In this post we are going to continue to explore fierce leadership as an essential modern leadership practice.
Fierce companies are at the vanguard of modern leadership practices because they understand that it is imperative to invest into their people as the cost of doing nothing means a huge bottom line impact through staff turnover and disengagement. Fierce companies cultivate their people’s potential rather than having them leave in droves to find places where they can reach beyond their capabilities. Fierce companies enable fierce leadership practices so that their executives and teams are able to draw on their inner resources and thrive in the fast-paced and ever-changing modern environment.
Fierce leadership can be defined as the practice of helping one self and others to follow their passion and purpose, while leading their lives with maximum clarity, connection and integrity.
Fierce leaders strengthen their leadership presence by fostering compassion and mindfulness; they harness this presence to power their decision-making and execution to the benefit of others and themselves.
Fierce leadership is a transformative discipline that uses breakthrough experiences and epiphanies to change the paradigm for leaders: they increasingly see themselves and the world around them differently which results in them positively changing their leadership activities, such as how they use their influence and pursue goals; they discover where their current leadership approach is lacking and not producing desired results; they shift their attitude and the way in which they view situations and their positioning in such situations, particularly high stress situations; and they approach their roles in business and society with more authenticity, care and purpose which results in exponentially better outcomes.
Through the practice of being fierce leaders can strip away narrative that doesn’t serve them and as a result become clear on what is happening in their minds on a moment by moment basis. By focusing on the paradigms from which they have been operating and inquiring into what beliefs and mindsets have been limiting them they can create a breakthrough experience for themselves; this gives them the epiphany that, firstly, they can have control over their thoughts and the attitudes and actions that follow such thoughts, and secondly, this control empowers them to have choices by illuminating counterproductive and dysfunctional behaviours and habits, how they form and how to break them.
This practice of fierce leadership can be kickstarted by a leader themselves or they can join colleagues within the safe space of a retreat to get to know one another better and share breakthrough experiences together.
After a recent 5-day retreat organised for a company to explore fierce leadership, Michael who had been with the company for 25 years and worked his way up to a senior executive position said that this was the first time he had the opportunity to invest in his own development in such a significant way. He felt that he got to know both himself and his colleagues at a much deeper and more meaningful level than had ever been possible in the day to day of being in the office. In many ways he had felt that over the years his engagement systems, his corporate life support mechanisms, had been progressively shutting down. The retreat boosted his personal energy levels and for the first time in many years he felt truly alive and excited. His team recognised this change when he returned to the office and soon thereafter he was reaching out for further fierce leadership training both for himself and his division.
Jessica, a twenty seven year old vice president felt that her breakthrough experience at the same retreat involved an intergenerational insight that all executives are dealing with similar stresses and issues. While we all react differently to similar situations there is much common ground in that, as leaders, we are all having to make complex decisions with incomplete information. As a result she was able to work with other generations without judgment. She found herself getting more done in the company through her increased ability to collaborate and persuade other executives to join her in achieving outcomes that had more impact on their company and across their ecosystem.
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