more long, boring and stressful meetings. The trend is that physical meetings will take place when strictly necessary. This will significantly reduce discussions and other emotional conflicts, so present in today’s labor relations.
THE PROFILE OF THE CONSCIOUS LEADER
“It is impossible to lead others if you have not learned to lead yourself.”
(Nelson Mandela)
For this new business reality to be consolidated, authoritarian bosses have to become conscious leaders. That is, in people who know who they are and what their true purpose in life is, so that they can deploy their full potential at the service of the common good of society. Thus, all the great conscious leaders –such as Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela or the Dalai Lama, to name the best known–, share a series of common features:
1. They question their belief system. They are open to change, daring to question the beliefs with which they were conditioned by their social and family environment. This is how they develop their own thinking that allows them to make decisions based on their intuition.
2. They know their shadow. They are committed to their own self-awareness and self-leadership. This journey of introspection allows them to understand, accept and integrate their dark side, transforming their defects into qualities. In this way they become people who radiate light, making it easier for others to undertake this same process.
3. They do what they love. Knowing themselves, they choose a vocational path that allows them to serve and add value to other human beings. They give off a very contagious enthusiasm, passion and optimism. They deeply enjoy what they do.
4. They have vision and determination. They don’t let the trees block their view of the forest. They are very clear about where they are going. And this sense of direction endows them with a deep conviction to overcome any obstacle that may arise along the way.
5. They cultivate their emotional intelligence. They know how to relate with empathy, respect and assertiveness. They treat their collaborators as they need to be treated so that they voluntarily commit to giving the best of themselves. In this way they create a pleasant working environment marked by trust.
6. They inspire through their example. They do not expect things to change, but they themselves are the change they want to see in their companies. In fact, they are leaders not because they take that title, but because others follow them. They earn their authority as a result of the service they provide to society.
7. They develop the potential of their collaborators. They have discovered that knowledge is what empowers people, generating in the medium term the true wealth and abundance that companies seek. Hence, they invest what is necessary so that their teams display all the talent, intelligence and creativity that they carry within.
The fact of the matter is that this type of leadership cannot be taught. In fact, it does not arise as a consequence of taking a Master of Business Administration (MBA). Rather it arises from within each human being; It’s like a seed that we all carry inside. For it to flourish there is only one way: personal transformation. And it is that we cannot become authentic leaders until we become authentic people. And we won’t be real people until we get rid of our unconscious fears. Who among us is the first to take the first step?
