We need great leaders. We need them because they know how to lead people. Above all, they know how to lead themselves.
According to Gareth Chick, ‘A leader takes an community outside its collective comfort zone, and makes the journey exciting, not frightening.’
Real leaders ask real, tough questions. They ‘… ask themselves one overriding question when posed a problem by another person- ‘What does this person need from me right here, right now?’ And they make things happpen. They are authentic. When they say something, they don’t play with what they say they will do.
And they are not afraid to say, I don’t know what you are talking about.’ They are not afraid to admit what they don’t know.
Because they know that when you admit what you do not know, you are willing to learn.
They ‘subordinate themselves to the cause and to the responsibility they’ve accepted– not in a way that excludes or overrides family, friends or external interests, but in a way that overrides their ego and immediate self-interest.’
‘Authentic leaders see possibilities that others do not see, or do not want to see, and have a knowing and a belief that is seemingly unshakeable.’
‘Authentic leaders ask people to things and achieve things that they do not know how to do themselves; that may even seem impossible or ‘beyond reason.’
‘Authentic leaders constantly hector people with the purpose and the vision and are overt and passionate living examples of the values.’
‘Authentic leaders touch people emotionally, sharing intimate moments of joy and elation as they inspire others to go beyond their wildest dreams of performance.’
‘Authentic leaders put themselves forward as the public face and voice of the mission and the message, and allow themselves to be the embodiment, at times the icon if appropriate, of the cause.’
They are not leading to make themselves bigger than others. They are leading to make the world a better place.
If you want to lead, you must be in it for others, not for yourself.
As always, you are more, not less!
Source:
Gareth Chick (2019). And The Leader Is … : Transforming Cultures with CEQ
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