Whakapapa

What are the hallmarks of future leaders?  What makes leaders successful today, may not work so well in the future.  It is not just the right skills, but the ability to master new ones that will count.  Claudio Fernandez formerly director of research at the executive search firm Egon Zehnder International, says in June’s Harvard Business Review that high potentials need:Motivation – in particular, beyond ambition for themselves, a selflessness which means they embrace greater goals and put in the time and work to continually improve their own performance.Curiosity – openness to new experiences and information, and an eagerness for feedback on how they are doing – including their own strengths and areas to improve. This requires openness to changes and to learning.Engagement – leadership by spreading enthusiasm for a persuasive vision, the ability to connect with people emotionally and logically, and a passion for what they do.Determination – being able to battle towards difficult goals, take on tough challenges, and recover quickly from setbacks.I nodded when I first read these.  “Yup”, I thought.  “Agreed” and got on with something else.  Then I read James Kerr’s The Legacy: 15 lessons in Leadership.  I am a sucker for an inspiring sports story and James Kerr tells a good one.  A New Zealander and All Blacks fan, he has a passion for rugby and an unswerving love for his home team in particular.  In his 15 lessons, he tells the story of how the All Blacks grew and consolidated their position as the heroes of international rugby.  Ideas of motivation, curiosity, engagement and determination are turned not only into practical behaviours on the pitch that mean they win again and again, but also into an encompassing culture that taps into a deep seated emotional vein.  When an All Black joins the team, they are passed on the black jersey from their predecessor.  Jonah Lomu received his from John Kirwan.  The new player is told to “leave the jersey in a better place”.  He is called to leave a legacy, to be part of an unbreakable chain of people from the past and stretching into the future.  The Maori’s call this “Whakapapa”.James Kerr talks about being a “good ancestor”, a motivation that means as leaders in organisations, we have to lift our heads up from the details of our everyday workloads and immediate frustrations and recognise that we are stewards and caretakers. As Kerr says, “our actions today will echo beyond our time”.This takes Fernandez’s idea of leaders going beyond ambition for themselves to a whole new level and begs the question, what echoes do we each want our descendants to hear?