A Leader of Leaders

Character, motivations, and leadership philosophy of the Quantum Leader. A Newtonian leader leads with power and control, facilitated by hierarchical structure, and top-down planning and organization. Motivated chiefly by maximizing short-term profit (“greed”) or personal power (“ego”) will not consider the wider needs of employees, customers, or other stakeholders. The metric of success is always value of quarterly returns and industry ranking. Thus he/she (usually “he!”) will have no motivation to create a win/win ecosystem. A leader motivated by fear of poor quarterly returns will be risk-averse and too focused on the short-term “fix.” Any organization would benefit from a leader with good character, but this usually comes second to his/her ability to wield power effectively and “get things done.” A Quantum Leader leads by example and inspiration. Thus the kind of person such a leader is must support whatever he/she says or does. A Quantum Leader is motivated by creating a well-run organization that benefits all concerned (“ecosystem mastery”). Such a leader is also motivated by creativity itself, which sparks innovation and increases sustainability, thus benefitting all and providing service to those whom he/she leads as well as to all the organizations’ stakeholders. Sustainability, customer loyalty, and a healthy company ecosystem are always the key metrics of success. Thus the Quantum Leader is a “servant leader.” A Quantum Leader’s “hands off” leadership delegates power to many inter-acting, centers of power. The RenDanHeyi “Three Self Model” includes “self-organization,” and thus a quantum leader will be acting to enable and encourage this among employees. The Haier motto is, “Everyone is a CEO; everyone is a leader.” Thus a quantum leader must be a leader of leaders, empowering those whom he/she leads to envision new possibilities and solutions and giving them a sense of meaning and purpose about their own leadership. Example of Zhang Ruimin’s visionary, and Lara Bezerra’s purposeful, leadership, and that of other quantum leaders and their defining leadership “compass.”