A Balancing Act for Leaders

Leaders, like everyone else, are only human. They may be heads of countries or multinationals, but they're all prone to the best and the worst of being human. But while I agree that it's quite fine to show frustration, uncertainty or weakness - all of this is inevitable, of course - on balance leaders have to show good control, strength and knowledge. Balance is the key, I suppose, but where this balance lies depends on each leader's preferences, situation and staff.

Reference:  To Be a Good Leader, First Be Human, by Deep Nishar, Senior Vice President at LinkedIn.  

Vitruvian Man, by Leonardo da Vinci 

Many leaders believe that they need to be in control all the time. Their teams look up to them for answers and if they display any weakness or waver in their resolve, then the whole organization can crumble around them. 

Nothing can be further from the truth.

Far from true, is right.  At best, such control is shared among people in the organization,  keeping in mind, however, that leaders are appointed a high measure of authority and power.

It is incredibly powerful for your team to know that you can get frustrated, happy or concerned and that you are even stumped by professional situations. It encourages them to seek ways to succeed even as they experience these emotions themselves. It reduces self-doubt and increases our ability to reach out, collaborate and generally become better professionals and human beings.

Again, it's about balance and reasonableness.  Emotion is an inviolable part of ourselves, so to believe otherwise is to dismiss reality.  Yet, on balance, leaders must show greater steadiness, optimism and knowledge, over the episodes of frustration and uncertainty.   

It takes the focus away from ourselves and puts it on the problem at hand.

A leader who is fundamentally self-absorbed may very well call attention on himself or herself, and some staff members may be inclined to reinforce that self-absorption.  But there must be a collective (shared) effort to focus on the problem at hand, instead.  The balance between being steadfast and showing emotion, which lends itself best to such focus, depends on the people in this collective.  

Being human is not a sign of vulnerability, it’s a mark of strong leadership.

Being human may be a sign of strength or a sign of vulnerability, depending on the leader and depending on the situation.  Regardless, it is a fact that being human is a mark of leadership.