Leadership Presence Series – Post 8 of 16: Quality #4 – Balance

If I said that, “Balance is one of the seven qualities of leadership presence”, would you know what I meant? What would you assume I meant by “balance”? A balance of what?

Introduction

If presence is a key to leading successfully – and it is – we need to understand it. So what is it? What’s so great about it? How does it show itself? What’s the source of presence? How do you develop it? That’s what we’re covering in this 16-part series.

Welcome to part 8: Quality #4 – Balance.

What Is Balance?

It’s a balanceof purpose versus concern for people.

It shows as a powerful drive to make things happen in service to others while respecting their free will.

Why Balance Matters To Leaders & Society

• It reduces the risk of imbalance. Leaders biased towards the mission may behave insensitively, increasing resistance and hindering progress. Conversely, over-prioritising people’s feelings can cause leaders to avoid unpopular decisions or honesty with underperformers.
• It’s the antidote to a major leadership hazard: the risk of leaders pursuing harmful, destructive or evil ends. So it has a priceless moral value to companies and society.
• It underlines a contrast between Presence and Charisma: leadership presence isn’t about charming or winning power over others for selfish gain. It’s about serving a greater cause to the benefit of all.

Hard To Get Right

This balance is hard to get right, especially for action-orientated leaders.

It is about wanting to make things happen, to serve, to make a difference. Yetit’s not about imposing your will by force.

How do leaders steer a path through what seems an unsolvable paradox? The answer lies in Gautama Buddha’s teachings on non-attachment.

The key is to be emotionally unattached to the result of your actions, to not make your happiness or self-image depend on your results or how people respond to you, recognising that while you’re responsible for your choices, you’re not responsible for others’ choices.

Note: this is not indifference. The best leaders do care what happens and will do their best to keep teammates on track towards the shared goal. But they equally respect their autonomy. Thus, they retain a sense of mission while avoiding the trap of forcing others to do what they want “for their own good”.

Questions For Reflection

• Do I feel – and show my commitment to – a clear, strong sense of vision or mission?
• Do I feel a real connection to others and see them as real beings (not objects to be manipulated) with their own feelings, hopes, aspirations and fears?
• Are other people as important to me as me?
• How powerful is my desire to serve a cause that benefits others?

Next post in the series: Quality #5: Intuition

[This post uses content from my 2016 book, The Three Levels of Leadership.]

Are you a visual or audio-orientated person? If so, you might prefer to see and hear me talking about leadership presence in my eleven-episode video series on YouTube at my YT channel, The Leadership Mastery Suite. When you arrive at the channel page, scroll down until you come to Created Playlists and there you’ll find the series, “On Leadership Presence”.