Exceptional Leadership Lives at the Nexis of Doing Well and Doing Good

Leaders today are under increasing pressure to create and protect the enterprise value of the organizations they serve.

At the same time they must balance this with a meaningful level of support to the people in their communities who are their employees, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders, all of whom are critical for maintaining a sustainable competitive advantage. Without this balance and advantage, there is no foundation on which we can build stronger organizations and stronger communities.

Those who have done the work needed to do well must come together with those whose sense of duty compels them to do good. There is a necessary partnership that makes those who support the needs of our communities able to function effectively and powerfully.

We cannot look to benefactors as simply a supply-chain partner offering philanthropy. They offer offer more than money to those who are committed to and who volunteer to do the hard work of measurably and meaningfully impacting and improving the lives of those in our communities that are in need of assistance. It is actually those who demonstrate the power of acting in accordance with a truly noble purpose that are benefactors to those whose activities can provide the necessary funding. The standards for the level of commitment, conscientiousness and raw grit we see in those who work in the public sector are exemplars for those who lead in the private sector.

Leadership is the highest degree of human capital.

Leadership primes the pump of human potential and inspires people to perform at the levels needed to accomplish significantly meaningful things.

Exceptional leadership is a force that raises the bar for all organizations to perform – from the smallest private enterprise to the largest non-profits. It is what empowers governments to serve the ideals of their constituents and people to serve a duty to a sense of higher purpose.

Leadership cannot be installed by assignment. Nor can it be taught to anyone who is unwilling or incapable of learning or doing what it takes to make themselves into a competent leader.

People often mistakenly think of leadership as a soft skill. It is not. It is a complex mix of competencies that must be developed by practice and use. It is not simple or easy. Leadership is the hard work of being a fully-competent human being. It is a function of putting the needs of others over your own. It is nuanced in ways that cannot be calculated or mimicked from the performance of others. It is forged in the experience of first leading yourself and then earning the trust needed to lead others.

We need more effective and more inspired leadership in the world.

Exceptional leadership always looks beyond the boundaries of those we are directly responsible to serving. It is not ever good enough to only make our organizations or companies better, it is necessary and possible that we make the world somehow better.

We can and must start in our own backyards and communities. We must aim to not only raise money – but also raise awareness of how leadership – on every level – matters. How we lead our lives, our children, our communities or our companies matters. It matters to those we touch and influence – and to those we can only reach through the heroic efforts of volunteers and supporters of the great humanitarian causes that serve those who truly cannot otherwise care for themselves.

All leaders in our communities have an ethical responsibility to assist those who cannot take care of themselves. But more importantly they must also inspire others to learn to help themselves and then learn to lead and inspire others to do the same. This is how leadership elevates the human condition - like a goose that lays golden eggs.

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Phil Liebman is the Founder and CEO at ALPS Leadership - We Guide CEO's and Their Leadership Teams to Become Exceptionally Competent Leaders and High-Performance Organizations

www.ALPSLeadership.com

Phil is also been a Group Chairman with Vistage Worldwide since 2005 - where he helps leaders realize their potential by learning with and from other leaders. He is the author of the soon-to-be published book, "Cultivating MoJo: How competent leaders inspire exceptional performance."