It is helpful to consider three fundamental facets when helping your leadership to emerge:
- Position. What is your position in the organisation? (The requirements placed on a CEO differ from those placed on the head of development or a group leader in controlling or marketing.) What are your main tasks and responsibilities? How much power or authority do you have?
- Context. This has two main aspects: structure and dynamic. Structural context covers your organisation and its culture. A government department, a hospital, a large multi-national and an IT start-up are likely to be organised and run differently. Each will place different expectations on its leaders. The dynamic aspect is about the siutation your (part of the) organisation finds itself: market leadership, steady growth, status quo, difficult markets or a turn-around candidate, to name a few possible scenarios.
- Personality. Authenticity is important in leadership, so it’s no use trying to behave like someone you are not. It’s important to play to your strengths and to learn from others over time so that you can expand your repertoire.