Leadership - It's about creating conditions so people can achieve outcomes

The word leadership is used in many different contexts and can be interpreted in many different ways, therefore clarity is important as a starting point to discuss leadership. Let’s start at the root of the word. In this case, lead which in earliest usage means “to guide,” so the literal translation of leadership is to have the characteristics of one who is able to guide. Building on this core root, we will use the following definition moving forward:

To demonstrate leadership is to make it easier, accessible, or doable for an organized group of individuals to accomplish specific goals for themselves and the group they are a part of.

While seemingly simple on the surface, this definition touches on a complex set of factors that must be considered when thinking about what leadership actually is. Leadership is a social process that happens within groups, and specifically groups that have been brought together for a specific and shared purpose (for example: to learn, to complete a task, to get to know each other better, to share, to negotiate, etc.).

While leadership is dependent on the reason why people are coming together, it is primarily focused on the realm of how a task is done or work is accomplished by people rather than what the actual task or goal is. It is deeply grounded in both individual human behavior and group dynamics. Helene Smit refers to this as the “people process that occurs as soon as there are people [working] together.” [1]Since we are focusing on the how, or the process of people working together, leadership is primarily about the process of creating the conditions and the environment within which a group is doing its work – an environment that is shaped by the people present and the complex set of factors that influence how they will behave individually and collectively.

It is also very important to acknowledge the working assumption that people can create the conditions that support the success of others. Once we accept that, those taking leadership of a group have the responsibility of determining what successis for ourselves and others in a particular situation and then identifying the experience and conditions that will lead to that level of success for the people involved. Leadership is about the responsibility to intentionally and deliberately create those conditions.

Again, while the initial definition seems simple at first, there are many assumptions and/or beliefs that must be accepted and acknowledge if we plan to use it. Here is a summary of those assumptions:

1. Leadership is an active and interpersonal process: The definition states that leadership will make it easier, accessible, or doable for individuals. This implies that a person is actively working to support the success of others. The action, is the process of creating the conditions that make other people’s achievement possible. The interpersonal element is that all members are contributing, responding, and making achievements in partnership with one another. Leadership is dependent on the participants’ engagement and desire to accomplish something for themselves. The participants are dependent on leadership to create conditions that they do not naturally create or sustain for themselves (*this does not mean that people are unable to create these conditions for themselves, it simply indicates that the circumstances benefit from having a facilitator support and sustain the conditions for a specific moment in time).
   
   
2. Clear, intended goals and/or outcomes are knowable and known: The definition emphasizes accomplishing specific goals. This implies that the achievement of intentional outcomes is the ultimate purpose of leadership, not simply making a situation easy or doable. Therefore, leadership requires that you clearly understand and can articulate the outcomes you have in mind for the group. The outcomes are not necessarily the sole purview of the leader, they may be dictated by outside influences or determined by the group itself, however it is the responsibility of leadership to know and understand the intended outcomes independent of where they come from (*outcomes are not necessarily fixed or unchanging, however, if outcomes do change, they must be clearly understood in order for the leader to continue their role effectively)
   
   
3. People achieve their own outcomes: The emphasis on people achieving outcomes assumes that individuals have self-efficacy (the ability to create their own outcomes) and are empowered to act on their own behalf. Therefore, the outcomes of leadership relies on people stepping into their abilities and can only be achieved when people take ownership and engage in achieving intended goals (*this is not always a conscious process for those involved. It is not uncommon for people to be unaware of the movement or achievement they are making as they are doing it. They may only realize what happened upon reflection once the goal is attained. However, they are still demonstrating self-efficacy and empowerment)
   
   
4. Conditions encourage people to achieve intended outcomes: The claim that leadership can make it easier, accessible, or doable is based on the belief that the conditions a person experiences influence how well they are able to achieve. Degenerative conditions are those that discourage the behavior and thinking that leads to achievement while generative conditions encourage them. This is a core tenet of leadership – the idea that leadership is fundamentally about creating conditions for others to thrive and step into their own abilities.
   
   
5. Actions create desired conditions: Building on the above assumption, is the idea that conditions can be intentionally and deliberately created. Leadership is taking intentional action to create intentional conditions that support people’s ability to achieve intended goals.

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[1]Smit, Helene; The Depth Facilitator's Handbook (2014)