I heard this brilliant analogy for great leadership:
Great leaders are like valves – not open taps. They hear and consider the input from external pressure sources, then consciously choose what to share and how to collaborate, with who, and when.
Response. Not reaction.
So it looks something like this:
Poor leaders are like open taps. They’re oblivious to their own internal pressure and splash it all over their teams and peers when the external pressure is on. They are like an open, gushing tap.
Good leaders are *trying* to be a valve. They do their best to control their internal pressure in order to handle the external pressure. They work hard at being like a valve. Sometimes the mask slips and they become like a tap. They feel awful when this happens. Ashamed. Guilty. A failure.
Great leaders are naturally a valve. They have their internal pressure handled, so their default position is to be like a valve. But they also aren’t perfect, so if they accidentally do something tap-like, they own it, make amends, learn, and move on.
My work shifts you upwards to being a great leader.
Check we’re a match. If we are we’ll get a call in. Now booking from 15th April (after my holiday).
Want the back story to this tap and valve analogy?
The tap and valve analogy came from this episode of In the Business of Healthy Masculinity between Garry Turner and Paul Jameson. One of the few podcasts I still consistently listen to.
I brought the tap analogy into this video.
Internal stability in the presence of external pressure is your strongest position.