Our economy is in crisis and organizations are struggling. There is a desperate cry for the emergence of leaders who will lead people and organizations out of the troubled waters and into healthy solutions.
Despite the fact that we have many leaders in our world today, the problems seemingly continue to grow. A new kind of leader needs to arise in the midst of our struggling economy, who will create a new culture in the wake of their leadership, and lead others into new calmer waters.
What is a Leader
Leadership is not easy and it comes with many challenges. Below is a definition of leadership that aids our understanding of what this new kind of leader looks like.
Great LEADERS are those who create a culture that brings OUT THE BEST in their PEOPLE
and INSPIRE them to achieve MAXIMUM results.~Dr. Steve McEvoy
We are raised to think that excellence in leadership is an innate skill that, when finely tuned, will wow others to want to follow. Often this is the approach to leadership training and development. We put a great amount of energy and time into becoming this outstanding leader who we think others are sure to follow.
It is true that skills must be developed. The question is, however, what is the skill that we are after? The definition above gives us our starting point. Great leaders are those who do not focus upon themselves; rather they will focus on bringing out the best in others. Great leaders understand that the vision for which they are responsible in their leadership is far too big for their skills alone to achieve.
Vision and all of its potential is achieved by the work of many individuals collectively who rally their individual abilities to bring the vision into reality. Great leaders know that the vision that they serve is actually achieved by the people themselves. This means that the greatest skill that a leader can learn is to help bring out the best in others and inspire them to achieve their individual excellence. This shifts the attention away from leaders and their personal importance to the people and the essentialness of their individual success.
So, here lies the leadership oxymoron. I have just stated that great leaders focus upon the people. This must first be embraced by the heart of a leader. Leaders must want to serve others and help them achieve the best of what lies within them. The achievement of the vision demands it. When this heart change has occurred, the beginning point actually starts within the leaders themselves.
Leaders must know who they are and align their leadership to what they do well. The leader is the first to model how the organization will be built and the culture that will be changed. When the leaders know who they are and align their leadership role to this excellence, they send a message to others.
As a leader, are you willing to let go of things that you are not excellent at? When you let go of what you are not good at and empower others to fulfill your deficiencies, you are communicating the value of their excellence as well. Then the journey can begin of leading others down the path of discovering and aligning their function with the excellence that is within them. What is the result – an organizational culture that will never be the same and results that have never been matched.
What kind of leader do you want to be?
Do you want to be a leader that achieves outstanding results?
It depends on three things. First, a heart that says, my people and what lies within them are the most important commodity that I have. The success of the vision is buried within them and not only within myself. This poises the leader to become a GREAT leader.
Secondly, this requires leaders to be willing to look within and truly answer the “Who Am I” question for themselves. Leaders must be committed to do what they do well and do it all the time. As they do what they are designed to do, and do it well, success begins to filter into the organization. Just because you are a leader does not mean that everything that you are currently doing fits your unique design. Leaders must be willing to align fully to the fullness of who they are and release what they are not good at.
Third, the leader now begins to lead others into the same alignment. It is the leaders who lead and create a culture that values and prioritizes the people and what lies within them. This “Who Am I?” culture will result in a workplace where people want to work. Absenteeism will drop, negativity will be removed and productivity will increase. All of this hinges on the leaders and how and what they lead.
As a leader, are you ready to transform the organization where you lead? If the answer is yes, then this means that you need to start by looking within.
Dr. Steve McEvoy has his doctorate in Leadership and Organizational Development. Dr. Steve with his partner Randy Linzel are co-founders of byDesign Group. ByDesign Group is a team of specialists who are committed to “Leading organizational transformation for breakthrough results.”
The Challenge of Leadership