Leadership and Ownership

Ownership is crucial for leadership. Sometimes, leadership means taking the initiative to own a problem which is not yours. It means that when you notice a problem, and think you may help provide a solution, you need to be brave enough to take ownership, and attempt to obtain solutions to the problem. Many times, it just requires a change of mindset, or an attempt to reframe the issue and search for a solution.

Perhaps that's why Gregory Bateson is considered the 'father' of solution focused brief therapy. This 'intervention' is a reframing of the problem into a possibility of a solution. And many times, Bateson postulated that communication nuances were foundational in attempting to arrive at a solution. Communication nuances require a high degree of self-awareness, and I have to tell you, many leaders just don't have it, or get it. Self awareness is about the last thing they are aware off!

So it requires a stance or disposition to listen, and to listen very deeply to what the conversation around us is all about. And it means a stance to hear what is un-spoken, or to think in terms of the solution.

Franklin