Saturday, March 20, 2010

Message of the Day - Its Not Leadership when....

Good Morning,
 
I remember days when a bunch of my friends and I would take a road trip to some new and exciting place. There would be between two and seven cars in the caravan. As we drove, when I was in the lead car, I drove like I had the cars behind me were actually attached to me. That is, I would make turns and stops as if it directly impacted the cars behind me. This meant I drove slower and often slowed down to make a check to see that everyone who was supposed to be behind me was.
 
Then I remember the times when I followed and the lead driver seemed to be looking out for themselves and as often happens in highly trafficked areas, they would move ahead and disappear from view. Those of us in the cars following would then have to figure out how to get to our destination by ourselves, sometimes without directions...
 
The Lead driver may still think that they are leading, but when they look behind them, there is no one there following.
 
At that point, are they truly leading or are they just out there taking care of themselves.
 
This raises the question about leaders in general. Are they leading when they are taking actions which are for their own benefit at the detriment of those who are trying to following them?
 
I would say no, they are not being a leader at that time. Some would say that this is the difference between a manager and a leader, but even a good manager is making the best use of their unit's resources for the good of the organization.
 
Taking selfish actions while in the leader's chair is then not leadership, but self-serving actions.
 
To be a leader, one must lead, and to lead, there must be those who are successfully following. This means that you may have to slow down and look back over your shoulder to make sure that those you are leading are successfully following.
 
It's not leadership when what you are doing is centered on yourself and your accomplishments.
 
Enjoy!
 
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