Keep running the good race

In our current work with leaders, we observe that this is a time when inspiration is needed more than ever - and it’s seemingly in desperately short supply.  

Leading our organisations is an endurance event. It’s apparent to us that some leaders are flagging as the demands of dealing with a global shock, rapidly rising interest rates, supply chain disruption and a changed workforce can all take their toll. And if leaders are feeling the impact, how much more so are the frontline teams who’ve been pushing harder and harder for many months on end? 

Hitting the wall

In endurance events, there’s a point where most people ‘hit the wall’. Chemical changes mixed with tiredness and strain combine to send us alarming signals to stop. It takes a rare kind of willpower to push through on our own. Most of us need some encouragement to press on towards the goal, rather than give up. In leadership, when we hit the wall, it can be extremely tempting to allow short-term gratification to overwhelm our better judgement.  

We can step back from opportunities, fearing the extra effort required to take them on. We can get snappy with people, telling ourselves that we’re being clear and direct when in fact, we’re being rude. We can take back control rather than rely on our talented people and trust them to fulfil their responsibilities. There are many ways that stresses can play out, few of them are constructive and most take us down an unhealthy path. Our leadership race can become tarnished or cease altogether. 

Moral courage

Encouragement provides us and our people with some strength to keep on going, push through the wall and continue towards our objectives. Crucially, encouragement helps us to maintain a healthy perspective and not succumb to snap judgements.  

It’s no accident that courage is at the root of encouragement. This is far from a soft, fluffy exercise in high-fiving and back-slapping. Instilling courage requires strength, clarity and a firm sense of what’s right - and wrong - in any situation. This kind of courage is moral courage, an essential hallmark of effective leaders.  

Characteristics include:

• Humility - taking accountability and not blaming others for mistakes. Listening fully and wanting to understand other people’s perspectives rather than just defending a position. 

• Clarity - about what’s important, the compelling objectives that the company must achieve.  

• Good judgement - testing ideas with data and truly listening to research, even when it challenges a belief.  

Above all, morally courageous leaders are keenly focused on the people served by the organisation, not on themselves. In the London Marathon, many participants ran with vests that displayed their first names. This helped the crowds encourage them personally. It would be ridiculous for supporters to call out: “Keep going number 265924, you’ve got this!” In the same way, morally courageous leaders know their people by name, not by rank, role or number, and they champion them.  

One final thought - leaders themselves need encouragement when times are tough. This is a benefit - we argue part of the purpose - of being in a leadership team. The best source of encouragement is from your leadership team, ergo, you are the best source of encouragement not only for the people you lead, but for your senior colleagues too.  

Who will you encourage today?