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How To Be An Effective Leader

  • POSTED ON AUGUST 17, 2022
effective leadership

Leadership. The word conjures up images of stalwart-faced people (mostly men in my imagination, I notice) bravely leading a company, a country, a movement. It suggests clear direction and purpose, inspirational speeches by people who have the position and power to really make something happen.

In writing this post, I wanted to get an understanding of effective leadership and how we collectively define leadership, so I consulted my online dictionary and found this:

Lead·er·ship [lee-der-ship]
noun
  1. The position or function of a leader, a person who guides or directs a group: He managed to maintain his leadership of the party despite heavy opposition. Synonyms: administration, management, directorship, control, governorship, stewardship, hegemony.
  2. Ability to lead: As early as sixth grade she displayed remarkable leadership potential. Synonyms: authoritativeness, influence, command, effectiveness; sway, clout.
  3. An act or instance of leading; guidance; direction: They prospered under his strong leadership.
  4. The leaders of a group: The union leadership agreed to arbitrate.

Okay, maybe not so helpful. However, the synonyms are telling: management, control, authoritativeness, command, and clout. Really?! Clout?

No wonder we are in a bit of a pickle with leadership in our world today. It’s clear that our top-down, command, and control structures aren’t working. While hierarchy is a dandy structure for getting things done, it’s breathtakingly ineffective at empowering people and calling forth their very best.

What Does Effective Leadership Mean?

So, what if “leadership” were a verb rather than a noun? What if leadership was not defined by position or title but instead was measured by people’s willingness to respond and create solutions that were truly in the best interest of everyone? What if robust, engaged followership was actually considered a form of effective leadership?

What if we stepped, once and for all, into the collective understanding that every single person who drew a breath had a role to play and was an integral part of resolving the challenges that face us? Yes, we all have different skills and abilities, and it may be time to get over the idea that those who have more (however more gets measured) are the only ones who can lead.

To generate this shift, we must begin thinking about leadership as relational rather than structural and a collaboration rather than domination. In other words, we must begin thinking about effective leadership as Co-Active.

Attaining Effective Leadership the Co-Active Way

So, what is Co-Active leadership? And what is the opportunity that it offers? As a reminder, here’s our definition of Co-Active:

Co-Active represents the paradoxical balance between two primary energies of life:

Co: relationship, holding, space, being
hyphen: non-duality, paradox
Active: action, certainty, clarity, doing

Applied to effective leadership, Co-Active invites an approach that is interactive and dynamic rather than static or dogmatic and focuses on responding at the moment CREATIVELY based on what is most needed, most useful for all right now in this moment.

Co-Active Leadership also understands that this capacity to respond, to create rather than react is nascent in all people. While the expression of this capacity may differ depending on the role, the capacity is within us all.

Lastly, an effective leader orients from a place of service rather than a place of ego. Instead of emphasizing looking good and getting it right, Co-Active leadership embraces authenticity and failure.

As I bring this post to a close, I realize many other aspects of Co-Active leadership have yet to be expressed. I’d love to hear from you. For those of you who have some experience with Co-Active leadership, what are the characteristics of effective leadership that you feel are most important to you? For those of you who are new to Co-Active leadership, I’d love to hear what you think about what I’ve written and what feels important to you about this topic. Thank you for reading and for being in this conversation with me. It matters . . . as do you!

What does effective leadership mean to you? Have you had any experience with Co-Active leadership? Share your thoughts in the comments section!
Karen Kimsey-House Photo
Written By

Karen Kimsey-House

Karen Kimsey-House, MFA, CPCC, is the Co-Founder of The Co-Active Training Institute (previously Coaches Training Institute), the world's oldest and largest in-person coach training school. She also co-created the Co-Active relationship philosophy, which underpins CTI's world-renowned coaching and leadership programs. Karen has also written Co-Active Coaching and Co-Active Leadership. She continues to lead CTI workshops and is a dynamic keynote speaker around the world, committed to pioneering Co-Activity in challenging environments and troubled populations, and is on a mission of global, transformative change.

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