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Musings on leadership...
Nov. 2nd, 2000 05:08 pmLeadership is a strange...what? Calling? Profession? Quality? (Great, here I get all philosophical, and stumble over my first sentence.)
On the playing field of life, leadership is not a spectator sport. Leaders don't sit in the bleachers and watch. Or worse, sit in the stands and simply keep a scorebook. Leaders that do don't last very long. On the other hand, leaders who charge out onto the field to play the game don't last long, either. They become too much absorbed in tactics to be concerned with strategy.
Talent is commonplace. Leadership is rare, and often, it has little to do with the talent - in the sense of "field of endeavor" - being led, but everything to do, however, with leading talent - in the sense of talented people.
Leaders don't spectate and they don't play; they coach. Among other accomplishments, they show others how to behave, both on and off the field. In so doing, they announce what is important. They demonstrate what is important by how they spend their time, by the priorities on their agenda (indeed, by having an agenda!), by the questions they ask, and the issues they choose to focus upon. Perhaps most important, leaders demonstrate what counts by the behaviors and results that they recognize and reward.
Every step a leader takes and every move a leader makes is watched. Anyone can talk the talk; successful leaders walk the talk.
Leadership is a dramatic art.
Cheers...
On the playing field of life, leadership is not a spectator sport. Leaders don't sit in the bleachers and watch. Or worse, sit in the stands and simply keep a scorebook. Leaders that do don't last very long. On the other hand, leaders who charge out onto the field to play the game don't last long, either. They become too much absorbed in tactics to be concerned with strategy.
Talent is commonplace. Leadership is rare, and often, it has little to do with the talent - in the sense of "field of endeavor" - being led, but everything to do, however, with leading talent - in the sense of talented people.
Leaders don't spectate and they don't play; they coach. Among other accomplishments, they show others how to behave, both on and off the field. In so doing, they announce what is important. They demonstrate what is important by how they spend their time, by the priorities on their agenda (indeed, by having an agenda!), by the questions they ask, and the issues they choose to focus upon. Perhaps most important, leaders demonstrate what counts by the behaviors and results that they recognize and reward.
Every step a leader takes and every move a leader makes is watched. Anyone can talk the talk; successful leaders walk the talk.
Leadership is a dramatic art.
Cheers...
