Leadership Insight with Rising Sun Rising Sun Consultants

We start a new series looking at the pressure placed on leaders every day. Whether it’s the internal pressure we put on ourselves or external pressure applied by groups like employees, supervisors, clients, board of directors; the pressure itself is real. But is it rational or appropriate?

In this episode, we continue our discussion around the mindset we choose to employ when dealing with adversity. Effective leaders have the courage to behave differently despite what the environment or dynamic might suggest.

Jim and John start a new series that looks at turning our negatives into positives.  While the pandemic has shown us there are things which are certainly out of our control, we can still determine how we will approach life when adversity strikes.

We wrap up our discussion with an interview of Karl Brummer SVP at Messiah Lifeways.  Karl shares his thoughts on the effect transformational leadership can have on employee motivation, engagement, empowerment and conflict resolution.  We walk with Karl through his leadership journey and the lessons he learned along the way about curiosity and humility.  Finally, Karl offers his insights on the power of a transformational mind when it comes to embracing change.   

In this episode, we round out our discussion by focusing on the long-term focus and benefits of transformational leadership.  Transformational leadership, unlike its transactional counterpart, is not just a means to an end.  It’s an opportunity to improve processes, drive change, and alter the status quo.  The leadership mindset is one that is proactive, as opposed to reactive.  Transactional leaders can get stuck in the present.  Transformational leaders, however, move towards a future that maybe only they can easily see.  This unknown can scare certain leaders and energize others.  Vision, like faith, is about believing in something you cannot see and dedicating your life to reaching it.  Transformational leaders generate excitement for the future, trust their people to play the necessary roles, and provide ongoing support in the process.  In the end, their success hinges on the success of their employees and the organization; not simply their own efforts. 

We continue our discussion on the shift from transactional to transformational leadership.  In this episode, we look at the impact a transformational mindset can have on communication.  Transformational leaders are focused, intentional and curious.  They engage in better discussions and display greater humility when it comes to conflict resolution; seeking to fully understand the perspectives and emotions of those involved and being genuinely committed to finding the best solutions.  We’ll also look at the topics of feedback and coaching through this transformational lens.