When
I hear the question “What is a leader?”, my immediate response is to say,
“How much time do you have?”
Let me begin by stating what
leadership isn’t. Leadership
is not a one-dimension quality or characteristic that can be captured in one
short quip and slapped onto a bumper sticker. Leadership is not about
being elected to some position or post. Leadership is not about having a fancy
title and bossing people around. Leadership is not about being admired by
those under you.
I’ve known too many people who
have been elected to high positions, carry great titles, are admired by friends
and yet have no sense of direction regarding when it comes to direction. This
situation is often referred to as the Peter Principle; when someone has been
promoted to a position of incompetence and finds themselves lost.
But lets get back to defining
what leadership is now that we know what it isn’t. Defining leadership is not
as simple as most people would assume. And no matter how many people you ask
you will invariably get different answers to the question, “What is
leadership?” One thing is for certain, leadership is a multifaceted,
multidimensional quality whose sum total makes up its real definition.
Leadership IS the sum total of many features and qualities that make a true
leader. But trying to get a few people in the room to define and agree on the
qualities might be another story!
In this memorandum I’ve compile 22 key elements
of a great leader. My hope is that by sharing these characteristics we become
smarter and more aware of the complexity of a true leader. The sum total of
these 22 key elements will give us a very good approximation of true leadership.
1.
First, a leader must have a passion, a burning desire to bring something
positive about. He must internalize what has to be done and convert that
passion into action. Passion comes before leadership. Leaders
without passion are simply people with fancy titles and no sense of direction.
When you have a passion and act on that passion, you become a leader compelled
to move forward by some quantifiable desire. You are motivated into action by a
calling.
Will passion alone show you how to get to where
you’re going? Will passion give you have all the answers? Of course not! Are
you leery or afraid of what lies around the corner? Of course you are! Which
is why…
2.
The
second key aspect of being a great leader is the ability to accept fear as part
of the risks we take. Fear is something that comes part and parcel with
everything that is unknown or new to us. A leader understands that all
challenges have an element of fear that must be confronted. No matter how
hesitant you may be, a leader knows that he or she cannot show fear; especially
if others who are following are watching closely. Leaders learn to stare down
fear and know with certainty that they can overcome a challenge if they make up
their mind to do so. When you’re assigned a task or come across a new
opportunity, if your excitement is tempered by fear of failure, this is
understandable. True leaders amplify and focus on the excitement of the unknown
while at the same time working to diminish the possibility of failure. To a
leader, there is always a way, a solution to overcome any obstacles placed in
their way.
3.
Which is why a leader must also know when to be a cheerleader. When to
encourage others to look past their own limitations and join in on the movement
towards some goal. Leaders push, cajole, excite, motivate people to be better
than what they think they can be. Leaders show no fear in the face of adversity
and ask you to do the same. No matter how difficult things get, leaders will
not allow their people to lose hope and faith in what they’ve set out to
accomplish. Leaders cheer when times are good, but most importantly, the do so
when times are bad.
4.
A
leader is honest to himself but more so to his people. Whether delivering good
news or bad, a leader does not hesitate in either. We all want to be heroes.
We all want to be the bearer of ‘good news”. But when things don’t go right, a
true leader always admits and submits to the realities. They don’t lie to
themselves or those they lead. Is admitting failure or difficulty in
accomplishing a goal giving up? No! Leaders acknowledge reality and assess it
for what it is. Leaders evade reality or pretend that bad things aren’t
happening. Leaders know that in order to overcome any obstacle requires a
complete understanding of the situation, no matter how dire. Too often leaders
fall into trap of keeping up pretenses in order to spare others the harsh
realities. Wrong! Another common trap is to believe that by being honest with
others, we expose our weaknesses or inabilities. Wrong! True leaders accept
responsibility for their situation and aren’t afraid of sharing their
predicament with those who would follow. A leader is not insecure. Leaders
can’t lie to themselves or those around them. In both cases a leader loses the
respect of his followers if they ever found out they were being misled or
deceived. Leaders accept challenges and aren’t hesitant about making everyone
else aware of the current situation. A leader doesn’t hide or shade the truth
from others. This would be a disrespectful of the others right to know the
truth.
5.
Leaders never give up. But most importantly, a leader never gives up on you,
even when you’ve given up on yourself. Leaders see only delays or temporary
setbacks. Leaders pause to recalculate and figure things out. Leaders ask,
“What else can we try?” And when you’ve given up on yourself, leaders say,
“Why? I haven’t!” Leaders encourage you to lean on them as they in turn are not
afraid to lean on you. Leadership is a partnership between those who lead and
those who follow. Each has a responsibility to each other. Notice when a
person is wounded and other person lifts them up, puts the wounded persons arm
around his neck, and then puts his arm around their waste and helps carry them.
That’s the image we should all hold constant. Two people holding on to each
other, counterbalancing each other’s burden, moving forward, slowly, but surely.
6.
Get
it done right! A leader knows that speed is not the sole mark of
accomplishment. Leaders know that doing it right is far superior to doing it
fast. Leaders never run, they walk with purpose. Leaders do not allow others
to rush their decisions that require more reflection. Leaders like to weigh
options and listen to everyone’s input or feedback. A leader is not hurried or
pressure by time constraints. Leaders know that things that get rushed get
flushed. Leaders respect time and will work diligently to meet time
schedules they have agreed to.
7.
Because another aspect of a leader is commitment. Leaders who commit to doing
something, or bring about something, know that their word is their bond. A
leader measures what tasks he or she will accept because they know that there is
only so much time in the day and they can only do so much. Leaders know when to
say yes, but more importantly, they know when to say no. Leaders who are bound
by their word to a commitment, do not agree to things lightly. Many people take
on too many tasks because they’re afraid to say, “no” or are trying to do more
than they can. A true leader knows how much to bite off and how much can be
chewed in a given span of time. A true leader knows that it is better to say
‘no’ and have others think what they will, then to say yes and fail to deliver.
8.
A
leader has compassion for those who need an extra hand. Leaders know that we
are all born with varying skill sets. Each of us is equipped to do a particular
job or jobs better than others. Some of us learn quicker than others while some
struggle just to keep up. Leaders don’t view this as a weakness, but see it as
issue that has to be calculated and readjusted. If a person isn’t good at one
thing, a leader searches to find what that person can excel at. As the saying
goes, no one stands taller then when they stoop down to help someone. All of us
in life will, at one time or another, need some help, someone to lend us a
hand. Compassion is about understanding and knowing that we all need help once
in a while. This very fact is what keeps great leaders humble and connected to
those they lead.
9.
Leaders are too busy doing, while others are too busy talking. Leaders have a
way of filtering out good signals from the rest of the noise in the
environment. Like a radio, a leader is tuned into the pleasant channels along
the frequency continuum that provide useful information and not idle gossip or
chatter. Leaders avoid the noise between the channels. Leaders know that they
must tune into things that have to be done and ignore the noise of inactivity
that surrounds them. Too often people are complaining about the reasons they
can’t do something, while great leaders are out there proving them wrong.
10.
Every leader must have clarity of vision. They see the outcome in their mind
before it actually happens. They have an internal gyroscope that keeps them on
course as they navigate the difficulties and challenges along the way. Leaders
must figured out the who, what, when, where, why and most important, how they
are going to achieve their goals. Every vision with clarity is propelled by a
powerful reason for wanting to do it. Someone once said, “If you have a big
enough WHY, you will always find a HOW to getting it done. The ‘why’ is the
passion, the ‘how’ is a plan borne of passion.
11.
Leaders plan to succeed. They literally have a ‘plan’ for succeeding. Losers
feel planning is too cumbersome and bypass it altogether. Is it no surprise
then that research has shown that individuals who take the time to write down
their goals, link the actions required to achieve those goals are the most
successful? We’ve all heard the saying, “fail to plan, plan to fail”. Vision
without a plan is only a dream that will remain just that, a dream. A friend of
mine told me a long time ago, “There is no such thing as a wrong decision, you
just have to make it work.” I’ve always liked the saying because we don’t
always have the perfect plan. We don’t always make optimal decisions. But we
do have a choice in the matter: adjust the plan as you go or be defeated by
misfortune. Leaders choose to take corrective action and not dwell on
mistakes. Remember, a plan is a tentative strategy waiting for reality to
provide the necessary feedback to adjust it once again. The only thing
guaranteed in a plan is that it will change.
