THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LEADER 255The nature of our relationships during childhood with signifi cant
others (i.e. parents, siblings, other family members, teachers) determines
the kind of cognitive and affective ‘ maps ’ (the scripts in our inner
theater) that we internalize, and forms the basis for our operational
codes. These personal operational codes have to be balanced with spe-
cifi c societal concerns — the vision can diverge from the existing preoc-
cupations of the group to which it is applicable so long as this isn ’ t too
marked a divergence. And in order to match personal agenda with ‘ his-
torical moment ’ (Erikson, 1975 ) — to create this catalyst for change — the
leader ’ s responsiveness to what is happening around him or her is essen-
tial. In addition, he or she will also need to be able to articulate a vision
with conviction in order to get others to align themselves with it, which
leads on to the next point.
The Ability to Empower Others
Empowerment is the process of increasing the capacity of individuals or
groups to make choices and to transform those choices into desired
actions and outcomes. It also implies having decision - making power
of one ’ s own. It also means giving people access to information and
resources for taking proper decisions. The ability to empower others is
an important characteristic of effective leadership. By communicating
high - performance expectations, leaders can enhance the self - esteem of
their followers, having these followers meet the challenge.
The Ability to Build and Maintain Organizational Networks
This is something that necessitates considerable sensitivity to the dynam-
ics of power and dependency, as well as strong interpersonal skills in
negotiations and coaching. These human resource management skills
will be even more important in our global world. One key reason these
skills are now so essential is that the management of alliances has taken
on an increasingly critical role in today ’ s organizations.
‘ Pattern Recognition ’
Global leaders especially need to be able to manage cognitive complexit y
in order quickly to sort out relevant from irrelevant information and