For most of us, as we start out youthful and fresh-faced in our careers, we enter a world where promotion and success come from doing our own job well. We go into work, diligently complete our tasks, meet (or even exceed) our boss's expectations, achieve whatever targets or objectives are expected of us, and promotion follows.
There then comes a time when we are promoted into a role where we are no-longer responsible for doing the job, we are instead responsible for those who do the job. With that comes real moral and ethical responsibilities that require a real mind shift in our approach. A mind-shift that most of us are not prepared for, or even realise.
To be truly transformational, leadership must be grounded in moral foundations. In summary, the transformational (and compassionate) leader is one who:
- Has a deep and profound concern for self and others.
- Believes that the needs, hopes, desires, ambitions, fears and concerns of others are as real and as equal as their own.
- Seeks to create with others a shared vision, rather than impose their own.
- Recognises that there are social ethical choices that teams and individuals should engage in deciding, and collectively pursue.
This guide is a good starting point for anyone thinking about the mind shift required for leadership.