We at VIM Executive Coaching note that the current pandemic challenge has spawned an entirely new lexicon into the American vocabulary. Take, for example, the term “Contact Tracing.” The term itself has been around for many decades but it is only recently that people understand what it means.
So, the other day, we were wondering how does the term might apply to executive leadership? Surprisingly, it fits quite nicely with the executive leadership world.
Who Taught You?
If we were to contact trace your leadership style, indeed, any executive leader’s career, she or he might say “Well, I have always admired ‘so and so,’ and I’ve tried to pattern my career after theirs.” Conversely, we’ve also heard (and certainly more than once), “My first boss was a total jerk, a loser and I made sure I never copied that style.” The second response, while a hopeful one, carries some problems.
However, the most troubling response we can hear is “No one mentored me, no one taught me. I picked it up here and there.” The term “here and there” can include self-help books, television, movies and various podcasts by management experts.
Truth is that contact tracing executive leaders generally shows three patterns: those mentored by dynamic, compassionate leaders are generally good leaders; those whose careers were affected by unresponsive, judgmental, angry or even bigoted leaders may unknowingly follow those patterns as well, while those who were never mentored (the majority) are left adrift to figure it out for themselves.
Good executive leaders are treasures. We would wish for ourselves or our children, that they would be lucky enough to work for one such person. Those who were affected by poor managers may know in their hearts that they would “never want to be like them,” can unfortunately take on some of their characteristics. Those never mentored take on whatever aspect appeals to them; in other words, they may be inconsistent and not usually mindful.
Common Threads
We talked of the term “mindful” above. Chances are good that good executive leaders have been forged by mentors who were themselves mindful, compassionate, responsive and authentic. They were, in turn, generally nurtured in the same fashion.
Those leaders who were under those who were reactive, officious, dictatorial or mean-spirited may, in fact, take on some of those characteristics as well. They may claim to have “never wanted to be like a past, reactive boss,” but inadvertently picked up some of the same characteristics. They tried to be mindful, but often failed.
Those leaders never mentored, but who chose to lead by a consensus of self-help books and re-runs of movies about interns, desk-pounders or Hollywood success stories, have little to do with mindfulness one way or the other. Some are mindful leaders, most are not.
The positive message is that mindfulness can be taught. Executive leaders who were influenced by poor mentoring, or those who were never mentored, can become more mindful, more responsive and more effective.
VIM Executive Coaching has a program that helps executive leaders who may not have been mentored, or poorly mentored, to become more effective, mindful and authentic leaders.
Because an executive leader’s “contact tracing” may show a flawed background is not necessarily a predictor of how they will do in the future. We can change, we can become better leaders and if we really want it, we can become more authentic.