Are You Sure You Want a Leader?

Do You Really Want a Leader?

“Most of the ladies and gentlemen who mourn the passing of the nation’s leaders wouldn’t know a leader if they saw one. If they had the bad luck to come across a leader, they would find out that he might demand something from them, and this impertinence would put an abrupt and indignant end to their wish for his return.”  â€“ Lewis H. Lapham

We say we want leaders.  We cry out, “Where are the great leaders of today?” Yet it seems what many really want is someone to do the hard things for them.

Real leaders ask us to change. They push us to grow.  They ask us to be or do more than we are currently being and doing. 

Far too many who clamor for leadership really want someone to fix and change others while leaving them alone.  After all, they reason, I’m not the problem. 

A true leader will see more in me and believe more in me than I currently see and believe in myself.  A true leader who has enough faith in me to ask me to do hard things and who believes I can do great things.

Not only do I want to recognize real leaders, I want to become a real leader.  If this is what I want then I must not only see real leaders, but I must seek them out.  Doing this deliberately allows us to reach our full potential by the rare gift of their candid feedback, encouragement and insight. 

Kirk Out.