The True Impact of a Leader? You can see it in their team.

The great polymath Goethe had a passion for understanding nature. He did this by simply sitting and pondering his subjects, whether a plant or a creature.

Edgar Schein, a leading management scholar, shared that view. He valued careful observation of organisations.

He claimed that this teaches you more about a firm’s culture than reading its mission or values.

If you want to understand an organisation’s culture, go to a meeting. — Edgar Schein

This speaks to something we live by at FirstHuman. To understand how a senior leader operates, observe their team.

• Are they energised?
• Do they share openly?
• Do they seem to have good connections with their colleagues?

Your observations – whether in person or through sense-making tools – will reveal how the boss operates.

Who a leader is being will have a ripple effect across the entire organisation.

Whether you’re an external coach or a fellow leader doing the coaching, your role is to hold a mirror to that senior figure.

The coach must be able to help the leader see their shadow and the ripple effects of their way of being in the world – positive or negative.

Would you like to see the leadership in your organisation improve?

Then we’d love to talk to you.

Book a call with us here.