Dr. Albert de Goias

Leadership in business is not just the art of directing the motivated or motivating the confused or irresolute person.  It is about guiding the emotionally unstable to believe in themselves and tap into their unique insights.  A person’s real contribution is not driven by their ability to apply directives, but by offering valuable insights and a positive attitude.

Your job as a manager and leader is to inspire the members of your team to be responsible, sincere and purposeful in their work toward the common cause. You have to encourage a strong, positive mental attitude, and the rest will fall into place.

Developing a strong, positive attitude is not easy.  In the workplace, it is rare to have before you the already disciplined, motivated employee or client.  Managers often have to deal with emotional fragility, addictive behaviour, anger, and any of a full array of unhealthy moods and behaviours. In order to effectively manage and cope with the variety of changes and concerns, leaders will need tools that can help others expand their visions and function with self-direction. In short, empower people to empower themselves. Although not extremely difficult to do, you do need to develop a specific and open mindset.

See change as a perpetual activity. Always anticipate change, and strive to understand that it can only be influenced depending on the extent to which we can identify the invisible activities that can force change.

Use your expertise and experience. As a manager, you are better trained and are expected to see deeper into issues than those you are supervising. You must be prepared to see what they cannot see and advise with your deeper understanding.

Recognize your limits. Although you do have unique experience, you cannot see or accomplish everything.  What another person not in your position can contribute may be significant and helpful in your own work.  In order to make the best decision, you must first gather other perspectives in order to expand your vision.

Welcome the power of knowledge. What we do not comprehend can seem like an overwhelming problem, but it becomes manageable once we take time to research and learn more about it. This holds true across multiple aspects of life, and it is important to help others to work toward understanding.

It is better to encourage subordinates to believe in their own ability to make similar conclusions. You can promote that mindset by stepping in when you see them floundering, educating in the areas they seem unsure, affirming when they have risen to a challenge, and delegating work to let them see ownership of their contributions.

About the Author

Dr. Albert de Goias is the author of Understanding Change: A Personal and Professional Management Strategy. De Goias is a physician and currently focuses on his work as a psychoanalyst/psychotherapist. He runs Prometheum Institute, a private addictions management facility with his wife Andrea in Toronto, Ontario. De Goias uses the same platform to provide lectures and seminars to business professionals on how to effectively manage people functioning under stress or with personal difficulties.