Regardless of how they name it, leadership experts are calling for transformational leadership -“the ability to engage with others in such a way that leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of motivation and morality” (Burns, 1978). Few, however, directly identify the cornerstone of transformational leadership – ego development.
In recent years we have seen a variety of labels and models: Leadership Agility (Joiner and Joseph); Integral Leadership (Wilbur); Seven Transformations (Torbert). Some, including Daniel Goleman write about specific competencies such as emotional intelligence. All share the central idea that the era of the heroic leader acting on his own has long since gone. The world changes too fast; the issues are too complex and multi-faceted; the expertise required is too varied and deep. Problems are messy and complicated. People must work collaboratively and tap the collective intelligence of the larger whole. We must be invested in finding solutions that exceed individual needs and work on behalf of our higher interests.
Here is what Linda Hill professor of business administration and faculty chair of the High Potential Leadership Program at Harvard University says about what leaders need to be and do.
“Leaders need to adapt a more inclusive, collaborative style [because] today’s complex environment often demands a team approach to problem solving. This requires a leader, who among other things is comfortable sharing power and generous in doing so, is able to see extraordinary potential in ordinary people…Leadership is a collective activity in which different people at different times – depending on their strengths, or ‘nimbleness’ – come forward to move the group in the direction it needs to go. [The group] doesn’t have to wait for and then respond to a command from the front. That kind of agility is more likely when a leader conceives her role as creating the opportunity for collective leadership, as opposed to merely setting a direction.”
Experts are clear about what is needed but less so about how we can identify leaders who have these attributes or how to develop them. It seems to me that ego development is the cornerstone of transformational leadership. To create an environment where the collective intelligence of the group emerges, where power is shared and collaboration is key requires a leader who does not need first and foremost to gratify his ego. He does not need to be seen as the one with the answers, the expert, or even the leader. He does not need to be admired. While many of those who write about transformational leadership hint at this aspect, few name it outright, but I think it is important to do so. Why? Once we identify ego development as a core feature of transformational leadership, leaders and those who coach and develop them can work on it together. Without this, we are often teaching skills to people who will ultimately fail to use them to effect the kind of change that is needed. People know when leaders are feeding their own ego, and this is the greatest trust breaker of all, but like the emperor’s new clothes, the ego rarely gets named.