Balancing personal and organisational leadership goals

You are perfectly aligned with your organisation's motives. The people in your team are self-motivated and high-performing. They too are aligned with you and contribute to the organisation's objectives.

This rather romantic description of the perfect dynamic in the workplace probably clashes with what you have seen so far.

Don't get me wrong. It is possible for managers' individual drives to align with those of their organisations, and for people to be self-motivated and fully engaged.

However, in reality, there is often tension between a manager's own needs and motives and those of the organisation, and, even more immediately, between managers and the individuals or groups they are seeking to influence.

Understanding the leadership paradox

This tension between personal and organisational needs is sometimes referred to as the leadership paradox.

How can you understand people and their issues while also getting the task done and producing results?

How can you establish a better work-life balance while also keeping people highly committed?

Your challenge as a leader

Your challenge as a leader is to find ways of balancing these tensions, matching personal and organisational needs without sacrificing your own, your team's or the organisation's.

How does this translate into reality?

Of course, it isn't easy and undoubtedly requires patience, planning and continuous development.

One of the main areas you need to work on is yourself.

For example, if you have a fear of failure or of showing vulnerability that stems from unresolved experiences, this will inevitably affect the way you lead.

In this situation, the message you send can become:

"This is me – take it or leave it."

With little consideration for the needs of others or the organisation.

This type of leadership is sometimes described as defiant leadership, because the impact your behaviour has on others is largely ignored.

It may be perceived as controlling and can evoke competitiveness, resistance and reduced willingness from others to contribute their best ideas.

On the other hand, if you focus all your efforts on developing only the skills and behaviours your organisation values, while suppressing your own natural style and strengths, you may become what people often describe as "a safe pair of hands".

However, suppressing your own needs and preferences can also result in a kind of competent blandness, where creativity, authenticity and the ability to inspire others begin to diminish.

Authentic leadership

As mentioned above, one of the most effective ways to resolve this leadership paradox is to balance both your own needs and those of your organisation, so neither is unnecessarily sacrificed.

As a leader, it is important to find a way of being that is in harmony with both your own beliefs and values and those of your organisation.

In other words, you need to be authentic, hence the term authentic leadership.

It is worth mentioning that authentic leadership does not imply compromise where neither personal nor organisational needs are fully met. Rather, it is about creating new possibilities that allow both individuals and the organisation to succeed together.

Developing authentic leadership

To support both individual and organisational development, managers need to develop the capabilities and skills required to perform their role effectively.

These include communication skills, team management skills and business knowledge.

For example, if you want to communicate effectively or manage conflict within your team, you first need to manage your own emotions.

If you want to influence the strategic direction of the organisation, you need to understand people and build effective relationships.

I hope this article helps you catch the vision of the kind of leader you want to become someone capable of exerting influence while meeting both personal and organisational challenges.

It starts by working on yourself, developing greater self-awareness and building the skills and competencies that will help you become an authentic leader capable of achieving success for yourself, your people and your organisation.