About a week ago I placed the following on my LinkedIn feed.
“It is perplexing how often we toss the word leader around especially in the political realm. Many of our so called “political leaders” in both Canada and the United States are far from leaders. They have power, financial backing and authority, but they do not have many of the core leadership traits that we really need. We are living in a leadership vacuum politically. There are few “leaders” that demonstrate compassion, show empathy and live humbly. Brashness, egotistical and downright rude seem to be descriptors of many. In a world that has become so angry and with no longer any real sense of community, this is where true leadership has to shine. Unfortunately, we deserve what we get. We allow people with power, money, and authority to make decisions that we should never accept. But…we do! This is not about being left or right but rather what is right or wrong. It is time for us to respectfully demand more from our leaders.”
Since writing this short post, there have been numerous posts and articles highlighting true leadership abilities. Organizational success begins with a cohesive vision of many not of only one. It is enhanced with collaboration, humility, and openness to diverse thoughts and opinions. It is “eco-centric” not egocentric.
In my work assisting boards evaluating their superintendent not once have I heard, “I sure wish he/she was more of an a**hole!” Every board understands that relationships are critical to nurture, integrity is essential, and compassion and empathy are non-negotiable for their leader. And the higher the relational trust, the tougher the conversations can be had, and the more difficult decisions can be made. Accountability is high, but not simply because of positional authority, it is always about and through leadership.
At one time management was enough to deal with a complicated world. But our world is not longer just complicated, it is complex, and leaders are required. The boss mentality of yester years is insufficient today. We need leaders!
I will be speaking at the upcoming uLead 2025 pre-conference on the topic, “Leading from the Classroom Out.” The premise of my presentation is that leadership is not a position, and positional authority has little to do with true leadership. Leaders throughout an organization are required to move away from the notion that it is about a single position. It will always be about leadership of which we seldom see in our political leaders of today. What a sad statement but also how true!!!
