Strengths Based Leadership (Part 2)

by Don Harkey

Yesterday, I wrote about a book called, "Strengths Based Leadership" and how it has taken the StrengthsFinder concept to a new level. Today, I want to talk about another simple concept found in this new study. The question is "why do people follow a leader"?

Have you ever thought about it that way? I guess in my mind, this is coming at from a different direction. Most of the time, I talk about what makes a good leader. Asking followers what makes them follow someone is a brilliantly simple way of understanding the traits of a good leader. As the book quotes Warren Buffett...

"A leader is someone who can get things done through other people."

I should point out that the study focused on positive leadership. As Peter Drucker once said, "The three greatest leaders of the 20th century were Hitler, Stalin, and Mao. If that's leadership, I want no part of it." The study uncovered 4 basic needs of a follower.

Trust, Compassion, Stability, and Hope.

The first need is trust. Followers need to know that their leaders are honest people with high integrity. They don't just want them to be honest most of the time, they want them to fall over backwards being honest. Trust takes time to develop and cannot be taught or emphasized in a seminar. It can only be developed by leaders who act with only the highest degree of integrity.

The next need is compassion. This is an interesting finding in that many leaders feel like they have to show strength. The macho view of a leader is one who makes the tough decisions and never looks back. Never let 'em see ya sweat! In actuality, leaders who are caring and happy are easier to follow than leaders who are cold and serious. This makes sense if you think about it from the perspective of the follower. Who wants to follow around a negative person who doesn't care about you?

Another basic need is stability. This need probably trips up many leaders who feel they need to hide compassion. Stability can be provided by strong leaders who provide their followers with security and peace. This makes sense from what we know about Maslow and his Hierarchy of Needs. A person's basic needs must be met before they can worry about more complex need. If an employee is worrying about their paycheck, they will not be worrying as much about the quality of their work or innovating new ideas. The best way to accomplish a feeling of stability is through transparency. I once heard Jack Shewmaker, a former WalMart executive, talk about the importance of transparency. He even went as far as posting the companies regional strategies on the walls of their stores for all employees to see!

The last basic need is hope. This need addresses the outlook of the future. Where are we headed? The best way for leaders to convey hope to their people is to be proactive rather than reactive. During difficult times, it is important for a leader to openly talk about how the company had contingencies in place (if it is true!) and what the next steps are going to be for the future. Do you spend most of your day responding or initiating? Most people spend most of their time responding. We could all spend more time initiating!

This is why followers follow. As leaders, we can all strive to provide an environment of trust, compassion, stability, and hope to our people. We must act with total integrity in the best interest of our people to provide for their basic needs and to give them a positive vision for the future!

If you haven't purchased this book yet, what are you waiting for?!?