Part one
The way leaders thrive
Introduction: the importance of framing the leadership dance
All the ills of mankind, all the tragic misfortunes that fill the history books, all the political blunders, all the failures of the great leaders have arisen merely from a lack of skill at dancing.
MOLIÈRE, LE BOURGEOIS GENTILHOMME (1670)
In the lighthearted quote above, Molière, being the great artist that he was, ventures a very risky communication about something that is much more profound, existential and unsettling than first appears at face value. He is alluding to the fondness for dancing of the absolute monarch Louis XIV (the self-styled ‘Sun King’). Louis loved ballet and during the early half of his long reign he frequently danced in court ballets. He was a brilliant professional dancer and had a profound knowledge of music. He often had a new ballet written for him and presented in the palace in which he appeared in the central role. Louis had danced in three of Molière’s own comédies-ballets and of all the aristocrats he danced the best. Moreover, since the beginning of his autocratic rule in 1661, he organized large festivities in which the aristocracy was forced to dance in the shadow of the monarch’s talent. Louis set the rhythm and the courtiers had to follow him in a line. As Louis insisted on such royal ballets the aristocracy were obliged to participate in order to stay in the king’s favour. At the same time, being allowed to participate was a royal honour. Not just the courtiers but the whole political establishment had to dance to the king’s tune.
In the quote above Molière is trying ever so gently, behind the protection of frivolous comedy aided by King Louis’ passion for the arts, to open up the field of leadership in his country and make a comment, however indirect and however ironic, about leadership practices at court. He wonders aloud – yet subtly disguised – whether it is good for the state of France that the main focus of court gatherings is dancing and that all courtiers need to dance to the tune of the king, feigning admiration whilst making sure they display less dancing talent than the Sun King himself.
The quote has remained famous as a poignant example of Molière’s great courage in contributing to a discussion about leadership in a place where the norm was that nobody but the king leads, under the motto L’état, c’est moi. It did not always work out well for Molière and his fearless efforts to speak truth to power in the context of Versailles cost him dearly as it resulted in several banned plays, biting opposition and ill health.
Part One of this book will look at the context in which leadership thrives, which in our view is a context different from that experienced in the court of Louis XIV where leadership was the prerogative of one single man with absolute power. We will argue that it is precisely where many can be involved in leadership that better decisions are made, where the positive impact of decisions is greater, and the excesses and extravagance of leadership are avoided.
Whilst exploring the context for good leadership we will spend time on definitions of leadership. Through hard experience, we have learned that how one defines leadership, even if implicitly, matters immensely and determines to a large extent how one behaves as a leader and as a follower.
In the mind of the Sun King the implicit definition of leadership was: ‘All power resides with me, the state and the organization are synonymous with me, and they dance to my decrees’. From this absolute power something may occasionally trickle down to lower levels, for example when the king is in a good mood or feels particularly safe. There is absolutely no obligation on his part to do anything specific, not even to occupy himself with any affairs of the state. His definition affords Louis XIV complete freedom and his followers none. In recent times we have seen plenty of other absolute dictators who cynically did not bother to occupy themselves with the responsibility of the office and the fact that their word was ‘law’, until something ‘interesting’ happened like a big sporting event or something ‘challenging’ like a revolt.
In such a context of ‘absolute leadership’, accepting the prevalent definition means resigning yourself to insignificance. And it also means resigning yourself to having no say whatsoever on what you do, with whom you collaborate, or how you are led. Adopting a different definition of leadership, where possible, provides you with a completely different outlook and offers a means to change and influence your own affairs. It is not just the case that your personal definition of leadership and its particular validity in your current context determine how you act and influence as a leader. Such an (implicit) definition also determines how you conduct yourself within leadership conversations. Such a productive view of leadership and your own role as a leader means that you can have a vision for the circumstances and a leadership contribution for most opportunities that arise. In other words, your (implicit) definition of leadership determines how you lead in practice, on a day-to-day basis.
After looking at characteristics of the modern business world in Chapter 1, we will provide our own definition of leadership in Chapter 2 and explore what consequences flow from this definition and what criteria for good leadership we can deduce from it. In Chapter 3 we will look at how participating in leadership brings out a dance of the ‘Sun’ and the ‘Shadow’, of the light and dark sides of our personality. Finally, in Chapter 4 we offer help with reflecting on your own leadership practice by inviting you to ask yourself questions that we believe are relevant for your personal journey as a leader.
