Vol. 37, 1/20/06
Deanne Bryce and
Andrea Sullivan, M.A.,
editors
LeaderStrength Systems, Inc. 2006
 

Resonant Leadership: Renewing Yourself and Connecting with Others Through Mindfulness, Hope, and Compassion
by Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee

ReaderStrength Rating:
Focus 4
Build 4
Adapt 4
Overall Rating as a leadership resource 4
(Please see "How Do We Evaluate Resources?" in right column)

Because we humans have a limbic brain, whose function is to connect and read the internal states of other mammals, we want to experience what authors Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee call resonant leadership. In their book, Resonant Leadership, Boyatzis and McKee put a microscope to the concept of resonance; examining it in the face of the unprecedented challenges currently faced by leaders.

Resonant leadership is connecting on a positive emotional level with others. Resonant leaders inspire us, and make us feel cared for. They create harmonious, beneficial interpersonal relationships along with business results.

According to the authors, even leaders who have built resonant relationships with others have trouble sustaining this resonance over time. One would think that, once a person achieves a certain level of awareness about themselves as leader, they would continue to lead with compassion and empathy. However, in looking at their client organizations the authors noticed that dissonance rather than resonance is the default setting for leaders because of the tremendous stress that occurs at high levels of organizations. In fact, the more competent a leader gets at dealing with crises on a daily basis, the more they are in danger of slipping into dissonance.

These leaders are talented, smart, focused, independent, and have a high energy level. They have a great deal of self-control and are effective in leading others. This effectiveness, however, actually leads to what the authors call the “Sacrifice Syndrome.” Resonant leaders give too much of themselves over time, and their minds and bodies become stuck in a high alert state. In this state, a part of the limbic brain, called the amygdala, is aroused. This leads to series of changes in the body that eventually shut down the resources which allow a person to be open and flexible. Research shows that when we are trapped in the Sacrifice Syndrome, we eventually burn out and begin to create dissonance even when we have been fully capable of creating resonance in the past.

The answer to this dilemma is renewal. The second half of the book is dedicated to teaching leaders about renewal through mindfulness, hope and compassion. The idea that leaders need to recharge and renew is not new. Stephen Covey, for example, taught us that the seventh habit of a highly effective person is to “Sharpen the Saw.” It is a lesson that we have failed to apply in the way we develop leaders and teach leadership in our organizations. Looking at recent failures in leadership during the late summer of 2005, with hurricane Katrina, makes us realize that it is imperative that we look at leadership in a new way. We can’t just blindly blame leaders. We need to accept responsibility for how we select and develop leaders. Do we purposely select people who are open to reflection and see the value of self-renewal so they will be alert and awake to make life changing decisions? Leaders are under tremendous stress, and this book teaches us that the only way to deal with crisis is to remain mindful. The way to remain mindful is to take action everyday to examine our feelings and observe those around us without our own judgments and agenda.

Recommendation
We recommend this book as a valuable resource for understanding and putting into practice self-renewal practices through mindfulness, hope, and compassion. There is a chapter with exercises dedicated to each practice. The book will appeal to executives who need to hear the message most. The stories are real, and executives will relate to the concept of power stress and the Sacrifice Syndrome that Niall Fitzgerald experienced when he was co-chairman of Unilever. Power stress is the biological stress on the body and the brain that occurs when communication is incredibly complex, choices are not crystal clear, and the fact that one must lead with increasing ambiguity is compounded by the loneliness one feels from being at the top of an organization. This book not only speaks honestly about leadership in way that executives can relate to, it offers solutions that are actually liberating. The solution to slow down, be mindful, relate genuinely with others, and take a vacation is a message that has been missing in the many recent leadership books that focus instead on a shopping list of competencies needed, like being a visionary or a charismatic speaker. Resonant Leadership reminds us that our first priority is taking care of ourselves and others. We are then in a position to proceed from a state of health and well-being that optimizes the rest of our actions.

Copyright 2005, LeaderStrength Systems, Inc. 630 Freedom Business Center , Suite 300 * King of Prussia , PA 19406

dbryce@leaderstrength.com • LeaderStrength Systems Inc.

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