I watched the new Netflix movie, The King, about the English King Henry V. I’m a history buff, and fascinated by the rise and fall of leadership and power. Henry V, or Hal, was a warrior king. He won the battle of Agincourt against bitter odds and set up the English throne for subjugation of the French. (never happened - he died before he could take the French throne).
Warrior leaders like Hal are incredibly seductive. They fight for a noble cause (though subjugating the French may not be seen as ‘noble’ to any but the English), they reduce issues to black and white ideals, and they self-sacrifice gallantly, leading the way. That kind of energy is attractive, regardless of the morality.
Sometimes the fight is right: if someone threatens you and your family, then you need to defend yourself.
More often the divisions are illusions. We draw imaginary lines between “us” and “them.”
Hone your warrior leadership tendencies
Warrior Leaders gone bad are divisive.
They build walls, not bridges. They exclude, don’t include. They see more threat and less opportunity. They see winners and losers. It’s a zero sum game.
Warrior Leaders and Win First Cultures
Warrior leaders gone bad are obsessed with results. They create Win First Cultures. They play to win and targets are everything. While these cultures can have a huge work ethic, they can turn bad quickly. Australian Cricket was cited as having a ‘win without considering the costs’ attitude. So did many of the banks who fell to unethical practices just to meet targets.
Warrior Leaders are focused on WINNING, they see business as a competition and the objective is to come out on top.
The alternative is to be focused on BUILDING, to see business as an opportunity to provide long-term value and contribution.
Warrior Leaders default to EXCLUSION and are naturally more suspicious and take either an aggressive or defensive stance.
Leaders who default to INCLUSION, on the other hand, want outcomes that benefit more than just their own business.
Fight for an inclusive corporate culture
The Upside of the Warrior Leader
I wish we lived in a world where more leaders were focused on building and inclusion. Sadly, there are many that are aggressive with a winner takes all attitude. Until we move the culture more towards collaboration and inclusion, we will still need to activate the strengths of the warrior leader.
These strengths are:
Ferocious commitment to a cause
Courage under fire
Tenacity
Self sacrifice
Values-driven decisions
Passion and vision.
How might you hone your warrior strengths? How can you avoid the pitfalls of warrior power?
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Related Articles:
What should you sacrifice as a leader?
How to overcome silos and turf wars
Drive results now: lead impact for a lifetime
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About the author, Canberra leadership expert Zoë Routh:
Canberra based leadership expert, Zoe Routh, on honing your warrior leadership tendencies.
Zoë Routh is one of Australia’s leading experts on people stuff - the stuff that gets in our way of producing results, and the stuff that lights us up. She works with the growers, makers, builders to make people stuff fun and practical.
Zoë is the author of four books: Composure - How centered leaders make the biggest impact, Moments - Leadership when it matters most, Loyalty - Stop unwanted staff turnover, boost engagement, and build lifelong advocates, and People Stuff - Beyond Personalities: An advanced handbook for leadership. People Stuff was awarded Book of the Year 2020 by the Smart WFM Australian Business Book Awards.
Zoë is also the producer of The Zoë Routh Leadership Podcast.