INSIGHTS
DIRECTOR’S CUT BY MARIO PISTILLI
WISDOM LEADING T
It is the leader’s job to interpret situations and provide context for their teams.
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ICEMAGAZINE | MARCH 2020
here is a plethora of leadership theories and books on leadership out there. Most of you have probably heard of servant leadership, transformational leadership, adaptive leadership and strength-based leadership. I would like to introduce you to another, wisdom leading as introduced by Foster W. Mobley, Ed.D., in his book, “Leadersh*t: Rethinking the True Path to Great Leading.” I have had the honor and privilege of working directly with Mobley and his team at FMG Leading over the past year and have really started to change my focus as a leader. Wisdom leading posits that great leading “is less about what you do, and more about who you are.” The purest form of leadership to me is when people follow the leader because they want to, not because they feel they need to in promise of some reward or in avoidance of some negative consequence. In wisdom leading, the leader is very clear on what they believe in and lives that belief every day. One of my core beliefs is that the leader should be what I call “the chief believer” in whatever it is that you expect your team to buy in to. For me, that translates into one of my goals that every patient, regardless of their circumstance, is deserving of the very best care possible and that everything we do or consider doing is always rooted first in what serves the best interest of the patient. I try
to live this every day and role model this in every interaction. I preach this message at every opportunity. I never tolerate any other course and my team knows that they can expect this consistency from me. Leading then is “about how you show up.” Another trait of wisdom leading is that the leader goes first. The leader is the first person to take risks and test the waters of uncertainty. The leader is willing to take calculated gambles in support of who they are. The leader also is willing to take responsibility for their teams and ownership of any failures. A leader practicing wisdom leading defines meaning for their team and creates hope. It is the leader’s job to interpret situations and provide context for their teams. For example, most institutions have a strategic plan. Have you as a leader provided meaning and context to your team so that they understand how the strategic plan contributes to the organization’s mission and exactly what their role in it is? It is the leader who should provide that meaning into why we do what we do and what you expect the team to do to get there. One of the hardest concepts of wisdom leading for me has been the idea that a leader takes care of themselves first so that they can be better for their team. Just as the airline safety instructions tell you to place your own oxygen mask on first so that you can help others, the leader develops their own unique talents, passions and skills so that they are better equipped to share those with their team. This seems ADVANCING THE IMAGING PROFESSIONAL
