I believe all of us at one time or another have been pachyderms. Sensitive to our raw feelings and emotions, improvising our defensive response and reactions unnaturally, unhappily. Frankly, we should be appreciative for those “leaders” past who ridiculed us, those who caprice our early brave resolve: for those who unwittingly made us sharper, thicker skinned, strengthened our personal mettle and reversed our defense.
The best of us reengineer solicitously against the din of poor leadership evolving into “can do, will do, done” offense mode. World class leaders are defined, measured and graded through their protractions, their actions, their reactions: their consensus-contractions and their natural formidable magnetic attraction. Superior, proven and trusted leadership is also powered by kinetic, highly relevant learning’s and improvisations based upon experience, based upon crisp critical thinking, business judgment and sales motivation.
If you polarize a supply chain array of disciplined and focused leadership under the ribs of clear strategy, tactics and courses of action, you will reveal and can juxtapose the substrate of their business DNA; the fabric of their commitment, the speed and agility of their capabilities. Leaderships capability, its chain-link measurement can be polarized-described as :
de-active – inactive – reactive – active – pro-active – hyper-active – super active
In each case and or as aggregated as one, the ability to steer and merit success, to act on the offense regarding opportunities is as important as digging in defensively regarding threats to competitive share, change in market conditions. Great leaders are created, not born. Superb leaders, highly effective leaders, self-develop, self-medicate with knowledge to docent themselves through a never ending thread of self-regulated study, relevant education, training and applied experiences.
Having said this, we attempt to gain consensus by defining leadership as: the ability to influence, stimulate and energize others to focus on and accomplish a greater goal. Highly effective leaders story, plan, influence, energize and upgrade the common goal, into the demanded dream of one team. The lucent report card of leadership is best graded by the caliber and business judgment of followers, by the ability and measured results of said greater goal.
While the influence of intelligent leadership is best fueled by moral and royal values, trust worthiness, ethics, character and the spirit of generosity, it is the smart knowledge of leadership that grounds united logic for the team, commonplaces clear determination to achieve or exceed the goal. In its best most relevant case, leaders stand proudly and well prepared behind their team, not in front of them.
Mature leadership offers three additional important and unique magnetic characteristics versus standard management or simple authority: motivation, communication, inspiration.Best of breed leadership aggregates and motivates trust, confidence and the demand engine for Spartan followers to become the same or to aspire to a heightened notch above greatness when learned, when earned. Please see my keynote video on the power and influence of Digital Darwinism leadership here: leadership
For those who personally demand to become a leader, I suggest you follow this business benediction I have professed for two decades: “If you want to be the leader, act like the leader.” Just make sure you are learning from and following the right leader, to act like the leader you wish to someday become.
Champion leadership inspires team greatness. Challenges the process, challenges the strategy, challenges the team to inspire through victorious results. Great leadership utilizes superior business judgment, critical thinking, sales and team motivation to steer around competitive business remoras, competitive advantage.
Inspire others, enable others, model others, energize the hearts of others and encourage others to become the leaders they pine to be, to continue their demanding role on the offense, to deny the bulwark distracters they met and feared so many years ago on the defensive side of leadership. And of course, unleash your competitively aggressive business and market offense by unleashing your highly trained and aspiring leadership team members, from behind.
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