The leadership crisis is not out there, it’s with you
Opinion
Effective leaders adapt their style to organisational needs, but transformational approaches often share core beliefs: believing in oneself and others, being optimistic, caring genuinely, and knowing thyself.
Image: Sunday Independent / Ron AI
“Concentrate on polishing your own lantern so that others may follow its light.” — A common Zen Buddhist principle
WHAT kind of teacher do you want to be? What kind of leader do you want to be? We often default to teaching the way we were taught, especially if that model was positive and passionate.
The analogy Peter Boonshaft draws between a music teacher and an airplane pilot resonates with me: both must be calm in a storm, act rather than react, assess circumstances swiftly, constantly monitor surroundings, and sometimes respond in ways that seem counterintuitive. Crucially, we must control a powerful entity capable of causing disaster or creating feelings of awesome beauty.
It has been said that only three things happen naturally in organisations: friction, confusion, and underperformance. Everything else requires leadership. Surveys consistently show a perceived global leadership crisis. Leadership isn’t an innate talent, but an observable, learnable set of skills and abilities.
Despite the abundance of modern leadership resources, the core qualities people admire have remained remarkably consistent. Decades ago, surveys identified key leadership traits: thorough job knowledge, fairness, clear thinking under pressure, calmness, genuine interest in personnel, trust, respect, leading by example, encouragement, and maintaining mission focus. It seems these timeless traits are still what people seek in their leaders.
The phrase “natural born leader” is a misnomer. Effective leaders have typically been exposed to good examples, received mentorship, and actively learned. Anyone can improve by reading widely, seeking training, and gaining experience through observation and simulation. Put yourself in others’ shoes and ask, “What would I do?”
To stay relevant, leaders must “fill their tanks”. As the Zen principle states, polishing your own lantern allows others to follow its light. Rejuvenation — whether through learning, rest, or quiet reflection — is essential. Creative ideas often emerge in stillness.
Research identifies two main leadership styles. Transactional leadership works from the outside in, focusing on expectations, roles, and compliance. Transformational leadership works from the inside out, instilling vision, purpose, and encouraging risk-taking and learning.
Effective leaders adapt their style to organisational needs, but transformational approaches often share core beliefs: believing in oneself and others, being optimistic, caring genuinely, and knowing thyself.
Believing you can positively impact your environment (self-efficacy) is crucial. Optimistic leaders see assets where others see deficits. Caring about others builds the relational trust vital for sustained improvement. Understanding yourself, your emotions and how others perceive you, is linked to effective leadership practices like focus and situational awareness.
Developing mental fitness measurably reduces pain points and optimises performance, making it easier to create alignment and movement. For some, it's about being the best leader; for others, maximising organisational performance; for others, a personal path. The common thread is transformation — seeing the world anew to stop creating pain and start creating performance.
Mental fitness is one's measurable ability to engage constructively daily, regardless of stressors — the capacity to respond optimally with minimal recovery time. It starts with recognising that the real drivers of results are the hidden habits of our minds — our entrenched perspectives about ourselves, others, and the world. Mental fitness is most transformative when we feel stressed or hindered, becoming “triggered” and defaulting to suboptimal behaviours.
Mental fitness helps avoid pain by allowing us to lead from a position of optimal performance — “leading lightly”. This involves rapidly applying a set of learned skills, the five “muscles” of mental fitness, to change perceptions and internal reactions: choosing personal accountability over blame, selecting helpful beliefs over limiting ones, accurately assessing your internal state, holding multiple perspectives instead of binary thinking, and modulating your own physiology when distressed.
Applying these skills intentionally changes how we see ourselves and our environment, breaking free from reflexive reactions that limit potential. With practice, we optimise performance and consistently create better leadership results.
Developing these muscles makes you feel lighter and more in control, leading yourself and others “lightly”. Negative interactions soften, and instead of getting triggered, you respond with adaptability and curiosity.
Coming to a leadership role with this mindset means understanding that for different results — for yourself, your team, or your organisation — you must change at the root. That change begins with you.
* Dr Vusi Shongwe works in the Department of Sport, Arts, and Culture in KwaZulu-Natal and writes in his personal capacity.
** The views expressed here do not reflect those of the Sunday Independent, IOL, or Independent Media.