Being a leader: it’s more than a position or title
by Family Councils Ontario
Leadership has many definitions. One of my favourites defines leadership as: “a process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal.”1 We like this definition because it lends itself very well to Family Council work. How so? Read on to find out.
Council leaders are typically thought of as those in defined positions such as Chairperson, president, or meeting facilitator. While those people are leaders, other Council members can and often do exert influence to maximise the efforts of other members in working towards a goal. Those members are also working in a leadership capacity. In fact, any and every member of a Family Council can be a leader. Every member has the capacity to use their skills, knowledge, and influence to help the group achieve its goals. In a Family Council, leadership is more than a position or a title. It’s a way of working with others.
This definition of leadership emphasizes positive social influence. Regarding Family Councils, we know from our years of working with Council members that the best way to work together to achieve goals is to work together in a positive, supportive, and collaborative manner. True leaders know that it is only by working together that groups can achieve success and make change. Positive social influence exerted by Family Council members recognizes the skills and perspectives that each member brings to the group, honours the contributions of each member, and works to maintain group cohesion and harmony without ignoring differences of opinions or instances of conflict. In fact, leaders who use positive social influence focus not only on what is working well but also keep awareness of conflict and dissent and works through these issues with the group. It’s also important to keep in mind that this social influence is genuine and not used to advance a hidden agenda or one’s own goals. Positive social influence is exerted for the good of the group.
Under this definition, Council leaders maximize the efforts of other members. Family Councils are only as strong and effective as their individual members. Council leaders support each member to share their ideas and contribute to the best of their ability. Council leaders understand that each member has something to bring to the table and can help the group succeed. Council leaders help build on the ideas of others and empower members by actively listening to their ideas, helping them access information, and provide support when appropriate. Further, Council leaders consciously focus on how to maximize efforts of members by clearly communicating a vision, collaboratively developing goals, fostering creativity, engaging members in all aspects of Council work, trusting Council members, and cheering on members throughout all aspects of Council work. Good leaders, whether they are in an official leadership position or not, use their influence to help the group achieve more than any one person could.
Effective leadership supports a group of people to achieve something- there is an intended outcome to the leadership efforts. A Family Council is no different. Family Council leaders drive their fellow members to pursue their goals, achieve the group’s mission, and realize the Council’s vision. This aspect of leadership- using social influence towards the achievement of a goal- can take many forms: it can be members encouraging others not to give up when times are tough, or the Council chairperson reminding members of the Council’s vision, or members asking probing questions to guide people towards realizing how they can contribute to success. Ultimately, good Council leaders make it easier for the group to achieve its goals and mission to improve quality of life of residents.
Every Council has leaders, both those who are and who are not official leaders. Every member has the potential to use their influence to maximize the efforts of their peers and help the group achieve its goals. Strong, effective Councils utilize the skills, abilities, and perspectives of each and every member and share leadership among all members. At your next meeting, look around the room at those in attendance and think: how do these people contribute their leadership abilities to the group? How can we build up the leadership skills of the members and share the leadership of our Council in ways that make us better as a whole? How can we use our individual influence to maximize our efforts and achieve our goals as a Council? Determining the responses to these questions will go a long way towards improving the functioning of your group and achieving your goals!
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