Written by: Zachary Hoffman, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
During my time living abroad for the last 10 years, there are countless lessons I have learned along the way that have helped shape who I am today. However, four main lessons stick out in my mind in terms of my various leadership roles:
Talk less, observe, listen & relate
Culture Matters
Have a “Swiss-Army Knife” approach
Leadership alone isn’t enough
Growing up in the small town of Cecil, Pennsylvania. I was the classic American kid. I loved sports, playing in the backyard, and the 4th of July. I grew up with a sort of “tunnel vision” mindset, essentially having no desire or reason to look outside of my own country's borders. Like a lot of young boys in the USA, I had aspirations of playing professional football in the NFL. Ever since I was 6 years old, I remember that all I ever wanted to do was be an NFL quarterback. I remember I used to stay up to watch the Monday Night Football games as a kid while wearing the jersey of the starting quarterback for whichever team was playing. I would reenact the game myself while making diving catches and throwing the ball against the sofa.
Long story short, I grew older and progressed into high school and college. I slowly but surely realized that my lifelong dream of reaching the NFL simply wasn’t in the cards for me. While looking back, this was surely a life-changing moment in my life. At the time, I was devastated. However, long story short, it leads me on a journey I could have never imagined as a young, American kid from a small American suburb. Little did I know, my true calling was just beginning. I now live full time in Europe, I have dual-citizenship, speak 2 foreign languages, and have had the privilege to lead individuals and establish relationships with people from across the globe.
The lessons I have listed at the start of this article are not based on statistics or achievements due to my education. They are rather based on real-life experiences within intercultural environments. These experiences inspired me to write a book and develop a concept that I have found to be very helpful in terms of my overall effectiveness as a leader in international environments. This concept is called SWALeadership (Sensible, Worldwide, Adaptable, Leadership). Let’s dive into it!
1. Sensible — Talk less, observe, listen & relate
There are so many people today who have the title of “Leader” but simply do not realize the responsibility that comes with it. It is no secret that having this title alone does not make someone effective or competent in terms of acting in a leadership role. Unfortunately, but naturally, ego gets in the way of earning the respect of one’s followers BEFORE giving them tasks and assignments. I emphasize the word “before” because a lot of time people in leadership roles want to use their title as an assumption of having the respect of their followers. This is one of the biggest mistakes that can be made in my opinion, and it is simply an act of incompetence and arrogance. I have come to realize that before you attempt to effectively lead others, you must first and foremost earn their respect. The title alone won’t get you far if you do not earn it. So how is this respect earned? Well, it takes time, but I have found that the golden standard to earning respect is to observe, listen and relate.
Observing each of your followers and trying to get an idea of the way they tick. What is their body language? How do they interact with the other members of the team? How do they react to you as their leader? These are all questions that take time and effort to answer, but they will give one the initial idea of how to approach them in a conversation. Then comes listening. Oftentimes people in leadership roles feel like they have to flex their muscles and show how competent they are. In my opinion, this is the last thing any aspiring, effective leader should do. It should be the total opposite. Less talking, more listening. Ask genuine questions to your followers. Show them that you truly do care about their goals, aspirations, and livelihoods.
Notice I reference the word “genuine.” I am a strong believer that there has to be a real interest in helping others to succeed in a leadership role. Unfortunately, the reality is that this idea isn’t always the case. Then comes relating. Relating is a product of observing and listening. After we get a feel for an individual and learn about their personality, background, and motives, we can then use this information to relate their situation to a similar situation in our lives. What I have come to realize is that when you can truly relate to someone, you immediately earn their respect. After all, one of the greatest comforts/assurances we as humans search for is others who know how we feel and/or have been through situations similar to theirs.
Observation + Listening + Relating = Respect and endless possibilities for yourself and your team. When you have the respect of others, they are far more likely to follow you when you do decide to speak and act.
2. Worldwide — Culture Matters
We live in a globalized world. Unlike previous generations where nationalistic views and World Wars prevented the inter-mixing of cultures, we now live in a world that has become a societal melting-pot. There are countless numbers of religions, beliefs, traditions, personalities, and social norms that have all come together in the modern-day corporate world. All of these traits were formed from the roots of each person's upbringing. They are how people identify with themselves.
One of the major problems I have witnessed is a lack of intercultural competence outside of the one we were brought up in. We cannot assume that our way is the only one. Generalized leadership is destined for failure in today’s world. We need to take more time to understand and accept people for their differences. The assumption is asinine. We cannot assume that all of our followers want, react and believe the same things as we do. This sounds like an obvious statement, but it is amazing how much we have taken this for granted. Those who resent globalization and intercultural cultural competence are simply living in the past that is never coming back.
3. Adaptable — Have a “Swiss-Army Knife” Approach
One of the biggest failures in our past and present is our inability as a society to accept reality and adapt accordingly. However, those who are willing to adapt their leadership style to what their following does best are the ones who are the most effective. Just as a Swiss-Army is diverse and adaptable in terms of the tools that it withholds, effective leaders also have to have tools within their foundation that they can use to adapt to the needs and interests of the people they are leading. However, it all starts with the foundation or “the handle “ of the knife. Within this handle lies the tools needed to accomplish tasks. Just as within ourselves lies the “soft skills” or tools necessary to reach our following and truly have an impact on them as individuals. However, before one can develop tools, one needs to first establish their foundation. They need to become leaders of themselves before they can develop the skills needed to lead others. Just as a Swiss-Army knife has a strong handle with its variety of tools, effective leaders need to have a handle on our own life before we can impact those of others.
4. Leadership — Alone it isn’t enough
If you have noticed throughout this article, I never use the word “leadership” standing alone. I always preceded it with the word “effective and/or ineffective.” That is because we as a society have put the word “leadership” on a pedestal of greatness and worth without even being able to come up with a proper definition for what it entails. If you type the words “leadership definition” into Google, you will find the following definition:
The action of leading a group of people or an organization.
The state or position of being a leader.
The leaders of an organization, country, etc.
I don’t know about you, but any definition that uses the actual word being defined as part of the definition is a sign that nobody knows what the heck it truly means. Take, for example, Julius Caesar, Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini. They were all considered “leaders” despite their totalitarian, corrupt and evil approaches. But were effective, maybe in terms of their own goals, yes, but we can not put these people in the same category as Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln, and Gandhi. There has to be a difference, and technically, according to the current or lack thereof definitions of leadership, there isn’t one.
So how does one define effective leadership and ineffective leadership? This is a discussion that could go on for days, but in short, I believe that effective leadership starts with selfless leadership. Not selfless in the sense of putting others before yourself in terms of health, but selfless in the sense of putting others before physical achievements and worldly successes. This is why it is so hard to find truly effective leaders. We as a society see people’s worth in the attention they acquire, how much they are getting noticed, and how financially rich they are that we have created a rat-race of attention cravers. So the next time someone mentions being a leader or a leadership developer, just remember that it isn’t enough standing alone. Are they truly effective in their role? Or are they just another rat in the race?
SWAL — Sensible, Worldwide, Adaptable, Leaders. That is what I strive to be and who I want to help develop. We are at a crucial point in our history. The world is drastically changing, and only those who get with the times will survive and thrive. I believe that the SWAL concept is a solution for developing effective leaders of the future. Those who will break down barriers and leave a true legacy that will be followed for generations to come. We can make this world an amazing place to live, not just for ourselves but for our kids and grandkids. The bottom line is that we can't take our success and accolades to our graves. All we can leave behind is our influence. So I challenge us all to adapt to impact and leave behind a legacy of effective leadership.
Want to learn more from Zac? Follow him on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and visit his website.
Zachary Hoffman, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Zac is an Italian/American dual citizen, effective leadership developer, published author, and former professional American football player. Originally from a small, rural town in Western Pennsylvania (USA), he has spent his twenties living in 6 different countries while playing and coaching American football. During his time abroad, he developed the SWALeadership concept based on his many thrilling and eye-opening experiences within various leadership roles across cultures.
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