Six Leadership Roles

As we consider our role as leaders, I like what John Gardner says, "The first step is not action; the first step is understanding. The first question is how to think about leadership."? As Gardner says, the first step is understanding, which is different from knowledge. This is an important distinction that leaders can overlook. Knowledge about a subject does not necessarily mean we understand how to implement the knowledge we have. Have you ever known a "know it all" who doesn't possess the tact or grace to lead others? Their problem is not a lack of knowledge, but a lack of insight, a lack of finesse and discretion in handling a particular circumstance. In other words, they lack understanding.

Pride Hinders Understanding Our lack of understanding can sometimes be caused by pride.? And hardly anything is more detrimental to a leader than pride. Pride blocks our willingness to improve, deafens our ability to hear constructive correction, and deters us from seeking counsel. It stunts our personal and professional growth, and it isolates us from those who can help us. ?Pride is what keeps us from recognizing why everybody else has moved on. ?It causes us to become irrelevant.? For example, it can keep us stuck on methodologies that may have worked in the past but are not working today.? Yet, we continue with what we know even if it is no longer productive.?

Pride can also weaken our relationships.? It speaks of winning the argument, more than winning the relationship.? Pride shouts to exercise its position of power, rather than exercising the power of humility.? Pride says knowledge is king and the leader is never wrong, rather than seeking the wisdom of understanding the bigger picture.? The voice of pride says the leader does not need others, which further pushes us into living with the sound of silence where self deception lurks.? Great leaders cannot afford to overlook the possibility of being poisoned by pride.? Thus, the primary thing about our role as leaders is not so much our position, but our understanding the purpose of our position, and to understand that we turn next to Gardner's second point, "how to think about leadership."

What is leadership? In thinking about how I think about leadership, I came up with the following six principles to share with you.? I trust you will find them helpful as you continue on your leadership journey.

1. Character = personal power from within. Dr. Stephen R. Covey, one of the great leadership role models of our time, talks about "primary and secondary greatness". He says that to focus our relationships and leadership on personality traits is always secondary to focusing on the development of our personal character within.? He teaches,

"If we use human influence strategies and tactics to get other people to do what we want, we may succeed short term; but over time, our duplicity and insincerity will breed distrust. Everything we do will be perceived as manipulative. We may have the "right" rhetoric, style and even intention, but without trust, we won't achieve primary greatness.” As a leader in a position of authority you can learn how to "play the game." You may influence others with charm; you may win through intimidation. But personality traits alone do not build trust in long term relationships. Without integrity and character strength, ulterior motives will eventually surface, and relationships will fail. Many leaders possess social status, position, fame, wealth and talent, but if they lack character all their important relationships they have, whether it is with a business associate, a spouse, a friend, or a teenage child will suffer.

2. Live by Example = confident to ask others to follow us. This may seem a little bold, but the fact of the matter is if we aren't confident enough in ourselves to ask others to follow our lead then we forfeit our leadership role.? Our role is to set the example, show the way, and live the life we are calling others to follow. Muhammad Ali, the three-time World Heavy Weight Champion of the World and one of the most famous American icons, talks about the example of a leader who is also his personal hero, Nelson Mandela:

?"Mandela is my hero because he is a man of great personal honor, strength, and integrity, but he was always fighting for something greater than himself - It is painful to imagine that this man, who radiates so much love, who espoused so many truths, could have spent so much of his life in prison - Mandela has inspired me to think beyond myself, to think of people in the wider world as part of a common humanity. He remains a hallmark of what it really means to give of oneself selflessly, which is, indeed, a gift for us all."

3. Influence = possess a quiet authority. Dr. John Maxwell, another giant in the leadership field, teaches us that leadership is simply influence.?The great thing about this is that anyone, from anywhere in the community or company can have influence. We may not have the most responsibility, make the most money, or have the highest position, but we can still have the most influence for the common good.?Dr. Maxwell writes,

"Do individuals have to be at the top of the organizational chart to develop relationships with others and get them to like working with them? Do they need to possess the top title to achieve results and help others become productive? Do they have to be president or CEO to teach the people who report to them to see, think, and work like leaders? Of course not. Influencing others is a matter of disposition, not position."

4. Service = understands that humility is strength not weakness. Many leaders stumble over this principle. Somehow, they get the idea that being in charge means that others are there to serve them.?Their paradigm of leadership is being the one who gives the orders and is removed from listening to the suggestions from the front-line workers.?

While that kind of leadership can work to a degree, it will not work to unleash the full potential productivity of your followers. Peter F. Drucker, considered the Dean of business and management philosophy, said,

"The great majority of executives tend to focus downward. They are occupied with efforts rather than results. They worry over what the organization and their superiors 'owe' them and should do for them. ?And they are conscious, above all, of the authority they 'should have'. As a result, they render themselves ineffectual. Tapping the fullness of our follower's contributions is accomplished by servant leadership. Jesus, who many consider the greatest leader of all time, taught his followers this principle when he said, "Whoever desires to be the greatest among you shall be the servant of all."

This requires the strength of humility.?Don't make the mistake of thinking meekness is weakness. Humility is not being powerless but is rather having power under control for use at the right time and for the right reason.

5. Action = willingness to take a risk that succeeds or fails. Personal growth and transformation expert Anthony Robbins says,

?Personal power is the ability to instantly and consistently take action, even in stressful, harsh, or unfair conditions. It requires the ability to:

• Identify your precise or specific outcome at any moment in time
• Take the necessary action to achieve that outcome without hesitation
• Judge whether the present results you are obtaining are leading you closer to or further away from your goals
• Quickly, effectively, and continually flex your approach until you achieve your desired outcome

Everything we try is not always going to work out. Every idea we get will not always lead to the desired result. Venturing out will sometimes lead us back to square one. However, all leaders must understand that there is no success without failure. Failure is part of the process that we endure. Failure is what shapes our character if we choose to learn from failure. Failure is what reveals us for what we are. But, regardless of how many times we might fail, we will continue to learn, adjust, flex, and take action again until we achieve the desired outcome.

6. Vision = sees before others see and sees what others can't see. "Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Prov. 29. 18) is the tag line I use because I have learned the value of developing a vision. The value of vision lies in how it can inspire people to higher levels of life and provide motivation to accomplish great things. Vision can ignite a fire within people. It can cause whole movements to spread across a neighborhood, school, community, or country.

?Where would we be today without visionaries? Visionary leaders see beyond the norm. They see what others can't see. They see the possibility when others see only the impossible. Visionaries dream of realities before their time. They call into existence that which does not exist. They believe for others what others cannot belief for themselves.

I love the story of Michael Angelo and his creation of the statue of King David. Allow me to paraphrase it here:

Michael Angelo had been commissioned by the leaders of a certain town in Italy to create a monument for the town center square. As he thought about what to do, he passed by this huge piece of marble rock every day. As he continued to look at the rock, he finally saw and knew what he would create. He diligently went to work, carving, chiseling, sanding, polishing and working until he had completed the project. He called the town commission and all the people together for the great unveiling of his creation. As he unveiled his statue of King David the people marveled in awe at his masterpiece. When asked how he had created such a fine piece of art he replied, "As I looked at the rock, I saw in it King David and I just cut away everything until he appeared out of the rock."

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That is the way of visionary leaders. While everybody else only saw a huge rock, the artist saw a masterpiece just waiting to be brought to life and worked until it was manifested. The above six principles are not an exhaustive list of leadership principles.? Leadership is a huge topic and a lifelong pursuit. Nevertheless, I trust you will find them useful as you consider your role in whatever leadership capacity you are currently in or aspire to be in. And remember, being a leader does not mean having a title or position of being in charge.? And if you are a parent, then you already have the most important role of leadership one can have in society.