Over the next few posts, let’s take a look at what it means to be a leader and how to be the leader you want to be. This applies whether you’re leading a houseful of kiddos, a small Mom & Pop, or a large corporation.
As you might know, I have six children. I have always joked that managing a household of six children is a lot like managing a small corporation. Believe me when I say that I incorporated the levels of energy we are about to discuss with varying degrees of success over my 30 year tenure thus far, and this stuff is true – I just didn’t have the language to explain it back then.
At iPEC, where I received my coaching certification, they define leadership as the ability to inspire and motivate others, as well as yourself, to take life-changing action to create extraordinary results that last. I love this definition.
Accordingly, each and every one of us is a leader. How well you lead depends on your level of consciousness, or energy. Higher levels of anabolic energy are associated with more effective leadership. Anabolic energy is building energy, and whether in the workplace or at home, great leaders build relationships, teams, families, and businesses. Catabolic energy, on the other hand, is destructive, and catabolic leaders destroy and break down everything around them.
Let’s look first at the overall style of the catabolic leader. A catabolic leader manages. The definition of “manage” is “to handle, direct, govern, or control in action or use,” and “to dominate or influence.” Catabolic leaders control others. They tell others what to do, and how to do it. The catabolic leader, in keeping control, keeps the other people in the relationship in a non-powerful position – and then most likely complains to everyone around that “I can’t seem to find good help,” and “no one does things as well as I do.”
An anabolic leader, on the other hand, leads. The definition of “lead” – “to go before or with to show the way,” and “to guide in direction, course, and action” sounds supportive and empowering, and it is. The anabolic leader doesn’t control and doesn’t push people, but instead, inspires them by words, action, and by personal example.
One of iPEC’s foundation principles states that “Each of us is each greater and wiser than we appear to be.” Anabolic leaders realize this, and thus, don’t feel the need to tell people what to do, as they realize that everyone has their own answers and gifts.
Think about this when you are being faced with a task or something to do. When a catabolic leader TELLS or DEMANDS that someone do something, most likely, they will respond catabolically – “I won’t,” “I have to,” or “I need to.” Conversely, when an anabolic leader REQUESTS that someone do something, or ASKS for someone’s input on a project, they’re much more likely to respond with the anabolic “I want to” or “I choose to.” The more anabolic the leader, the greater the probability of success in the task.
Over the next few weeks, as you interact with those around you, think about how much more of an anabolic leader you could be if you led, instead of managed.
*This piece contains my interpretation of the copyrighted work of Bruce D Schneider and the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC).
