You may think that leadership has nothing to do with you.
Most people probably feel leaders are ‘others’, people at the top, or ‘the head
one’ as my grandmother used to say of anyone in authority from the owner of the
green grocer’s to the Prime Minister.
In fact you set
the pace for all those around you – your children, younger relatives,
colleagues and friends. Like it or not, you influence people in your
environment. You are a role model. If you are disabled, it is possible you
could be the very first disabled role model for some of those around you. That
gives you a lot of power. It is up to you how you use it.
So think about it. What impact do you make? How do you
respond to event and other people? How do you ensure you develop in the way you
want? If other people make life difficult for you what do you do? Remember,
others will be watching and learning from your example.
I have been reading about leadership recently. I would
recommend ‘The New Leaders’ by Daniel
Golemann[1].
The book looks at how emotional intelligence profoundly affects not just people
in a workplace but also productivity. It sets out in detail why motivated,
happy staff in a positive atmosphere work better. There is striking evidence
that e.g. for every 1 per cent improvement in the service climate of an
organisation there is a 2 per cent increase in revenue. (This is an interesting
point in the light of Phil Friend’s
blog about customer service). Another study of 62 Fortune 500 company CEOs
showed that ‘the more positive the overall moods of people in the top
management team, the more cooperatively they worked together – and the better
the company’s business results.’ (page 18) Could you influence a team,
department or whole organisation in this way? If so, it could be worth thinking
about how.
I have been privileged to be able to work closely with wide
range of disabled people including as a coach. I have been consistently
impressed by these disabled people’s additional skills, often learned via
challenging life experiences. These include great time, financial and people
management, problem-solving skills, creativity, flexibility, communication,
emotional intelligence, empathy and humour.
If you put that list under the nose of the average employer they would
jump at the chance to draw on such talent. Our task as disabled leaders is now
two-fold: first believe in our own skills and next communicate and project them
effectively.
But it is hard. I won’t deny that. There’s no blueprint for
many situations. We are often pioneers. But we are human and doing what we need
to as leaders can often feel isolating, risky and frightening. But the good
news is that if you feel these things, the chances are this is because you are
developing your leadership muscle. The ‘great man’ theory of leadership i.e.
that leaders are born has more or less been debunked. It is now clear that
leadership is about hard work, practice, resilience and learning from when
things go wrong. It is also about living with uncertainty. Deepak Chopra refers
to the ‘wisdom of uncertainty’. He says that you can seek a lifetime of
certainty and never find it, but if you are willing to live with uncertainty
you will also allow in endless possibilities. Dark nights of the soul, when
everything feels too much, are a part of developing. They can be the times when
you realise the full scale of your powers and they can produce the seeds of
your most brilliant ideas and plans.
So how can you develop your leadership potential? One way is
by mentoring. Sharing what you know is a great way of learning
new things about yourself and there is nothing quite as satisfying as enabling
others to learn and develop. Disability Rights promotes both leadership among
disabled people and mentoring. Their important work is
crucial for creating future role leaders and role models.
The current recession means there has never been a greater
need for strong, resilient leaders with new perspective on the challenges our
society faces. Make sure your experience and ideas count; lead your life as
positively as you can and others will follow. Good luck!
Jane Cordell
Jane Cordell is a Trustee for Disability Rights UK, a coach
and public speaker. Her website is: http://gettingequal.com
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