Leadership is not just about intellectual intelligence, it is about emotional intelligence and the ability to be empathetic, self aware and socially aware in leadership.
Why should responsible leaders be adaptive in their style of leadership?
Because adaptive leadership provides fluidity to leadership. It links to wider society and puts this relationship to society above the bottom line. It recognises that the world is truly global and influences how we communicate with one another in everyday life.
As an Australian Leadership Awardee at the Future Summit 2009, Leigh appreciates the opportunities she has had to break into groups with alumni and discuss ways leadership can be more responsible - through adapting to change. During the Future Summit, fellow awardees shared experiences and learnt from one another. Adaptive leadership was resolved as the biggest and most prevalent method of leadership that will have impact into the future.
In April this year, Leigh wound up the organisation she founded as a 24 year old - The Future Cambodia Fund - following soon after with her first baby. During her time with Future Cambodia Fund, Leigh was exposed to a cross section of leadership styles from all over the world, including men and women, young and old.
When asked about the role of women as leaders in Australia, Leigh sees Australia as far behind some other countries in valuing the presence of women in leadership roles - potentially a big problem for a country who looks forward with a view to Responsible Leadership.
Leigh believes women are generally more empathetic of the needs of society (a theme enunciated by many people interviewed for Responsible Leadership 2010 like Tara Cheesman - Director for CORNA here), a valuable attribute for a leader in any sector, enabling a well rounded style and approach to leadership. The truth is women are more empathetic. Emotional intelligence is more prevalent and in relation to the responsible business of change, in general women know better how to interact with an emotional conscience.
"Australia sees and values female leaders differently", Leigh explains. "This is expressed through how they are paid through to positions they are given. It is telling that it has taken until 2010 for legislation to be passed that will see the introduction of 18 weeks government funded paid maternity leave in Australia, in stark contrast to places such as the UK, where new parents are paid for 52 weeks maternity leave, or Norway which offer 56 weeks." Leigh also points out that it was only in September this year that female directorship positions broke through the 10% mark (source: Australian Institute of Company Directors) - leaving another 40% of roles to be filled be women to achieve true parity. It does not make sense that we are only using the leadership skills of only 50% of the population.
Coming from a not for profit background, Leigh has seen how charities and not for profits work on a professional level - including their levels of adaptive and innovative leadership. Leigh has seen society become more open to change and social enterprises are starting to create new and innovative connections between businesses and civil society.
The process is moving slowly / slowly, though the gender change within the third sector has been remarkable, with many women heading up not for profits.
In the field of social innovation, Leigh has worked with many upcoming male leaders who have a different attitude to leadership than those she came across when first starting out in the sector. Social initiatives are headed up by young, innovative thinkers who are just as often women as they are men.
Leigh was previously a member of Rotary, where she was one of only four women in the club and was the youngest member by over 30 years. Most members were retired or approaching retirement and possessed a wealth of business knowledge and skills, however in many ways the organisation had become stagnant. Now Rotary is looking toward younger generations for new ideas and innovative ways to engage and adapt to a changing world.
We live in a truly global society, we are not isolated in our communities, or countries, and life is going to become more and more global.
As members of a global community, we are responsible for the wellbeing of our fellow community members, and have an obligation to ensure we help and support one another, and don't impact others negatively. We need to remember that every action we take affects others around us.
When it comes to who we should support in these endeavours to support our fellow beings, Leigh believes the future is looking at new ways forward, new ways of giving. She says charity is still important, and there will always be a place for it, but she strongly believes that the way forward is less reliance on aid and more attention to the idea of 'a hand up, not a hand out'.
She says that donors need to ensure that their philanthropy is ethical, sustainable and effective. She urges donors to educate themselves of who they are giving to, what exactly it is used for and ensure it is effective. She believes that the key is education, and a focus on development through building knowledge.
One approach to sustainable giving is microfinance (http://www.grameenfoundation.org) - the gift that keeps on giving. Through microfinance, your donation can keep supporting those who need it, over and over again, multiplying the number of people beginning their own journey out of poverty.
Consider these focuses...
- Ethical aid
- Sustainable aid
- Educated giving
These are how not for profits and charities can provide the best advantage.
No comments:
Post a Comment