A Note on Leadership

There is something to be said of the brand of organizational leadership that motivates the masses to want to perform, to take initiative, to go the extra mile, to back up and not buck the head, to want to stay, to recruit others to come, and to have a genuine connectedness and strong like for the one steering the ship. 

This type of leadership has been and appreciates where the followers are, encourages the people to become better versions of themselves, doesn’t mind pitching in when needed, understands that they don’t have all of the answers, appreciates the need for a true team, and that everyone has something important to contribute to the vision and mission of the organization.

I’m not one for mots-du-jour, for phrases of the day or any of that. Servant leader(ship) is thrown around as the type of leaders those in charge often claim themselves to be. According to the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, yes there’s such a place, “The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first.” 

I submit that the mark of a true leader is not how one identifies themselves, but how others identify them, behind their backs! It’s the chatter in group chats or at get-togethers that reflects the most genuine of sentiments. When I hear my colleagues praise principals in text messages or conversations, I know it’s real. When I hear employees laud their bosses when they’re away from the job, I know it’s real. I urge leaders everywhere to self-identify in private, because it’s most often in private where those in your charge really express their feelings about you!

Rarely is there anything more encouraging than when people bring word back to you that you are the talk of the town or at the dinner table, in a positive way. Lead by demonstration not by what comes out of your mouth. The virtue of a position or title does not a leader make. #issaboss