In search of AXIOCENTRIC leaders

leadership is not a commodity

The knowledge economy of the 21st Century changed our workstyle (how we create value) and workplace (remote or hybrid working). Creating value depends more on our motivation rather than our skills. Our success depends on how we use our time rather than where we are based and how many hours we spend in the office. We rarely have to follow specific orders on how to do something. We have more opportunities to be innovative and more independent in deciding how to contribute and use our capabilities.

Motivating this new workforce requires leader-coaches instead of egocentric bosses. We need more leaders (“distributed leadership”) and better leaders (“earned leadership”).

Paradoxically, although the workstyle changed and keeps changing fast, we still keep appointing, promoting, and worshipping egocentric, hypocritical “leaders”.

Those “leaders” keep spending most of their time on internal organizational power games and self-promotion rather than on creating value. We shouldn’t be surprised that teams’ motivation keeps sinking.

In the age of numbers, data, speed, and technology, smart organizations know that humans matter to succeed and that only leaders can leverage human potential.

Leadership is not a commodity. This is not just a skill to learn. It starts with the person’s SOUL. If we want to create value, we can practice how to become a better leader. If we don’t want to create value for others, we will never become a leader. Our character matters.

We need leaders who

• aspire to create value for their organization, their team, and their stakeholders instead of focusing only on their careers.
  

• dare to hire and develop better leaders, instead of mediocrities.

• invest time to build mutual trust and mutual respect among their direct reports to boost genuine collaboration and avoid toxic conflicts.

• have strong listening skills and empathy and use them to communicate and act effectively.

• empower teams by delegating but also through coaching.

• invest their valuable time to coach and align their teams, instead of spending their time on talk shows.

• are ready to sacrifice their career or personal pleasure to create value for their stakeholders.

• focus on value-creation, instead of publicity, internal politics, and self-promotion.

We need AXIOCENTRIC* (= value-centric) leaders. Let’s find and support those FEW REAL leaders.

Let’s create a tribe of AXIOCENTRIC leaders aspiring to better organizations and society.

*Axia=value (in ancient and modern Greek)

Axios= worthy

Axiocentric= value-centric

Axiology= the branch of practical Philosophy studying the nature of value, including ethics and aesthetics.