In the realm of leadership, the intricate interplay between strategy, culture, coaching, and mentoring is a subject that resonates deeply with me. Amidst the challenges faced by today’s business and organizational landscape, I’m an advocate for embracing simplicity as the guiding principle. Sometimes, less truly is more. However, our pursuit of simplicity has, in certain instances, led to an excess of compartmentalization within leadership, often neglecting the vital relationships between its components. This, I believe, is a fundamental cause of the silos that hinder effective collaboration in the workplace.
It’s apparent that we’ve consigned strategy, culture, leadership, coaching, mentoring, learning, technical skills, and people skills into distinct silos, each meticulously managed in isolation. Yet, my conviction is that we should pivot away from this narrow perspective, transitioning towards an outlook that perceives these facets as a cohesive whole, each element interdependent and dynamic.
Our trajectory should now focus on comprehending “the connections,” the intricate weaving of these threads into a tapestry of unified leadership. This comprehensive approach, which I term “metaleadership,” strives to amalgamate every facet of leadership.
To embark on this journey, I intend to initiate a series of posts delving into the very heart of this discourse. My first step involves delineating four core focal points of leadership. We possess the liberty to devise additional quadrants, or even sub-categories within the existing ones, so long as we remain committed to fostering #connections.
Four Pillars & Roles of Leadership:
🔵 Strategy – Embracing Strategic Leadership – The Leader as a Strategist
🔵 Culture – Cultivating Cultural Leadership – The Leader as a Culture Builder
🔵 People – Nurturing Human-Centric Leadership – The Leader as a Coach & Mentor
🔵 Operations – Championing Operational Excellence – The Leader as an Operator
Central to the cohesion of these four pillars is the concept of the “North Star” and “Role Modeling.” For me, the essence lies in crystallizing a leader’s personal North Star, nurturing internal alignment and cohesiveness, all while harmonizing with the overarching Corporate North Star.
Together, let’s unlock the potential of a unified leadership approach, transcending boundaries and embracing the holistic essence of meta-leadership.
Cheers…
Dr Gus Manatsa