Glints in Leadership

I talk quite a bit about leadership as creating spaces where people can thrive and grow. It suits my leadership style to lead in such a way. I get to amplify my strengths and work in a way that rewards me. It's a beautiful experience to see people back their ideas and abilities and venture into something new.

Creating spaces is about allowing people the agency to decide how the work they're accountable for is executed. It's signalling that around here, your ideas and goals are valuable and will be listened to. It's the opportunity for you, if you wish, to determine what success looks like and then give you the tools to make that happen.

That means being available to people, listening to them and allowing them to succeed on their terms.

It takes time for those ripples of change to have an impact. They won't come out of obvious places. And often, they're only recognisable as a glint on water. But when you see it, do everything you can to nurture it and give it room to grow. You must protect it from the elements, and when it thrives, you must celebrate it.

Not everyone is going to agree with this approach. Some may see this as a threat or dismiss it as passive leadership. I've come to realise that this space is for them, too. As a leader, you offer this space to everyone, even those who operate and behave differently from you.

You don't have to agree with everything they do or say, but you can be their ally. Allow them to succeed on their terms. Treat them with respect, and address your differences with diplomacy. Here, the glints in the water may be opportunities to amplify similarities and goals where both can grow.

Everyone deserves to have agency, even those who disagree with you.