One of the greatest challenges that we must face in professional life are the barriers that are imposed on leadership. They always tell us of success cases, but rarely refer to the barriers that had to be overcome before obtaining the victory. With greater emphasis, today, it is necessary to understand that the finished product had to go through a production and improvement process. Nothing was born and perfect immediately. Yes, to make things happen, that the projects triumph, that we have a radius of influence, it is necessary to overcome certain barriers.
At present, exercising leadership is complex. With increasingly flat structures, with multifunctional teams found in different parts of the world, with homework, it is difficult to have a radio of influence that goes beyond our work team, that is, that our bosses take our opinions into account, that our peers join our projects, that people from other departments are willing to follow what we propose.
The truth is that there are few people who dedicate some time and intelligence to analyze the issue of leadership barriers. We always look for recipes to forge a leader. But, it should be understood that the way in which our leadership is perceived is an important ingredient in our success or failure is to go through the right direction. In general, we know what we want to do, what we want to achieve. However, most of us do not have the slightest idea of ​​how we will make people follow us.
Anyone who has been in charge of coordinating efforts knows what I mean. It seems a riddle without a solution to ensure that people from other departments, other teams, of hierarchies other than ours – especially if they are superior – get down to work to move forward a certain work, plan or project.
We have faced the challenge that the team works evenly and do not leave the tasks to a single person – preferably, we do not want to be the ones we end up doing everything; We have a very good idea, but we are in a lower position and we need senior management approval to perform it; We ask our colleagues from other areas to reorganize their priorities to get the task forward; You want to warn of a risk and it seems that nobody finds out.
As Tennessee Williams said: “We need the kindness of strangers.” The reality is that no one has ever achieved something significant without the collaboration of others. And, it is nothing more about appealing to the good will of people, but about understanding and knowing the barriers to leadership.
Of course, leadership is hierarchical. A leader has the authority to influence people to follow a plan, comply with instructions and that things happen. However, there are times when we must be able to intervene with people of higher levels and we must have the necessary attributes for our plans to continue. A true leader is not a boss, he is a person who convinces.
According to Allan Cohen and David Bradford, authors to influence without authoritarianism, there are two types of leadership barriers that we can face: external and internal. Knowing them will help us to know how to handle them.
| External | Internal |
| A very broad hierarchy differential | Lack of knowledge on the subject that is being addressed |
| Differences of goals, objectives and priorities | Blind points |
| Success measures and incompatible rewards | Fear of reactions and consequences |
| Rivalry, competition and jealousy | Inability to focus |
| Different needs | Different benefits |
How can we overcome these barriers? The first step is to put ourselves in the shoes of the people we want to lead. It’s about being empathetic and that is achieved with observation. When observing carefully, we analyze and emit a diagnosis. The barriers beat when we are able to understand and explain what will be the advantages they will have, the benefits they will achieve if our ideas follow.
This may sound like a calculating premise and it is. It is about anticipating and planning around what we must do for a job to be done. That is, it is not something calculating for a personal benefit only, but for the good of the team. When everyone is positively affected by this calculation, and the advantages cover others, it is easier for people to join our projects and lower their barriers.
If this becomes a working method, over time, the influence becomes more sincere and the reactions are more likely to resist less easily accepting the proposals. I want to make it clear that it is not a selfish or Machiavellian behavior. A selfish way of acting generates enemies, transactional and interested relationships. Then, the reactions are convincing. Thus the opposite effect is obtained: a negative corporate culture that eats itself decreases its radius of influence to what do you give me?, And favors an extortion environment.
On the contrary, leadership barriers overcome when a true leader is capable of influencing well -being for the entire team since it seeks to preserve a positive corporate culture that grows, illusions and generates results. When we have demolished the barriers and surpassed them, it is because we have known how to communicate that there is something good that awaits everyone, when a promise is made and fulfilled. That immediately generates a broader and more lasting radius.
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Twitter: @CecyDuranMena
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