The greatest calling of leadership is to awaken greatness in others
Secure Base Leadership, and the lessons from it for us as managers
Every now and then one comes across an idea so powerful and so instinctively true, it opens
up a completely new way of looking at the world. This is the level of impact the ideas behind
'Secure Base Leadership', set out below, have had on our thinking around high performance
leadership.
Here's to the giants on whose shoulders we stand as leaders!' [an opening example]
'Without the support of his mentor, no Mahatma Gandhi; without the inspiration and ideas
of Gandhi, no Martin Luther King; without the impact of King no Barak Obama...'
In May of 1893, one week after arriving in South Africa, a young 24 year old Gandhi stood up
in front of a local meeting of fellow countrymen from India, to give his first public speech.
He was appealing for the need to do something about the prejudices they were suffering,
but there was little in his speech that day to suggest that this was a man capable of changing
the world. He was nervous, unsure of his words and softly spoken; and within minutes he
was being ignored by all but a few people in the audience. He was forced to sit down before
finishing his speech. Sapped of all resolve, he was contemplating returning to India (where
he had already failed as a lawyer), when a wealthy and highly respected merchant
approached him and asked him to dinner to explore his ideas further. The merchant was
inspired by his idealism, and persuaded him to stay for another year with an offer to mentor
him in his public speaking and influencing skills. By the time Gandhi left South Africa a
decade later, he had won the Indian people equal rights on many fronts, and was well on
the way to inspiring a world wide civil rights movement which is still continuing today.
The point of this story is not to highlight Gandhi's eventual greatness as a leader, but the
importance of the merchant who acted as a 'secure base' to his development in those early
stages; giving him cause to believe in his own potential, some much needed guidance, and
constant encouragement as his influence began to grow. In his autobiography, Gandhi
makes reference to how the faith shown by this merchant continued to give him strength
and confidence throughout challenging times in his life.
Defining what we mean by a 'secure base' and 'secure base leadership'
'Secure Bases' are the people (or goals, experiences, belief systems, environments etc.)
which give us confidence to believe in ourselves and reach for our potential. They serve as a
solid foundation on which we stand and push forward from. The term originates from the
work of John Bowlby and 'attachment theory', where he described how children were much
more confident and took more risks when they had the 'secure base' of a parent or carer in
the room. The relevance of the concept to the study of high performance in adults, is that
secure bases create an enduring sense of security and self confidence which allows us to
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switch off the defensive and 'fight or flight' mechanisms in our brain, and seek out positive
opportunities and challenges.
'Secure Base Leadership' is a phrase popularised by George Kohlrieser in his book 'Care to
Dare'; and is a collective term for the qualities and skills of leaders who excel at drawing out
and developing the potential in others by providing an optimal balance of support and
challenge.
Many readers will already be familiar with the 'challenge and support' model often used to
help managers reflect on the quality of the performance environment they are creating. Up
until now, much of the writing on high performance has focused more on the 'challenge'
side of this model. By introducing the concept of 'secure bases' into our thinking on
leadership, George has redressed this balance, while also deepening our understanding of
interdependence between the two factors. Just to be clear, challenge is still as important as
ever - if you feel safe and secure, but have no meaningful focus to challenge and push you,
you will obviously achieve little. But the new insight here is that as humans we are not able
to operate at our best if we do not feel secure and confident. This may seem obvious and
deceptively simple, but in our experience, a failure to create this 'secure base' is at the heart
of why many well intended efforts to improve performance struggle.
Combining our own research with Georges work, we set out below ten key qualities of a
Secure Base Leader. As you read through these qualities, reflect on examples of Secure Base
Leaders who have had a powerful impact on your own development, and the qualities from
this framework you recognise in their approach.
...'Here's to the unseen giants on whose shoulder's we stand!'
The 10 defining qualities of Secure Base Leadership
1. Engagement – able to inspire people behind a great goal
The first question Helen Scott, a physio working with amputees, asks new patients is 'what
do you most want to learn to do for yourself?' When Scottish climber Jamie Andrew, who
had just lost both legs and arms, said he wanted to learn to climb again, she responded
without missing a beat, 'okay, let's do it.'
One of Steve Job's signature strengths as a leader was his ability to instil in his engineers a
belief they could do the seemingly impossible. Take the development of 'Mac Air'; several
years before the product was launched, he laid down the gauntlet by placing a mock up of a
10 mm thin lap top on the desk and declaring 'this is what we should be trying to build'!
Challenging goals, provided we buy in to them, give our work meaning and purpose, and
they are a great source of energy.
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2. Accepts people for who they are - unconditional positive regard without judgment
At its core, this is about valuing people for who they are as an individual, making them feel
welcome and important. It's also about encouraging people to be themselves without fear
of judgement (not try and be someone they're not), and showing an interest in the person
beyond their role - including their interests and passions, or challenges they might be facing.
This approach makes people feel legitimised and affirmed; and it has a huge impact on their
loyalty for a leader or organisation that shows them this level of respect. Once people trust
that they will not be judged, they will let their guard down and become much more honest.
This does not mean that Secure Base leaders don't have challenging conversations around
performance; quite the opposite actually. The deep trust and respect their respect for the
individual creates, enables them to have very honest discussions about performance, what
is required, and if the person is no longer the best person for a role, an effective way to take
this forward. If there are issues, they will separate the person (and their intrinsic value as a
human) from the issue.
3. Sees the potential in people
This is one of the most common attributes people remember about the leadership of people
who have had a great impact on their growth and development. Secure base leaders see
beyond people's current performance to what they believe they are capable of. They often
see potential in people they don't even recognise in themselves, and they communicate this
to the person.
It is this belief in people's untapped potential which allows these leaders to challenge their
teams to aspire to and achieve great things. One of our favourite examples of this is the true
story of a new teacher who misinterpreted a list she was given of her classes locker
numbers for a list of their IQ scores (all over 130); and on the basis of her belief in their
potential, challenged them to extraordinary levels of performance.
4. Gives a lot of responsibility and encourages risk taking
In leadership, this is about giving people opportunities to reach for and develop their
potential through the delegation of significant areas of responsibility and autonomy; often
accepting some personal risk as a leader to do so. This goes beyond seeing potential in
people, by translating that faith in them into tangible action.
The willingness on the part of the leader to take a risk on someone is critical. Without risk,
there is no way to know how far someone can go. Only by giving people chances can you
learn what they are capable of. This demonstration of trust in people's potential is hugely
motivating and very powerful as a development tool. When you give people a chance to
stretch themselves, particularly if combined with the opportunity for feedback, you set up
'experiential learning'.
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email: [email protected]
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5. Builds confidence with positive feedback
While it can seem a relatively simple and even insignificant, action to us as a leader; taking
the time to give someone positive feedback (particularly when specific) has a hugely positive
impact on both motivation and confidence.
In the course of our high performance research with Innocent Drinks, we had the
opportunity one day to speak with a temp receptionist who had only arrived that morning.
Although she had been in the business for less than three hours, she was already buzzing
because one of the Founders had noticed she was new, and had gone out of his way to
thank her for her initiative in bringing a potential client up stairs in person.
6. Signals accessibility
People believe that their Secure Base Leaders are always accessible and available; as
apposed to detached and unavailable or 'too busy'. Thankfully, this does not mean you need
to give up masses of your personal time. This is not about physical proximity (always been
there) or frequency of interaction. The reality is that the leaders we studied didn't spend
any more time with their teams than those who were seen as less accessible, in fact in many
cases they spent less time. What matters is the knowledge that they are available if needed.
And when they are with people, they give them 100% of their attention. This makes these
interactions very powerful.
7. Remains calm
Secure Base Leaders act as an anchor in a storm, helping others to stay calm, composed and
able to continue performing at their best; even when under enormous pressure.
This was a key characteristic of the leadership of Jean Krantz, flight controller during the
Apollo 13 disaster. By keeping his head, he allowed the people around him to keep theirs,
and to operate at their peak in coming up with innovative solutions to each new problem as
it arose. Note he was calm, but he was not laid back. There was urgency in his leadership, as
there needed to be, but there was no panic.
8. Uses listening and enquiry
They show a stylistic preference towards listening and enquiry rather than 'telling' and
advocacy. They are very skilled at dialogue, including enquiry, listening to understand and
asking powerful coaching questions to provoke new lines of thinking and draw out the best
in the person.
This is not to say they don't give direction, they absolutely do, but the balance towards
coaching reflects their belief in the potential of people and a genuine interest in their ideas.
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www.talltree.org.uk
email: [email protected]
ph: 01752 729 891
9. Focused on learning rather than blame
One of the most interesting characteristics of the high performing environments and leaders
we have worked with, is their focus on driving speed of learning. The best predictor of
success in a highly competitive or fast changing environment, is how fast you are learning not where you are now. When things go wrong, Secure Base Leaders send a very powerful
message about what matters long term by focusing on the learning rather than blame.
10. Skill in ‘reframing’ – the ability to deliver a powerful message which gives people a
useful focus in difficult times
Secure Base Leaders have the ability to impact people deeply, and cut through negative
mindsets, with single sentences/statements which reframe their minds towards a focus
which they can draw strength from.
Minutes before King George the VI gave his famous speech on the day WWII was declared,
made famous for his struggle with stuttering by the film 'the King's Speech', Winston
Churchill told the King he had himself struggled with a speech impediment from the time he
was a boy. This gave the King enormous strength. Note the skill of Churchill to know exactly
what to say, while everyone else just watched with growing anxiety. Incidentally, Churchill
was telling the truth - he speaks in his journals of the hours he practiced making speeches to
overcome his difficulties with spoken speech.
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 Tall Tree
www.talltree.org.uk
email: [email protected]
ph: 01752 729 891