I’ve seen a variety of leaders during my lifetime; from those who are highly charismatic and yet arguably lacking in practical capability, through to those who have highly direct (near dictatorial) communication styles and are only focused on getting the job done – often at the cost of sacrificing relationships to achieve the outcomes that they deem need to be achieved.
Yes, empathy is a vital ingredient of being an effective leader…but so too is a sense of importance of achieving necessary outcomes/ results. Question: what is the ultimate consequence of a business not achieving a level of revenue sufficient to at least meet/ cover operating costs ? Answer: probable liquidation.
I’ve come to learn that the most effective leaders (including business owners/ managers) are those who practice management of other people using a “firm but fair” approach. In other words, while they have a good level of empathy as a core part of their character, they also are not afraid to “put their foot down” when they need to in order to drive the attainment of necessary outcomes.
It’s a little like effective parenting really. As parents we provide sufficient scope for our children to learn for – and about – themselves, yet we also put certain boundaries in place which ensure that our children come to understand certain values that we wish to impart to them and practice certain behaviours that achieve acceptable/ desirable outcomes/ results. Conversely, if as parents we fail to create and enforce such boundaries then the chances are good that our children’s characters will be shaped almost entirely by other people in the environments that they are mainly situated (e.g. school, friends, etc) – often not for the better.
In the same vein, if a business is to achieve a level of sales/ fee revenue which ensures its viability in a competitive market then its stakeholders must practice behaviours that are proven to at least contribute to such successful outcomes. The leader of the organisation/ business has a primary duty/ responsibility to protect and enhance/ grow the brand of the organisation/ business which they represent; and the key way that this is achieved is through the stakeholders doing the things that the leader guides them to do.
In some organisations stakeholders display a high level of resistance to being told what to do (irrespective of how diplomatic and fair minded the leader has been in communicating their request for particular action to take place). In this case, leaders can choose to either:
a) Allow strong-willed stakeholders to continue to resist performing the requested action/ practices; or
b) Use a more stern/ direct tone/ approach to re-emphasise their request for action.
If a stakeholder refuses to perform particular actions that the balance of stakeholders of the same status have agreed to support, then the leader (directors/ manager) needs to consider the enforcement of the relevant legal agreement to achieve compliance in respect of the defiant stakeholder. This is where many organisations come unstuck due to neither governance nor management having the necessary strength/ commitment to enforce relevant provisions of a formal agreement as/ when a situation arises that justifies the invoking/ enforcement of the given provision.
My suggestion to governance/ management around the world is don’t include any provisions in your formal agreements that you’re not prepared to enforce if/ when push comes to shove. By doing so, you will only be making a mockery of your processes and your organisation at large.