What happens to people in finance when they learn to channel their cognitive skills in leadership? You end up with what John Knights calls ‘transpersonal leaders’
That might sound mind blowing, but rewiring of our neural circuits happens every minute of every day. It’s just that much of the time we are not in control of it. We tend to react to our environment and our experiences rather than pro-actively helping our neural cell structures reconfigure in a way that is most positive for our lives and our future.
For example, when we learn to swim, play tennis or learn a foreign language we receive instruction, trying to reach our potential. We rewire our brains all the time.
The same cannot be said of leadership. Most leadership training is limited to business skills and strategic leadership with the emphasis on what we need to do rather than how we need to do it. Often when I ask people what the greatest thing was about a previous leadership course they attended, they will say networking – which is very important but is not the main purpose of the training.
In addition, the requirements to become a very good (let alone excellent) leader in the 21st century have fundamentally changed over the past 20 years. Traditionally, self-confidence, assertiveness, influence and achievement came to mind when we thought of leadership characteristics. These are still important, but unless the individual has developed the right behaviours and has appropriate core values to go along with them, their characteristics easily become arrogance, aggression, manipulation, ruthlessness and obsession with control.
In the past, leaders could get away with these regressive characteristics. Although they are still seen today, tomorrow’s followers will resist them more strongly. Various studies show that millennials and generation Z demonstrate “fairness, ethical behaviour and ability to make a difference” ahead of career opportunity as such, so are not motivated to put up with the bad behaviour of such leaders.
As business leaders ourselves who have worked with chief executives for close to two decades, we have developed a leadership journey. Leaders develop at three levels, which are neither linear nor sequential and may develop in parallel.
The three levels
The first level, which we refer to as the
‘launch’, is development using our
rational brain, which includes learning
business skills and processes and
strategic leadership. We call this the first
level because it is the easiest for anyone
with a reasonable IQ to learn, and we
have been taught to think rationally all
our lives, so we have had lots of practice.
It is basically what we learn at business
school or during training to become an
accountant.
And while this is an essential step in
becoming a good leader, by itself it is not
sufficient. We refer to this stage using the
acronym REAL – rational, ego-based, as
usual leadership – as individuals are still
leading based on their default instincts
and individual ambitions.
The second level, ‘intermediate’, is
about increasing our awareness –
especially awareness of our emotions and
the emotions of others. Increasing our
awareness allows us to be more
comfortable with who we are. In turn, this
enables us to demonstrate more empathy
and to be more considerate of others. In
essence it helps us behave in a way that
will engage others, help them to stay or
become motivated and as a result
improve performance. Using the acronym
REAL again, we refer to the completion of
this intermediate level as robust
emotionally aware leadership.
The intermediate level is not easy. For
example, as an engineer it took me years
to develop my empathy to a reasonable
level. It required me not only to listen
attentively, but also to understand what
was behind people’s views and keep an
open mind to genuine change. I had to
learn to let people know I was listening
and understood them, which our research
has shown is the most common
developmental need of leaders. We each
have our own individual development
needs so for you it might be the need to
develop your initiative, how you help to
develop the people around you,
controlling your emotions, focusing more
on achievement or being inspirational.
Whatever they are, you will need to learn
how to make those behavioural changes.
The third level, referred to as
‘advanced’, requires us to bring our values
to full consciousness so that everything we do is ethical, and we manage our ego
so that we are in the service of others
rather than just ourselves. As a leader of
an organisation, this means working for
the benefit of all its stakeholders –
customers, employees, suppliers,
shareholders, the community, the planet
and so on. Using REAL again, these
leaders are radical, ethical, authentic
leaders. This requires, among other
values, courage, humility and integrity.
For some, the intermediate level is the
most difficult to achieve, but it is essential
because without learning the right
behaviours there is no chance that values
can turn into action. We have noted that
many leaders who are both intellectual
and have good basic values are let down
by their poor behaviours. I recall the CEO
of a major insurance company who was
very keen to run a leadership programme
for his senior staff and wanted it to result
in a better attitude towards customers
and the community. But when he spoke
to the HR director it was as if he was
speaking to a servant.
The advanced journey of bringing our
values to full consciousness also requires
a concerted effort. It is so easy to just get
on with the day job and make decisions
that are focused on short-term
commercial benefits. We need to develop
the courage and resilience to check every
decision against whether it upholds our
personal core values. Of course, as
imperfect humans we never reach the final
destination of this leadership journey. But
as long as we know the direction we can
always work on improving ourselves. We
call these leaders ‘transpersonal leaders’
who operate beyond their ego, continue
personal development and are radical,
ethical and authentic, while emotionally
intelligent and caring.
To help you operate as a transpersonal
leader, we suggest everyone develops a
personal touchstone with which to check
both core values and transpersonal
qualities to ensure you are making the
right transpersonal decisions. In the
example ('Example Touchstone'), I have included what I
consider to be important core values.
So what values will you have in your
personal touchstone? Prepare your own
and then try consulting it when you next
have a difficult decision to make.
Example touchstone
About the author
John Knights, chairman, LeaderShape Global and lead author of 'Leading Beyond the Ego'
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Update History
- 13 Apr 2018 (12: 00 AM BST)
- First published
- 15 Dec 2022 (12: 00 AM GMT)
- Page updated with Further reading section, adding further resources on transpersonal leadership and developing your leadership values. These new articles provide fresh insights, case studies and perspectives on this topic. Please note that the original article from 2018 has not undergone any review or updates.