A Quick Thought on Leadership

Leadership is a crucial concept. You can’t touch it but it can really touch you. I served 21 years in the Navy and saw many sides of this trait. I saw people with high rank that did not possess an ounce of leadership ability save for what the uniform helped them with. I also met great ones that had “it”. The private sector is no different. I see people that proclaim to be a leader and say that they are. Well, here is the news flash. “If you have to announce that you are a leader, then it is doubtful that you are.”  There are as many ways to judge a leader as there are leaders. For me, I see two things (there are plenty more) that are critical to possess if trying to lead: do they do the right thing and do they do the right thing in the right way. The more that leaders strive to do these two things the better leader they could become (at least in my opinion). Calm, sincerity, caring, and being able to explain to others how they fit into the organization are always going to get more results than anger, insincerity, selfishness, and the inability to explain the big picture. (enter transformational leadership).

I have seen “leaders” that imitate others…does not work. I have seen leaders believe a “leader” must be feared…HORSE FEATHERS! A leader must be a person welcomed to the setting because of who they are and what they bring. Sure, short term results can come out of tyranny and arrogance, but is that what we want. Take a look at how you would rate leaders. Then take a look at how your leaders stack up to the test. Then I say, take a look at yourself.