Play Your Leadership Cards

  • 23 July 2015
  • Ian Williams

Marianne Williamson’s famous quotation (from A Return to Love) goes like this:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that otherpeople won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

I can understand why this quote has been mistakenly attributed to Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King – you could almost hear them saying it! I love these inspirational words because they apply to everyone in every situation. What stands out for me is the encouragement they bring; in a tough world everyone needs encouragement to use their inner and material resources to create abundant life for themselves and others. These words are an important part of my inspiration for developing leaders, and for the tools and approaches I create and use.

No great leader ever achieved great things by playing small. We all need to extend and enhance our game if we expect to make progress, as any athlete will confirm. Leadership itself, though, is huge topic. Google the word and you get 159 million possibilities! The approaches and teachings on leadership from past and present are mind-boggling, and they continue to develop and multiply. A huge industry revolves around the need for leadership skills and development, and that’s hardly surprising for two main reasons.

Leadership training and development with Ian William - Kairology

First, there is such a need for good leadership, and in all areas of life it seems to be shrinking in application and growing in rhetoric. Many talk the talk but fewer live out leadership in a way that does what it’s supposed to – simply take people on a journey for a purpose. And there’s a huge amount packed into that statement. How many friends, family and colleagues do you have who suffer under a ‘leader’ who treats people badly, and has a poor sense of direction and purpose? I meet them everywhere I go. It’s a tragic scene that is easily overcome with a little thought and care. We are desperate for leaders in every area of life, but rarely find them. When an outstanding business, social or political leader emerges, they are very conspicuous. The rest are in a questionable crowd.

Secondly, leadership is such a complex idea to the world. There are so many aspects and facets to it, and so many academics, authors and speakers bring their own principles, approach and checklist. So in dabbling in this area myself, and being a simple soul, I needed a model of leadership that is pure and simple, something I can carry around in my head. The best for that in my book (literally) is Professor John Adair and the Actioncentred Leadership Model. I can now be an effective leader by just understand something about the balance between 3 things – Task, Team and Individual. What could be as simple and yet profound? The problem with making it any more complex is that leaders always feel there’s so much more to learn, and feel constantly defeated by that challenge. They are constantly caught in the blinding headlights of what they are perhaps not doing, rather than bringing simple focus to a task with the right people.

What has this to do with Kairology? The word Kairos means the right time for intervention or change. So I have simply used the playing cards framework to create 52 simple tools and approaches that I feel are important for good leadership. That doesn’t mean using all 52 cards at once – otherwise it wouldn’t be simple. It means looking at the cards and selecting what you need to work on in order to improve your personal leadership. It means being selective and purposeful, guided by your own instincts and by feedback from others. I also encourage people to select cards at random, and see what happens when they work through it.

In forthcoming issues of Smile, I will give you some cards from the series to work on for your own development. The Kairology Cards are intended to challenge, guide and inspire – rather than be yet another text book or checklist. I believe there is no checklist for leadership. There is you, there is a job to do, and there are people to help you. That’s it! So the framework is to help leaders do just that. The simple challenge is to play your cards right – to select and use them creatively for your own development and growth.

Have fun with this, but also take it seriously. Your achievements and the people around you depend on it. Find your passion for people and challenges that bring diamond results. It may be cards-based but you don’t need to gamble with your leadership skills! However, leadership does involve courage and risk-taking, and building a deck that will stand or fall based on a heap of variables. Get yourself a good deal, a good partner or team for the game, clear strategies and tactics, and go for the win. Leadership is not a game of chance, but a game of skill in which you bring the courage to shine your light powerfully.

About Ian Williams

Ian A. Williams - Kairos Development Ltd Ian is highly regarded in coaching people within organisations and on a personal level. His inspiration and purpose come from personal convictions about building quality and purpose in working life.

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