My leadership philosophy — Part 6: Moderation

[This article is part of a series in which I’m sharing key lessons I’ve learned about what drives or derails effective leadership, distilled during my 17 year career assessing and coaching executives. Previous articles included an <a href="https://www.timjacksonphd.com/my-leadership-philosophy-an-introduction-to-the-series/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">introduction</a> to the series, a focus on <a href="https://www.timjacksonphd.com/my-leadership-philosophy-charismatic-and-inspirational-leadership-2/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">charismatic/inspirational leadership</a>, a summary of <a href="https://www.timjacksonphd.com/my-leadership-philosophy-part-2-transformational-leadership/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">transformational leadership</a> (with mention of two complimentary styles called contingent reward and instrumental leadership), a summary of <a href="https://www.timjacksonphd.com/my-leadership-philosophy-part-3-charismatic-leadership-tactics/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">tactics leaders can use to project greater charisma</a>, a discussion of the importance of <a href="https://www.timjacksonphd.com/my-leadership-philosophy-relationships/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">relationships </a>to leadership, and a review of the role of <a href="https://www.timjacksonphd.com/my-leadership-philosophy-part-5-situational-and-contextual-leadership/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">situational and contextual influences</a> on leadership.] <img alt="" src="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:700/0*jSf3uDqa8DNfWcWe.jpg" style="height:394px; width:700px" /> The organizing structure of my leadership model. The top row contains drivers of effective leadership. The bottom row contains derailers of effective leadership. The left column contains concepts I learned in academic settings. The right column contains concepts I learned in practice as a leadership development consultant. I’ll populate this matrix as I write and post each article in the series. <h1>Introduction</h1> The pace and rhythm of modern organizational life often does not evoke the notion of moderation. In corporate settings in particular, the maximalist pursuit of goals is common. Rare is the senior leadership team that would settle for achieving just half of their annual objectives. Furthermore, the metrics used to track the health of an enterprise seem conceptually related to extreme effort. Maximizing the profit and loss (P&L) statement seems connected to trying harder, pushing farther, exerting more focus and drive. Does any leader look at a loss on the P&L and say ‘well, more moderation in that area would help.’ Probably not. In fact the very notion of productivity suggests a high activity of level. More ‘doing’ should lead to more results. For an example of this, look at any executive’s calendar. There’s nothing moderate about it. <a href="https://medium.com/@jacksonlead/my-leadership-philosophy-part-6-moderation-28cd432312ed">Click Here</a>