What characteristics should a leader have? You’re thinking of your typical school assignment answers: honest, friendly, and fair. Words like this, but this semester my professor, Dr. Haparnuik, showed us a video that gives a different answer to this question.
The self-differentiated leader is like the emotional immune system of the organization because every person and cell has a purpose. The cells make up an organization, a family, or a nation. The leader in the organization is connected to everyone without losing their intent to keep the organization moving. In every organization, some viruses are insecure and want to communicate with other cells and bring them down. You are your cell in your organization; you have a purpose and cannot let negative cells bring you down. Just like the body needs a pumping heart, the organization needs an encouraging leader.
As the heart of the body and the organization’s leader, crucial conversations are essential to be effective. People want to feel like they are cared for and safe. There are three defined features: opposing, strong, and high stakes. The first is to be unstuck and start with the heart. Be sure of what you want. As a leader in your organization, be sure to know what you want.
Dr. Haparnuik uses analogies that keep going back to the heart. I watched the first video a few times before fully understanding it. Constantly feeling that I had a communication problem and allowing silence to come into play, I know I did let silence come into play, but now I know I should keep the conversation going.
