Are kind leaders weak leaders?
Written By John Baluyot
Research by Jhoyce Vessette Cruz
Whenever I conduct training on Filipino Leaders, I will generally get comments like, "Aabusuhin ka kasi pag masyado kang mabait na manager," and is usually followed by "You have to make them feel who's boss," which are from the general comments of leaders of the teams. This is especially true in the Philippines where a lot of leaders have been predisposed to emulate using "higpit" or "strikto" styles of leadership because that was the main source of influence they got from their parents, teachers and even work bosses. For a time, sources of influence like rewards, fear or rank (also called harsh power bases), have been the most effective way of managing our staff. It is very common to hear sentences in organizations like, "May bonus tayo pag nareach natin targets natin," or, "If hindi ka umayos, i-mememo kita," or, "Boss yan, kailangan sundin," whenever we are talking about the power dynamics of the team. It feels as if everything needs to be earned the hard and toxic way.
This has got to stop.
Recently, have you not experienced that these styles have not been as effective in producing the influence we need as leaders? Below are some of the changes that have happened over the years:
The workforce benefited from the digital age
Younger employees are not as afraid to lose their jobs because the digital-age has provided them access to other sources of livelihood (job portals, the growing gig-economy, job-referrals from online communities, freelancing, etc.). On top of these, people in the workforce are also more discerning and critical of their leaders since the internet has exposed them to better leaders, mentors and organizations they could work with or for. Moreover, if before leaders can get away with not getting reviewed by their staff, they now get this whether they like it or not because of different social media platforms— Hello Facebook, Glassdoor, Linkedin, Twitter.
If you notice, the digital age has given the typical employee substantial power through access to information. Not just that, as the world transforms to have work in more virtual platforms, for employees who are digital natives, they have more leverage too than their older counterparts. Remember during the pandemic when work transitioned to Zoom and other digital platforms? Our younger team members got to cope quicker because they live and breathe technology. This continuing power shift is making it more challenging for a lot of the more traditional managers to influence and lead their teams.
Influence meant more than just embodying fear
This is where Positive Leadership can help. Different from the common perception, positive leadership is not just about being kind all the time, or always acceding to what our staff want and do because we are afraid to upset or offend them. It's also not about tolerating non-performance and non-achievement of goals simply to preserve relationships. Positive leadership is a style that derives influence from more relational elements like likeability, expertise and information power aimed at taking care of individual and team well-being so that it produces healthy cultures that produce more sustainable high engagement and performance. This can be seen in different world leaders like Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who integrates empathy and compassion in her leadership style without compromising being firm and relevant on decisions. She and her coalition had made New Zealand a very dynamic country even at the start of the pandemic when most countries were struggling to make sense of that Black Swan event. With her leadership, New Zealand was able to revive the country better and faster than the rest of the world.
Based on research, 88% of the employees and 94% of executives of different companies believed that more distinct cultures, such as integrating positive leadership, are more likely to be beneficial to the success of their organizations. Moreover, workplaces with positive leadership are found to be more productive than those organizations led in traditional terms. Those workplaces with traditional leadership often found more disengagement from their employees resulting in 37% higher absenteeism, 60% more errors in performances, and 37% lower job growth. Whereas for workplaces with positive leadership, employees experience happier work cultures, induce more creativity with their work, feel better when they collaborate, and are more engaged with their work for almost 100% of the time.
What can we do about these?
Big changes and disruptions in our work and lives will continue to happen. Now that the world is so interconnected, any major change in one part can quickly ripple to the others, whether it's a pandemic, the next disruptive unicorn, or political maneuvering of countries— all these can quickly affect the way leaders do their jobs and exert their influence. In addition, in most leadership strategies out there, one common thing that has protected organizations from changes is strong corporate cultures, and positive leaders are the main stewards of that.
Now, one can be a more positive leader by:
Creating a more inclusive work environment
Fostering growth through collaboration and communication
Creating clear goals for the employees
Focusing on individual and team strengths than highlighting weaknesses
Cultivating an environment of psychological safety in organizations
Of course, these things are easier said than done. But you can be intentional by utilizing many different resources such as our free articles, learning videos, or enrolling in our Positive Leadership Course. Remember that integrating positive leadership in your organization is not meant to be a burden for you to carry, but an opportunity that we could maximize together.
We are humans first before we are resources. And in the core of being human is our wellbeing. If we, as leaders, know how to protect and enrich that, then all of the beautiful things like trust, growth and performance will be more attainable.
About the author:
John Baluyot has Masters degree in Leadership and Organization Learning from Monash University Australia, an MBA from De La Salle University, Manila and a Behavioral Science undergraduate from the University of Santo Tomas. He is an Australia Awards Scholar and a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach.
He was also the 2020 President of the Philippine Society for Training and Development (now called Philippine Society for Talent Development). Currently he is the CEO and one of the co-founders of Positive Workplaces.
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Additional References:
Agarwal, P. (2021, December 10). How to create a positive workplace culture. Forbes. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/pragyaagarwaleurope/2018/08/29/how-to-create-a-positive-work-place-culture/?sh=564dcce24272
Craig, W. (2017, July 25). 3 reasons why positive work cultures are more productive. Forbes. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamcraig/2017/07/25/3-reasons-why-positive-work-cultures-are-more-productive/?sh=325e48491ede
Seppala, E., & Cameron, K. (2017, May 8). Proof that positive work cultures are more productive. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://hbr.org/2015/12/proof-that-positive-work-cultures-are-more-productive
Tharwani, K. (2022, April 14). Proof that positive work cultures are more productive. OpenGrowth. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://www.opengrowth.com/resources/proof-that-positive-work-cultures-are-more-productive
