UNDERSTANDING THE INFLUENCE OF
INSPIRATIONAL LEADERS By Arthur F Carmazzi
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF LEADERSHIP
Referring to the Inspirational Leader, one who can instill passion and direction to a group. To become such a leader requires an understanding of how YOU as a leader affect the Psychology of a group, and how the group’s reactions affect you and each of the individual members of that group.
A leader’s actions and reactions not only affect the psychology of individuals, but affect the entire culture of the organisation or group.
Leadership Psychology deals with the psychology a leader must embrace and use to modify their own behavior as well as influence the behavior of a group. This process and application is often referred to as Organizational Behavior or Organizational Culture.
In numerous Group Dynamic Disciplines such as “Directive Communication” and theories like “The ripple effect” by Sigal Barsade, leadership is a product of awareness and command of the reactions and influences of a group on the individual.
So what is Inspirational Leadership? And how does “Leadership Psychology” make the cultivate passionate teams and individuals who love their jobs and work at their peak?
In personal studies of over 218 leaders and the organizational cultures they create through their influence, as well as my own experience in running organizations, I would like to suggest what I believe leadership is not so we have a platform to start from.
Leadership is NOT about changing the mindset of the group, but in the cultivation of an environment that brings out the best and inspires the individuals in that group…
It is NOT the ability to influence others to do something they are not committed to, but rather to nurture a culture that motivates and even excites individuals to do what is required for the benefit of all.
It is NOT carrying others to the end result, but setting the surrounding for developing qualities in them to so they may carry each other.
Each individual has various environments that bring out different facets from their own Identity, and each facet is driven by emotionally charged perceptions within each environment… To lead, one must create a platform through education and awareness where individuals fill each others emotional needs and become more conscious of when and how they might be taking away the emotional gratifications. This is accomplished by knowing Why people may react favorably to a situation in environment A, but get frustrated or disillusioned in environment B.
When a leader changes his/her actions in accordance with their awareness of what those actions really mean (not reactive interpretations), they affect the emotional and psychological perspectives of the group. By taking control of the “standard” reactions to the actions of the group, a leader can in effect change the psychology of the group and through them, change the culture of the organization.
For this dynamic of leadership to happen, for a leader to be able to cultivate an environment where leaders are nurtured within the group, he/she must ascend to the class of an Inspirational Leader. To attain this requires 8 ascents of psychological awareness.
The next part of this article will explain the 8 ascents and why they make the difference in cultivating a leadership enriched environment....
The 8 Ascents of the Ultimate Leader are the Psychological foundations of what makes a great Leader, they are...
Master Your Rules of Engagement
In War, “Rules of Engagement” are what you do when you engage the enemy.
The enemy in this case is experience of when your surroundings don’t match your perception of ‘what should be’
Psychological “Rules of Engagement” exist as reaction responses to these surroundings and the experiences, if you become more aware of what they are, you will have a foundation to influence your actions and reactions, you will Master your Rules of Engagement
Increase Your Circle of Tolerance
This is the measure of your ability to deal with things “intelligently” and without reaction. The more rules you have about the way things should be, the smaller your Circle of Tolerance
If you have a large Circle of Tolerance, you can deal with more situations intelligently and make better decisions.
Things that happen outside of your Circle of Tolerance usually trigger your Rules of Engagement
Remove Your Colored glasses
There are 4 primary “Brain Processors” that interpret the world in very different ways. A “Colored Brain” perception is like looking though colored glasses. A leader who can remove his colored glasses, can see past his own perceptions and bring out the best in others who process differently.
To discover what colored glasses you are wearing with the Colored Brain Communication Inventory (CBCI) at: www.directivecommunication.com
Stop Need Sucking
When we are in charge of others (and sometimes when not), we unconsciously make decisions that leave others questioning our motives or are left unfulfilled in their jobs or tasks. This is because each person has specific emotional needs and gratifications that doing or completing a task provides. When someone takes those gratifications away (even accidently) this is “Need Sucking”
To stop Need Sucking, leaders must take care not to take too much of the following emotional needs from a group:
Control or security (the less control one has, the less secure)
Recognition or significance
Diversity in tasks or job
Sense of completion or achievement (let people finish)
The more of these emotional gratifications a leader takes for themselves, the less there is for everyone else, translating to less fulfillment
Command your Leadership Postures
Postures are the connection between Body and Mind that influence our moods. We are constantly using Postures without realizing it and they are affecting our emotions, our focus, and the type of influence we have over others.
Controlling your primary postures: Warrior, Child, Lover, and Emperor, will allow you to command the suitable energy to affect others on an emotional level with greater effectiveness.
Identifying postures on others will give you greater power to influence and inspire the best in them.
Map your world
Each workplace has defined areas that create your “Work Process” these could be for example: Meetings, Working Alone, Working in Teams, Directing others or being Directed, Social Elements of Work
By defining our motivations, frustrations, processes, and the importance we assign to these areas, we can clearly define our expectation and determine, by comparison to others, if they are realistic.
When our “World of Work” is mapped, it becomes easier to navigate through the emotional turbulence of leadership to smoother sailing and greater effectiveness as an inspiring leader who is prepared for anything.
Align your Values to the Environment you would Create
As an individual, you have specific values, these values are reflected in your leadership.
Do you know what these values are? Are there any differences between your personal values and your leadership values?
As a leader, your success will come from cultivating an environment conducive to your vision, and to inspire that environment to enthusiastically participate in that vision. To achieve this, your values as a leader MUST reflect the values of that the environment that will create the vision.
The values aligned with the vision alone is NOT enough; identify what the diverse people in your organisation need to “FEEL” for inspiration to take place?
What values do you need to change to make those feelings happen?
Cultivate your Leadership Identity
Leaders are the greatest influence to an organization corporate culture. Leaders may not be aware of the psychology of why their “Leadership Identity” may often be an obstacle to an inspired and effective organization.
The realizations and awareness gained through the first 7 Assents will influence decisions that affect culture. They are the essence that determines our ability to consciously decide and “Act” intelligently instead of “React” to our environment. A leader must act and create.
To cultivate YOUR Leadership Identity. Reflect of the first 7 Assents and write a definition of Who You Need to Be as a Leader! Then live by this Leadership Identity and ascend to the level of Transformation
THE 5 PILLARS OF A TRANSFORMATIONAL ENVIRONMENT
The 5 pillars are the foundations that convert a team to an organization transforming powerhouse. When leaders become aware of their work environment and the affects they have on it, when they learn the Directive Communication Psychology you have learned in Part I and II, and how it applies to the actions, reactions and emotions of teams and departments, then the foundation for the pillars is created. Inspiration of individuals will make a difference, but inspiration of teams and of the perceptions of work those teams provide, define a transformational leader and become apparent in organizational effectiveness and results.
The more people around you that become aware of the psychology of how and why teams and organisations become what they are, the more success you will have in achieving your objectives. And, the greater leadership you will inspire in others.
Share these articles with others in your different environments, teach them what you have learned. With a greater awareness of the psychology of leadership and the emotional atmosphere it creates, you can cultivate environments that cause you and others to be more effective and fulfilled in your work and life. And together, you and your teams can build the five pillars and not only transform your performance, but the performance of those around you.
Here are the 5 foundations for teams to make this happen:
Have a Methodology for Change
Have a Greater Purpose
Speak a Common Language
Create a Supportive Environment
Have a Unified Identity
You must have a Methodology you believe can make a Change
This article has given you some foundations in the Directive Communication Methodology that influences individuals and groups in a powerful enough way to change organizational culture. If you have applied some of what you have learned earlier, if you have become more aware and have increased your Circle of Tolerance, then this works for you.
Having a Greater Purpose
Find something bigger than the group, something that is even bigger than the organization. A reason the group is greater than the people in it is that the purpose of the group is greater or nobler that the personal goals of each individual.
You must speak a Common Language
Because of the specific nature of Directive Communication methodology it carries with it a specific language to be able to understand and explain awareness, change, and a higher level of living in a concise and effective way.
You must maintain an internal Supportive Environment
As an elite group that shares and uses this psychology, you can excel far greater than as an individual. Supporting one another is essential for ultimate success.
You must have a Unified Identity
While each individual has his/her own identity, the collective group must have a common goal and thus, a common identity in line with that goal. This can be as simple as “The Efficiency Group”.
Each pillar represents an essential characteristic of groups capable of bringing out the best in each other. Together they form a cohesion that expands competence. A team who has cultivated the 5 Pillars no longer sees work as work, but as an essential part of their life and growth as a human being. Their power comes from an infectious enthusiasm that seems to be inherent.
Yet this “Inspiration” is cultivated. And the leadership behind this power originates in awareness. Awareness of the psychology that affects us, the people around us, and the environments we work and live in.
You have learned the foundations to Ascend and Transform as a Leader. You have learned the foundations to build transformational teams to create change, and you have established a Leadership Identity to bring it together.