Analysis

The previously mentioned skills required by a leader are so simple, but at the same time so difficult: the leader needs to set aside his or her own needs and to do everything possible for others, so that both subordinates and superiors will be given the opportunity to shine. This is the law of gravity for leadership. If the leader succeeds in this endeavour, then the paradox arises: they will also ‘shine’.

But does everyone have the ability to shine? Does every subordinate and superior have something to show so that they can shine? Yes! And that’s the beauty of it. If you get to do what you are passionate about, master and are good at, and you are able to organize your work time yourself, then you will shine. The objection is that not everyone is passionate about something. What can the leader do if an employee is not passionate about anything? The answer is given by one of Hallowell’s informants in his book Shine (2011: 4): ‘Just keep fishin’.. . . Everybody got that spark in them, somewhere.’ Even the grumpy old guys, who have long since ended up at ‘David’s Bar’ have a spark deep inside them somewhere that can flame up with the proper encouragement. However, one should keep in mind that one cannot do anything about the other person’s behaviour. The best way to change the other person is to change one’s reaction to their behaviour. When the grumpy old guys are met with understanding, their attitude changes, though it may take time, and then one can start looking for the spark deep inside them. It is this spark that the leader has to kindle into a flame and then turn it into a burning desire. This is where the core of good leadership is: making the other person shine. Some may argue that leadership is not ‘rocket science’. This is perfectly correct. Management is more complex than rocket science, it is brain science (Hallowell, 2011: 5-6).

There are six process steps that are a synthesis of what is described earlier that can help even the most mediocre leader to be successful. These process steps are as follows:

1 Find the employees’ burning desire and make sure that is where their efforts are focused at work.
2 Give feedback on even the smallest amount of progress, and make sure this progress is reinforced. In this way, the employees will feel that they are ‘seen’, something we all appreciate, no matter where we happen to be on the social ladder.
3 Make sure the work that the employees do is something they are able to master. In other words, it is what people are good at that needs to be reinforced, not the areas they are not so good at.
4 Be persistent in your search for the other person’s spark. Finally, where you find a spark, make sure that this spark is kindled into a flame that is turned into a burning passion.
5 Help employees to develop self-discipline so that even the average employee is able to fully exploit his or her potential.
6 Show moral courage. Of course, this can mean so much, but here it means that you as a leader have an explicit moral standard and that you make your moral compass visible and follow the compass, without any deviation. When leaders reach a certain level, they tend to adjust their values to their new position. The leaders’ moral courage should be constant so that they do not change their moral compass, even if they attain a higher leadership position.