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# 6 Continuing your leadership journey

> ‘Your journey is completely yours. It is unique. Others may try to steal part of it, tell it in their words or shape it to suit them. Reality is no one can live it or own it but you. Take charge of your journey, it’s yours and yours alone!’

Kemi Sogunle, author and life coach (Good Reads, no date, para. 18)

You’ve spent some time reflecting on your own relationship to leadership. You may feel you are already quite an experienced leader, or you may feel you haven’t even started out as a leader yet. Whatever your current position, however, leadership should be seen not as an end state but as a journey (Schaeffer, 2002).

Figure 8: Take control of your journey

Historically there has been a tendency to idolise seemingly natural ‘all-round’ leaders. However, this can result in leaders who lack humanity because they fail to acknowledge their limitations and their vulnerabilities (Casserley and Megginson, 2009). It also suggests they lack the self-awareness that might come from admitting to not being completely confident in what they are doing. Instead, they go along with the myth of being the perfect and complete leader. In reality, no leader is fully complete!

> ‘Incomplete leaders differ from incompetent leaders in that they understand what they’re good at and what they’re not and have good judgment about how they can work with others to build on their strengths and offset their limitations.’

(Ancona et al., 2007, p. 95).

Ancona and her colleagues (2007) suggest that the idea of an all-round complete leader is a myth, and it is important instead to acknowledge that any leader will have their strengths and weaknesses. They suggest that the ‘incomplete leader’, having recognised their own strengths and weaknesses, knows when to let go, and will find other people to ‘fill the gaps’.

To help identify where any individual leader might need support, Ancona et al. (2007) identify four ‘capabilities’, in which everyone has different levels of ability:

1. Sense-making – constantly trying to understand the wider context
2. Relating – being able to build trusting relationships
3. Visioning – being able to create a vision and see how to get there together
4. Inventing – creatively adjusting and adapting as circumstances change

The four capabilities are interdependent, but no one leader will excel in them all.

This is not just about the individual feeling comfortable that they are working to their strengths; there are wider implications. If someone presses ahead in a role without the necessary skills and capabilities, there is a danger that they become an incompetent leader, which can have very real and detrimental consequences. Recognising your own limitations as a leader, and letting other people lead where appropriate are, therefore, key skills for any caring leader.

## Activity 7 Recognising your own incompleteness

Part A

- Where do you think your strengths lie as a leader?
- In what ways are you an incomplete leader?

Using the four capabilities suggested by Ancona et al. (2007) consider where your own strengths lie and any areas in which you might need development or support. Add these to the table below.

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Sense-making (understanding the context) | (A text entry box would appear here, but your browser does not support it.)
Relating (building trusting relationships) | (A text entry box would appear here, but your browser does not support it.)
Visioning (creating a compelling picture) | (A text entry box would appear here, but your browser does not support it.)
Inventing (developing new ways of thinking and acting) | (A text entry box would appear here, but your browser does not support it.)

Interactive feature not available in single page view.

Part B

Reflecting on what you entered in the table, complete the following sentence:

My incompleteness does not make me incompetent because …

(A text entry box would appear here, but your browser does not support it.)

### Discussion

The idea of the incomplete leader draws attention to the fact that someone ‘in charge’ – formally or informally – invariably exists in relation to other people. An individual leader may have a high level of self-confidence; however, their vision will be realised much more effectively if there is also cooperation to foster a collective force with others. So, even when a clear, persuasive leader has emerged, the effect will be much more powerful if they can develop shared commitment and a vision that everyone feels a part of. A group of people working towards a particular goal can make achievements that an individual alone simply could not.

Once you can identify your own strengths and weaknesses, you can see how to avoid ending up feeling ‘incompetent’ by focusing on the positives, rather than the negatives. This is why you were asked to complete the sentence, and here are some possible examples:

- My incompleteness does not make me incompetent because … I might not be fully trained on the technical side yet, but I’m organised, approachable, and can think on my feet, so residents and staff always come to me when there’s a problem!
- My incompleteness does not make me incompetent because … although my physical health stops me from playing football with the kids, my skill in the kitchen means I keep the whole family eating healthily on a tight budget.
- My incompleteness does not make me incompetent because … although I’m not medically trained, my role on the desk in the fracture clinic team is vital in ensuring a smooth-running service for everyone.

Whatever your role, you have the power to bring the uniqueness of you to it. People most commonly give up their power by thinking they do not have any in the first place. It would have been easy for someone in José’s position, for example, to do that. Yet, even though timing and circumstances were far from perfect for him, he had a passion that was undeniably infectious for those around him, and that helped him succeed with his vision in his own way.

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OpenLearn - Approaching leadership with care
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