Leaders Need Both Of These Qualities

I am going through a certification right now, and a really interesting idea came up yesterday that relates to Leadership.

It talked about 2 qualities that you can be "High" or "Low" in.

When it comes to a Leadership perspective, the workplace has changed.

These two qualities are now not only "interesting" to think about but are now being REQUIRED to become a successful Leader.

The Two Qualities

The idea comes from a book written by George Kohlrieser.

This book is, "Care to Dare" which (fittingly) are the two qualities!

On one of the spectrums, you have Daring.

How far are you willing to go?

Are you willing to stand up for what you believe?

Will you challenge people when they may be missing the mark?

Can you push people to become better?

How high can you set your goals?

On the other spectrum, you have Caring.

Do you care what your team thinks about you?

Are you willing to do the work to show them you Care?

When challenges occur, will your team be standing with you?

Can you come out of struggles with everyone winning?

We all are at different points on these spectrums, and there isn't a "perfect combination" of either.

However, when we are low in either (or both!) we will have major challenges.

The Challenges Without These Qualities

➼ Low Caring And Low Daring

This is probably the easiest place to see how you will struggle as a Leader on these spectrums.

If you aren't Caring and not Daring, you will be seen as a cold individual who doesn't seem to get anything done.

You might, "meet minimum quotas", but no one will raise their hands to say they want you as a leader.

Often, this area is either a fast track to being ousted as a Leader or worse the team you are leading will likely fail - sometimes quickly, sometimes painfully slowly.

➼ Low Caring and High Daring

In this spectrum, you have a different set of challenges.

Many "old-school" leaders fall into this category.

Here, you are likely a major go-getter and may often get results.

When things get dire, you may be the person that people go to to ensure things down burn to the ground.

However, your team probably views their experience around you as terrible.

"Yeah, we get results, but every day is awful," might be something said about working with you.

People will work with you and accept your leadership due to the results, but you'll never get the best out of people.

In truth, you are causing major stress on your team, and everyone around you is probably burnt out (maybe even you).

This physiologically will prevent your team from achieving their potential - literally!

This is also a large part of the reason so many people are resisting going back to the office.

Their Leaders have caused TONS of stress and overwhelm, so much so that it negatively impacts what they can accomplish.

At home, these people found they could accomplish more because they WEREN'T around their Low Caring Leader!

Plus, now that they KNOW they can do just as much at home, they have NO desire to return to their Low Caring Leader!

If you want people to come back to the office but are struggling to get them to comply, think about this.

➼ High Caring and Low Daring

This is the other end of the spectrum - your team probably LOVES you here!

There are fewer and fewer people that "actually" care about others.

When people find Leaders that do care, they latch on!

However, this can become a bad thing if you are Low Daring.

People will want to be around you, but they may also walk all over you (Some Leaders use this as a reason NOT to care, which is understandable, but is the wrong lesson).

Along with this, your caring nature may lead to people who will often give you excuses as to why things aren't getting done.

"You understand how it is, right?"

You may understand, but you will also struggle to get results.

As a Leader, it is true that your team looks to you to help them through challenges (and care for them), but you are also responsible to get certain results.

Even if your team "Loves" you, if you don't get the results (or only get the minimum results from your team), you will struggle to make it far as a Leader.

If you are a manager, you will likely be overlooked for promotions.

If you are an entrepreneur, you will likely struggle to make ends meet.

Plus, your highest achievers will likely feel it is "unfair" that "they" get results while "others" aren't getting them without consequences, so they'll leave for a more "fair" workplace.

Either way, it will become a challenge.

The Best Of Both Qualities

Magic occurs in organizations when you are both High Caring AND High Daring.

In one respect, THESE are the types of Leaders that EVERYONE wants!

Everyone wants to be on the winning team that accomplishes great things, especially the Highest Achievers!

Plus, caring for your people while getting results opens the doorway to Group Flow!

When people strive and feel cared for, they become open to taking higher risks, become more creative, and seek better answers and solutions.

Along with this fact, it is becoming necessary to become this type of Leader in our world.

Your highest achievers are demanding to be cared for, and are more than happy to leave in the drop of a dime.

Every business is struggling to find high achievers, so it isn't hard for them to find more work.

Businesses also are demanding higher results than at any other time in history, results that require Leaders to be more daring than ever before!

Without the daring quality, businesses and potential clients will completely overlook what you have to offer without a second thought.

When you have BOTH High Caring AND High Daring, you are on your way to becoming a Legendary Leader!