As a young teenager, I was watching the cycling Tour de France on TV with my father when he suddenly excitedly exclaimed at one of the circuits, Here’s the Lidère! Surprised, I turned to him with a careful look, knowing that he loved bicycle racing, but without understanding his expression.
In fact it was the leading rider that everyone was pursuing, wanting to take his place. But no, here the pack was bent on rather pushing the first cyclist forward, to go even faster. An image came to me, that of a train, with the locomotive which pulls the cars or maybe the cars pushing the locomotive, definitely a fertile imagination.
A Parisian presence at one time demonstrated that the French people of Paris had a taste for the English language and a certain knowledge of it. Yet in this world close to 1968 the word Leader had no place or effect.
It was in Quebec, in 1969, that I discovered “Chefs de file”, meaning “Leaders” and often put together with the phrase “of the industry”. The expression was noble and full of meaning, a linguistic expression which felt good as Quebec’s pride and joy.
The globalizing influence of the North American market and the omnipresence of our southern neighbours in all major industries and markets soon led us to let go of the term Chef de file and become familiar with the word “Leader” and especially “Leadership”.
However, the word Leader could mean someone who is “in front” or “at the top”, while the word Leadership today has become the way to exercise the role of Leader. In the main lines of the noble use of the term are found Charisma, Expertise, Presence, Example, Motivation, Communication and others. In the original use of the word Leader, in business, the greats of this world were often cited – they were politicians, warriors, ideologues, sometimes in the world of business: Moshe Dayan, Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Churchill, Mandela and others. We understood that it was necessary to be inspired by these famous leading figures.
Large companies of the time, the early ‘80s, would speak of “Zero base budget”, “Brainstorming” and “Walking the Talk”. Daniel Goleman was as yet unknown and had not yet written extensively on the subject of “Emotional Intelligence” (1995 and 2002). However, J. Peter had already hit the headlines with his famous book on “reaching your level of incompetence”, an iconoclastic approach in the mid-1970’s and a subject which annoyed some people who knew that every human being had always had thresholds within themselves and the possibility of developing.
Leadership is neither a panacea nor a recipe, however it belongs to its time. Directiveness has evolved into Leadership due to thought, which has itself evolved over time. Thirty years ago Emotional Intelligence was discovered, almost titled the IQ Intelligence Paradox, rather, however, a Parallel Intelligence that would let executives be better Leaders, Daniel Goleman, 1998, What makes a leader. The combination of these two types of intelligence, widely recognized but also unknown, could well form a sublime combination, enriching the melting pot of of humanity.
It is understood that this thought is comprehensive and current. We have recently been witnessing the emergence of a new concept, that of “Neuroleadership” or, we are told, that the heart has a great place but so does “gut feeling”. We observe that all scientific discoveries lead us to better understand the functioning of neurons, which are actively interconnected within the human body.
We understand that Leadership is an evolving concept, in which we draw some hope and in which we invest much effort. We know that throughout history all species have needed to be directed and to have leaders. We observe that animal species have long found their model and we understand that it is instinctive. The human sphere of influence is very different since it is perfectible, evolutionary, subtle and reflective. In coaching, Leadership development underlies the discovery and learning of one’s “full awareness”.
Joseph Anstett, CHRP, ACC Vice President, Career Management and Coach for Optimum Talent