Leadership as a Practice.

Many discussions on leadership concern themselves if leaders are born or if leadership can be taught.  An alternative to this is the possibility it is neither of the two. It could be claimed that leadership is a practice (like the practice of medicine) and not just a skill or knowledge.  You can know what and how to do the right thing as a leader but choose to do something else. Having a business school degree does not automatically make you a leader; but luckily it also does not exclude you either. Leadership has to be applied and applied consistently if it is to make any difference.

Let’s start by attempting to explain the concept of leadership as a practice by evaluating how the practice of medicine works.

• Step 1: Theory

Medical students must spend a lot of time behind the books before they are allowed anywhere near a patient on their own. They learn anatomy, physics and a whole lot of stuff that helps them understand how a body works.

• Step 2 : Diagnose

Armed with the theoretical background the doctor can now start to attempt to diagnose patients. When medical doctors diagnose a patient, they are checking certain conditions against the theoretical standard. A temperature of 39⁰C can only be a cause of concern if the doctor knows it is supposed to be 37⁰C and left untreated could cause all kinds of other complications. Obviously they check a whole lot of other stuff but let’s assume it is a simple fever.

• Remediate

Armed now with diagnoses the doctor can apply a remedy to bring the patient’s condition back to standard. Theory, diagnose and then the remedy. These 3 steps are what we refer to as the practice of medicine.

Let’s turn now to question of leadership.  If we look at business leaders and political leaders the world over we should be able to get a sense that for many of them this aspect remains a challenge. It is very exiting that the topic of leadership is becoming more prominent and considered more and more important by society.

• Step 1: Theory

Being a leader calls for a lot of knowledge and theory about what leadership is. What motives people, what make them tick etc. There are some of those amongst us who instinctively know and get this right. The rest of us have to be taught.  We have to know the standard against which we wish to diagnose ourselves in Step 2.

Step 2: Diagnose

To remedy a situation a leader must diagnose it. Know what leadership is the leader can identify behavior that is not on-standard. The big difference here is that with leadership the leaders have to diagnose themselves. The purpose of a leadership diagnostic is not to diagnose the subordinates. The diagnostic is to diagnose the self. There are many tools for this. Reflection, journaling, 360 Degree evaluations, leadership surveys etc. Coaches and consultants can assist the leader in their quest for the diagnosis.

Step 3: Remedy

Armed with diagnoses the leaders must now apply the fix to them. Leadership is about getting to know yourself so that you can lead others. Leadership is not about fixing them. Great leaders look in the mirror. Leadership is about fixing you, improving you. You are the project of your life.

Conclusion

Similar to the practice of medicine, leaders and doctors don’t always get it right. But both professions should take their craft very seriously and constantly try to do better. Ben Zander sums it up beautifully. “If your team is underperforming, you should go and apologize to them.”