[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ background_image=”https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/David.jpeg” custom_padding=”0|0px|0|0px|false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” title_text=”Group,Of,Young,Modern,People,In,Smart,Casual,Wear,Communicating” sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,2_3″ admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”|auto|19px|auto||” custom_padding=”467px|0px|0|0px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” min_height=”595.2px”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ text_font=”PT Sans||||” text_text_color=”#ffffff” text_font_size=”72″ text_line_height=”1.1em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” max_width=”785px” custom_margin=”-98px||0px|||” custom_padding=”||168px|||” hover_enabled=”0″ text_font_size_tablet=”52″ text_font_size_phone=”” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
The Reluctant Leader<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_margin=”-50px||||false|false” custom_padding=”149px|0px|1px|0px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,2_3″ column_padding_mobile=”on” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” max_width=”1200px” custom_margin=”0px|auto|0px|auto|false|false” custom_padding=”20px||20px||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”0px|||” custom_padding_phone=”” use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”1200px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/david-ivers.png” show_bottom_space=”off” align=”center” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” disabled_on=”on|on|” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_margin=”-45px|||||” animation=”off” sticky=”on” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text disabled_on=”on|on|” _builder_version=”4.17.3″ text_font=”PT Sans|on|||” text_text_color=”#02b875″ text_font_size=”20″ text_line_height=”1.2em” header_text_color=”#000000″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_orientation=”center” max_width=”140px” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”20px||0px|” global_colors_info=”{}”]DAVID IVERS<\/span><\/a> \u201cOh, who would ever want to be king?\u201d<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Viva La Vida<\/p>\n Written by:<\/p>\n Christopher A. J. Martin, Guy Rupert Berryman, Jonathan Mark Buckland, William Champion (2008). (Coldplay)<\/p>\n Lyrics \u00a9 Universal Music Publishing Group<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n It is a great question that Cold Play asks in their hit song, \u2018Viva La Vida\u2019. How many times have you been part of a conversation or overhead people asking this question, typically when the leadership is facing some sort of crisis? Some may well consider that it is in matters of crisis that the reluctant leader emerges. Whilst this is certainly true of this group, it is a lot broader than this.<\/p>\n The reluctant leader also includes the potential leader, a person who has demonstrated their ability and capacity to take on a leadership role but for some reason they never take that final leap. They may have even been a standout performer in an acting position for 6 months or more.\u00a0 They may be well qualified and even be willing to take on these fixed and often short-term appointments. There could be a variety of reasons for this.<\/p>\n A study into the reluctance of people to take on leadership roles was conducted by Professors Julia Lee Cunningham and Sue Ashford and a former student, Laura Sonday, from the Ross School of Business at The University of Michigan. In a podcast entitled \u2018Business and Society with Michigan Ross\u2019, lead author, Julia Lee Cunningham, suggested Three factors \/ fears that lead to people being reluctant to take on leadership.<\/p>\n Needham, Bob with Cunningham, Julia Lee (2022) \u2018The Three Fears that Make Us Reluctant to Act as Leaders\u2019<\/a> in \u2018Business and Society with Michigan Ross\u2019 (November 14, 2022). p3 of 4.<\/p>\n Whilst not an exhaustive list, some other reasons that might come to mind, as to why people may be reluctant to take on leadership roles include:<\/p>\n According to Cunningham, it is important to see leadership and reluctance as being contextual. Indeed, there are some who suggest that rather than have formal leadership roles, leaders should be allowed to emerge as required. If for example a service organisation has a financial problem, and the formal leadership role is occupied by someone with a major in a non-financial discipline, then wisdom would suggest that they should defer to those with more expertise, whilst also trying to get across the issues themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cSo some people would say, “Yes, absolutely. Under all circumstances, I see myself as a leader and I’m a leader,” but most people will say, “Ah, it really depends on the situation.” In today’s workplace, people are constantly being pulled into different types of teams and committees. That might be a long-term commitment, but it can also be a short-term, fluid team formed to solve a specific problem. People may or may not see themselves as a leader depending on which teams they are going into. It is important to think of leadership as a contextually dependent identity that people either endorse and internalize in the moment or not.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Needham, Bob with Cunningham, Julia Lee (2022) \u2018The Three Fears that Make Us Reluctant to Act as Leaders\u2019<\/a> in \u2018Business and Society with Michigan Ross\u2019 (November 14, 2022). p2 & 3 of 4.<\/p>\n One of the impacts of COVID is the fact that it made people prioritize things, with work often coming after family and health. How the senior leadership rises to the challenge of managing their teams and developing team members as future leaders whilst \u2018working from home\u2019, is an important question that needs to be addressed. The narrative that the leaders give to those who might be aspiring to leadership one day is also important. If people don\u2019t receive feedback that allows for them to grow and develop and further their journey, then all that is being fed is the reluctance of people to take on leadership of any kind. How toxic the culture of the organization, is also going to have an impact on people\u2019s reluctance. Leaders that feed the ego of middle or frontline leaders can also grow reluctant leaders, as Mark Crowley in his excellent book, \u2018Lead From The Heart,\u2019 highlights.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes, leaders feel reluctant to help people grow\u2014out of fear that they\u2019ll end up losing someone who is highly productive and seemingly irreplaceable.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n Crowley, Mark. C. (2022). Lead From The Heart: Transformational Leadership For The 21st Century (eBook)<\/a>. Carlsbad. California: Hay House, Inc. p264.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ background_color=”#f7f7f4″ custom_padding=”0px||0px|” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_3,1_3″ use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”1″ make_equal=”on” column_padding_mobile=”on” module_class=” et_pb_row_fullwidth” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” width=”100%” width_tablet=”100%” width_phone=”” width_last_edited=”on|desktop” max_width=”100%” max_width_tablet=”100%” max_width_phone=”” max_width_last_edited=”on|desktop” min_height=”594px” custom_padding=”0px||0px|” make_fullwidth=”on” custom_width_px=”680px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/2.jpeg” title_text=”Young,Black,Businesswoman,Explaining,Business,Strategy,To,The,Staff,In” show_bottom_space=”off” force_fullwidth=”on” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ custom_padding=”||0px|||” hover_enabled=”0″ animation=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ background_color=”#efefe9″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/3.jpeg” title_text=”Attractive,Woman,Present,Her,Analysis,To,Young,Lady,Team,Leader” show_bottom_space=”off” force_fullwidth=”on” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ hover_enabled=”0″ animation=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text disabled_on=”off|off|” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ text_font=”PT Serif||||” text_text_color=”#818178″ text_font_size=”24″ text_line_height=”1.4em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_orientation=”center” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”1.2%|10%||10%||” custom_margin_tablet=”|10%||10%” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” custom_padding=”0px|||||” hover_enabled=”0″ text_font_size_tablet=”” text_font_size_phone=”” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Fear of failure can also be a real issue for a reluctant leader, who may have the traits of perfectionism.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ text_font=”PT Sans|on|||” text_text_color=”#888888″ text_font_size=”12″ text_letter_spacing=”2px” text_line_height=”1.2em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_orientation=”center” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”20px||11.4%|||” custom_margin_tablet=”20px|||” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|tablet” global_colors_info=”{}”]DAVID IVERS[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”0px||0px|” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”4″ column_padding_mobile=”on” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” max_width=”1200px” custom_padding=”0||0px||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”0px|||” custom_padding_phone=”” use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”1200px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ text_font=”PT Serif||||” text_text_color=”#363636″ text_font_size=”20″ text_line_height=”1.4em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” min_height=”2200px” custom_margin=”-73px||11px|||” custom_margin_tablet=”40px||0px|” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|tablet” custom_padding=”84px||1px|||” hover_enabled=”0″ text_font_size_tablet=”” text_font_size_phone=”” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Fear of failure can also be a real issue for a reluctant leader, who may have the traits of perfectionism. The idea that in leadership, there is no room for mistakes if you wish to be a highly successful leader, is a belief that is paralyzing. Perfectionism might be attractive because senior leaders, even boards, know that the new leader will pay attention to detail and that the job will consequently be done well. Unfortunately, perfectionism often means that the leader has unreasonable expectations of themselves and often, of their team also. The issue of perfectionism and fear of failure is an issue that is addressed by Professor Amy C. Edmondson from Harvard Business School, in her must read book \u2018Right Kind of Wrong\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cIn an ever-changing world this reluctance puts them at risk of falling behind. Perfectionists are also particularly vulnerable to burnout. \u201cThe way that perfectionists are built,\u201d says Curran, \u201cmakes us very sensitive and vulnerable to those setbacks and failures, which occur all the time, because it\u2019s a threat to that idealized version of who we want to be and who we think we should be.\u201d It\u2019s hard to thrive as a fallible human being when you fall prey to the trap of perfectionism.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Edmondson, Amy, C. (2023). Right Kind of Wrong: Why Learning to Fail can Teach us to Thrive. London: Penguin. p472.<\/p>\n What all of this points to, is that reluctance to take on leadership may stem from a range of issues but many of them revolve around deep issues within the individual. In order to break the reluctance to leadership, if that is the goal, the reluctant leader most likely needs to do some work on their inner-self, addressing the issues that hold them back. This may mean accessing coaching or counseling. What is likely is that \u2018competing commitments\u2019 are holding the reluctant leader back, almost glued to their current status quo. Harvard Graduate School of Education Professor Robert Kegan and Dr Lisa Lahey, propose that in the individual, those \u2018competing commitments\u2019 are creating their \u2018Immunity to Change\u2019<\/a> (which is also the title of their excellent book on the subject).<\/p>\n \u201cEvery manager is familiar with the employee who just won\u2019t change\u2026An employee has the skills and smarts to make a change with ease, has shown a deep commitment to the company, genuinely supports the change\u2014and yet, inexplicably, does nothing.<\/em><\/p>\n What\u2019s going on? As organizational psychologists, we have seen this dynamic literally hundreds of times, and our research and analysis have recently led us to a surprising yet deceptively simple conclusion. Resistance to change does not reflect opposition, nor is it merely a result of inertia. Instead, even as they hold a sincere commitment to change, many people are unwittingly applying productive energy toward a hidden competing commitment. The resulting dynamic equilibrium stalls the effort in what looks like resistance but is in fact a kind of personal immunity to change.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Kegan, Robert., Lahey, Lisa. (2001). \u2018The Real Reason People Won\u2019t Change\u2019<\/a> in Harvard Business Review Magazine (November 2001). Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business Publishing.<\/p>\n They posit the idea of exploring four \u2018Big Rock\u2019 questions, deeply. As a process, it may take some time. Harvard Extension School has a useful \u2018Immunity to Change Worksheet\u2019<\/a> that you can download to help you with the process of identifying your \u2018Immunity to Change.\u2019<\/p>\n According to Kegan and Lahey, the big questions to ask, in order to unlock a person\u2019s \u2018Immunity to Change\u2019 are:<\/p>\n Step 1: Get goal-oriented – What is the Improvement Goal?<\/em><\/p>\n Step 2: Clear out obstructive behaviors – What are the behaviors that work against my goal?<\/em><\/p>\n Step 3: Confront competing commitments – What are the hidden competing commitments?<\/em><\/p>\n Step 4: Challenge your big assumptions – Challenge big assumptions with \u2018if-then\u2019 statements.<\/em><\/p>\n Kegan, Robert., Lahey, Lisa. (2019). The Surprising Reason We Don\u2019t Keep Our Resolutions (and How to Overcome It)<\/a> (Blog Harvard Extension School). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard Extension School.<\/p>\n Of course, there are many benefits of checking in with your inner-self from time to time. Over time you become more comfortable with yourself, more knowledgeable, not just about what is important but why it is important to you. In turn it may well make you more comfortable around others and potentially more adaptive. All of these are of course wonderful attributes to take to an interview, whether your reluctant or not. The other possibility with the search for your \u2018Immunity to Change\u2019, is that your organization could scale this up. After all some of the questions are best answered in a conversation with your colleagues, which in turn could help to build trust.<\/p>\n It should be remembered that at the heart and soul of leadership is a call to service. To be in the service of the customers \/ clients, staff, stakeholders such as suppliers, is an important learning. The notion here of course is that leadership should make a positive difference, create good for those that the leaders seek to serve. If the reluctant leader doesn\u2019t see themselves in the service of others, then their reluctance is possibly well founded. The caveat of course, is that they may overcome this phobia when they identify their \u2018Immunity to Change\u2019. Developing leaders of the future with these understandings around leadership, is one obvious way in which the leaders of today could do something positive for the community of tomorrow, that these future leaders will one day serve. If the reluctant leader can identify the competing commitments that holds them back, then logically, should they take on leadership, they will have invested themselves in it and may well be a success. They will have chosen to accept the invitation, with a \u2018yes\u2019 to the call that has come their way.<\/p>\n \u201cAlways bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n
\n[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text disabled_on=”on|on|” _builder_version=”4.16″ text_font=”PT Serif||on||” text_text_color=”#363636″ text_font_size=”16″ text_line_height=”1.4em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_orientation=”center” max_width=”140px” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”20px||20px||true|” global_colors_info=”{}”]David Ivers is from Sydney, Australia. He is a qualified Primary and Secondary School Teacher. In total, he has served on school leadership teams for 16 years in senior leadership roles.[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ text_font=”PT Serif||||” text_text_color=”#363636″ text_font_size=”24″ text_line_height=”1.5em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” max_width=”720px” custom_margin=”-22px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”28px||16px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ text_font_size_tablet=”” text_font_size_phone=”” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″ min_height=”4030px”]<\/p>\n\n
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