🗝️ Resharing a thoughtful post by David Ducheyne, Vice President of EAPM, on what makes leadership truly effective. 💡 "Leadership is more important than ever: The need for competent, adaptable leaders is critical with mounting complexities. Yet, leadership is also harder than ever, with most leaders being either average, incompetent, or occasionally toxic." Read more! 👇
Shaping Leadership. Driving Progress. Founder of Otolith Consulting - President of hrpro - Vice President of EAPM
++ Effective Leadership: Striking the Right Balance ++ (This text is based on a keynote that I gave for Silverfin) Effective leadership isn’t just about achieving results—it’s about fostering progress while influencing people to work together toward something valuable. It requires a balance of behaviors to motivate, enable, and empower teams to contribute to a shared mission sustainably. This balance is the key to coping with today’s leadership challenges. ++ The Essence of Effective Leadership ++ Leadership is more important than ever: The need for competent, adaptable leaders is critical with mounting complexities. Yet, leadership is also harder than ever, with most leaders being either average, incompetent, or occasionally toxic. Leadership impacts performance: Data shows that teams led by effective leaders are more engaged, perform better, and experience higher mental and physical well-being. This demonstrates why balance and versatility in leadership matter. ++ The Balance Leaders Must Strike ++ Leadership requires navigating between two areas: ➡️ Vitality: Supporting team members’ motivation, competence, resilience, and well-being in general. ➡️ Performance and Results: Driving growth, productivity, and outcomes. Balanced leaders adopt a versatile approach, blending enabling and directive behaviors. They focus on today while preparing for tomorrow. ++ Adapting to Lead ++ ➡️ No one-size-fits-all: Effective leaders adapt their approach to the people and situations they face. ➡️ Versatility is crucial: Balancing strategic and operational needs, and knowing when to be forceful or enabling, defines leadership success. ➡️ Trustworthiness: Building trust is essential. Trust allows leaders to foster psychological safety, enabling creativity, risk-taking, and honest communication. ++ The Challenges of Balance ++ Striking this balance is not without challenges: ➡️ Personality Limitations: Leaders must be self-aware and avoid over-relying on their strengths, which can become liabilities. ➡️ Team Dynamics: Leadership should adapt to individual needs while fostering inclusivity. ➡️ Changing Contexts: Leaders must communicate clearly and align their teams’ efforts with evolving goals. ➡️ Sustainability: Leadership demands personal care to avoid burnout while ensuring team vitality. ++ Why People Follow Leaders ++ Leaders inspire trust by demonstrating competence, loyalty, and honesty. They create environments where people feel safe to contribute, take risks, and innovate. Leadership success relies on building trust as the foundation for collaboration and progress. ++ A Call to Action ++ Leadership is a daily practice. Every day offers an opportunity to lead effectively, balance strategy with operations, and achieve progress grounded in trust and adaptability. Make sure you are a good leader. Make sure you work /with a good leader. Get in touch if you want to know more. Otolith Consulting Paul Van Geyt Filip Fiers Paul Van Geyt