This article maintains that one does not really need to be at the top to lead; that one can actually lead across and in fact, upwards, the organisational hierarchy.

1. Samuel Tengey, PhD
Regardless of the level of the organisation at which you operate, you can still
lead in all directions: your subordinates, your peers and even your boss! Yes,
your boss. In this article, I will be sharing with you some thoughts from
Maxwell’s (2005) book on 360 Degrees Leader. One such thought is ‘Let the
Best Idea Win’. One pervasive feature of the human being is that which takes
pleasure in having their ideas accepted, worked upon, and rule. It feels good to
see others accept your ideas, and when such ideas work, the fulfilment is even
greater. Because our ideas come from us: our mind, heart, thoughts,
reflections, knowledge, background, experiences, and in fact, our entire being,
we feel extremely attached to them.
Another reason for this attachment to our ideas is the fact that it takes an
enormous effort to generate great ideas. It involves a lot of intellectual and
physical activity and emotional attachment. In that sense, ideas demand
investment of time and energy: mental and physical. In the current era of
information technology, where ideas must be presented in a graphical
manner, the creation of ideas requires a lot of effort and investment. Because
of this intertwined link between ourselves and our ideas, it becomes extremely
difficult to see ourideas rejected; the rejection of our ideas is almost
automatically equatedwith the rejection of our person. Our self esteem can
vanish, confidence levels can drop incredibly, and a deep sense of emotional
shuttering can result from the rejection of our ideas.
The corollary of this is that when our ideas are accepted, we feel accepted; our
popularity tends to increase; our clout level improves tremendously, and a

2. deep sense of self esteem builds up in our psyche. As a result of this dynamics,
we move heaven and earth to push, defend, reinforce, establish and protect
our ideas, without always checking whether these ideas necessarily promote
the common good or resonate with the accepted values of our organisation or
wider community. And sometimes we can go awry in our ideas; at other times,
our ideas may not be necessarily the best. However, the personal attachment
to the ideas makes it extremely difficult to detach from and abandon our ideas
and allow those of others to work.
Immature people do everything to defend and entrench their ideas regardless
of whetherit will be in the ultimate interest of the organisation. But as we
mature into leadership, we come to realise it is quite immaterial whose ideas
win; instead, it is extremely important which ideas win. What works well is
what wins, regardless of where it is coming from. By what works well is also
meant what is consistent with our value system. This is because, in the final
analysis, it is the organisation that must win; not any particular individual.
Maturing into leadership means we learn to consider otherideas on their
merit in terms of their usefulness to the organisation not where they come
from. That means being ready to stand back from our own ideas and subject
them to critical scrutiny. It means not being overly defensive when other
people criticise our ideas. It means being ready to consider alternative ideas,
including those that are directly opposed to ours. To be able to allow the best
idea to win, there are things you need to do:
Be ready to listen to all ideas, regardless of where they come from

3. Some people have a way of filtering ideas depending on which individuals the
ideas are coming from. That makes them lock out all ideas coming from
sources they are not in favourof. Quoting Alfred North Whitehead, Dr John
Maxwell said, ‘almost all really new ideas have a certain aspect of foolishness when
they are first produced’. This means, even the best ideas may, at the outset,
possess some deficiencies and flaws.
Never settle for just one idea
Sometimes, we are tempted to settle for a single idea, particularly if this is
coming from a very influential person in the organisation. Sometimes whilst
an alternative idea may not replace an original idea, it may help refine it,
making it more relevant. Sometimes, several ideas are integrated into a single
model that helps to solve a problem. Academics and researchers do this well
by combining a numberof theories, sometimes, opposing or conflicting ones,
into a new theory that addresses the weaknesses of all the theories, taken
separately. In fact conflict theories believe that howeverbrilliant an idea may
be, it is not sufficient to deliver the best results unless there are alternative
ideas that help critique that idea, and rid it of all weaknesses and flaws.
Focus on the content of the idea, not the personality of the originator
The worst we can do to ourorganisation is to draw a conclusion about an idea
before we have the opportunity to critically examine it. But oftentimes, that is
exactly what we do simply because of who the idea is coming from. Sometimes
the best ideas do not come from people ‘in our good books’. There is the
tendency to automatically shelf the ideas of individuals who tend to be vocal
and critical of us. The truth is that without such individuals, many things may

4. go wrong. Sometimes because an idea is coming from someone with whom we
have had an issue or someone from a different political tradition or religion as
we, there is the tendency to shred the ideas. The truth is that it is the best idea
that should reign; the reality however is that it is ideas associated with the
powerful people that reign. Therefore an idea is most likely to reign if it is
coming from an influential person in the organisation even if that individual
has little knowledge in the subject matter under consideration. This reality is
one of the fundamental causes of organisational inefficiency.
Don’t take rejection of your ideas personal
Your ideas may not always be taken, and there is the temptation to take this
personal, particularly if you had had an issue with the decision makers in the
past. As we learned earlier in this issue, there is a strong sense of bonding
between an individual and their ideas, and when their ideas are rejected, they
feel rejected, and they take it personal. It is true there are all sorts of politics
that can result in the best ideas being rejected, whilst allowing the worst ideas
to reign. But it is still important to assume that our ideas are rejected on the
basis of their merits; it takes away a lot of the unnecessary stress from us.
When our ideas are rejected, it shouldbe an opportunity for us to go back,
sharpen and refine them and make a comeback.
Protect creative people and their ideas
True leaders recognise people with great ideas, even if they do not share the
same ideological or political viewpoints. Because to leaders, it is the
organisation that must win ultimately, the focus is on those who have ideas

5. that can move the organisation forward. It takes mature leaders to do this
against the backdrop that the more ideas of yours that win, the more yourlevel
of influence in the organisation. They ensure that people with great, useful
ideas are given all necessary support to remain in and continue to contribute
their ideas to the organisation.
In conclusion, personal goals and ambitions need to be subsumedin
organisational goals hence only the best ideas that can move the organisation

6. forward must be allowed to win.