"I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers."
Ralph Nader
To begin with cultural leaders are Reflective: What distinguishes them is genuine humility and not being afraid to show vulnerability on occasions. This comes from regular periods of reflection and an unquenchable thirst for learning.
Courageous & creative risk takers: They have a marked tendency to ‘bend the rules’, take risks, and, on occasions, be guided by their gut-feelings. They also encourage this in other people, recognising that a certain amount of flexibility is essential to adapt to circumstances and make real strides forward.
Accessible: They make time to get out and speak to people. This informal and personal contact is a very powerful motivator.
They also encourage entrepreneurial creativity and experimentation in the work they do. They involve everyone, empower and trust the communities they work in, build teams and leverage diversity.
They are passionate and draw people into thier world and vision; building coalitions as they go.
Fundamentally they motivate, inspire and cultivate new cultural leaders.
Passion: // an intense emotion, compelling feeling, enthusiasm, or desire for something. from the Latin verb patior, meaning to suffer or to endure.
So, I got asked the question yesterday...
What’s your passion?
My palms started to sweat, my heart started to race. Am I going to sound stupid? What am I going to say? Do I even bloody know what my passion is?
It got worse... I found myself volunteering to give a one minute sound bite of what my passion is... I am not sure how this happened, but there I was, on stage in front of 35 people. Why, when I am not even sure what my passion is, was I stood up on stage looking ready to present an inspiring nugget of what I am passionate about?
There were 4 of us on stage; one brave sole decided she would present first. She says her passion is ‘supporting Nigerian farmers’...GREAT! I may not really know what my passion is but I know it will not be as laudable as that –my hands sweat more! Come on THINK!
The next person steps forward; he is passionate about ‘supporting people to take creative risks’. Great passion, why didn’t I think of that? He even used some great imagery – my heart starts to beat faster! Why am I up on stage?
Volunteer 3 stepped forward and delivered a great minute presentation of how she is passionate about mitigating people wasting their potential... fabulous! Another brilliant answer... Ok maybe I should just step off the stage and no one will notice...
The spotlight is on me... I don’t usually shy away from the stage, I am a theatre director after all, but I don’t generally get on stage without a script. So I took a deep breath... I thought well I must be passionate about something, actually I know I am passionate about lots of things but I just haven’t been asked to crystallise it into a one minute sound bite before. So I stepped forward and trusted something would come out I said...
“Giving people a voice...”
Yup! Giving people a voice, can you believe it? Firstly, I am glad that I actually said something. I was able to formulate and articulate something that I knew was there but couldn’t find the words to describe. Secondly, the irony of my passion; I strive to give people a safe and creative stage to tell their stories but when given the chance I found it quite a harrowing experience.
‘You can lead a person to a stage, but you can’t make them tell their story!’
So what now? How is this anything to do with leadership?
I have had time to reflect on this experience and believe that passion is a huge driver for leaders. Do I need to have my one minute soap box moment though? Well not necessarily – I think it would help to connect with people so they come on board and start to share your passion. Some passions are driven by anger, some passions are driven by love, and some are driven by a force you can’t really describe or understand; you know you have them you just can’t quite find the words to describe them. If I was in Star Wars I would have the force!
What I do think is important is to keep asking the question – ‘What is your passion?’ maybe there will be times of sweaty palms but maybe there will be times of complete lucidity where you know what drives you, how to connect with people and communicate that.I look forward to more of those moments.
May the force be with you...
“A great leader's courage to fulfil his vision comes from passion, not position.”
