LEADERSHIP: What it is … what it is NOT!
PART ONE – The Intro –
1. Why / 2. What / 3. So What / 4. Now What
THE PURPOSE: To inspire others to … BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN YOUR COMMUNITY
Note: This blog is the third section of PART ONE – The Intro … ONE.3 – The SO WHAT. Please read the first two blogs in this series if you haven’t already: ONE.1 – The WHY and ONE.2 – The WHAT
3. The SO WHAT
Perhaps, after reading the first two sections, you’re thinking ‘so what?’ … ’this is nothing new’ … ‘all leaders think they ‘know the way – go the way – show the way’ [as espoused in John Maxwell's quote].
OK … Let’s break this down further to what KEY things makes a GREAT leader then … what do great leaders have in common? Much research, theory and framework attempts to address this … we have, from some of the greats:
- 7 habits of highly effective people
- 10 essential ingredients for effective leadership
- 21 irrefutable laws of leadership
All good stuff and I highly recommend aspiring leaders to read anything from Stephen Covey, Daniel Golemen, and John Maxwell; … however, I like to keep things as simple as possible … the KISS principle if you like. There is no need to over-complicate this … and it is important to remember that many people will form a judgement within seconds of meeting [or observing] a ‘would be leader’. One of my favourite quotes from a great leader I admire is:
“Complexity is your enemy. Any fool can make something complicated. It is harder to make something simple”
- Richard Branson
So on that note … I think much of the frameworks, ingredients and long lists of laws about leadership, can be wrapped up into 3 fundamental, observable behaviours; … even more importantly, I believe they are ESSENTIAL responsibilities required of great leaders in all areas of life. Frankly, without these … you are simply not a leader in my books; … not worth following; … certainly not worthy of my vote or my time.
Great leaders must have the mindset of a leader … they must understand what leadership is about. So, what exactly do leaders do? Simple … leaders lead and influence others. Real leadership is all about all about leading others. To do that, to gain followers, I believe you need to demonstrate these 3 fundamental behaviours really well:
- Be trustworthy
- Lead and inspire change
- Be a role model
What’s so special about these 3? … Two reasons:
- These three are CORE responsibilities; … made up of inner values, drivers and belief systems; … these are not things you turn on and off like a tap, for only when people are watching; … these fuel the behaviours and actions that produce desired outcomes; … and
- I believe we need to get back to the basics and drop the bullshit; … these are the fundamental behaviours that are chronically missing from our leaders locally and from many state-wide, nationally and globally.
So … in a nutshell … a great leader is trustworthy, leads and inspires others, and demonstrates ethical behaviours and actions with the right intent and purpose [for the greater good]. Know any?
“You can’t TALK your way out of a problem …
that you’ve BEHAVED your way into”
– Stephen R Covey
To read more online, click on Part ONE.4 – The NOW WHAT … [and be introduced to the characters in my stories]
or
To download the full article – PART ONE – The Intro – 1. Why / 2. What / 3. So What / 4. Now What -in printable PDF format, click here: - LEADERSHIP – What is IS … What it is NOT … series
