Let’s Get Real
We have become so accustomed to leaders possessing a handful of culturally lauded qualities that we have forgotten some of the most critical aspects of remarkable leadership. Good looks, affability, charisma, confidence, easy talking, boldness and even height figure largely these days. Much of the appraisal is based on the visual—do they look the part. Then, do they sound the part. And, finally, do they act the part. Of course, content plays a role in our evaluation, though at times that can be difficult to assess.
Now, I tend to look upon leadership less from the context side and more from the content side. I believe leadership, whether it be to one or many, is a pretty big deal. Whether it’s the guy who owns and runs a small service station or a person in political office or the CEO of a financial behemoth—if you inhabit the role of leading people, you have stepped into a place that requires more. It is not about being the ‘top dog,’ it’s about being the kind of person that earns the respect, loyalty, trust and support of those that follow.
Our current culture has placed an enormous amount of ‘cred’ on the concept and trappings of celebrity.
Interestingly, the Latin root of celebrity is celeber, which means honored. As a culture we seem hungry to honor someone and something. Or, to be honored ourselves. When it comes to leadership, this hunger may be fierce enough that we anoint too quickly. That in our haste to receive or offer this homage or honor we are asking too little from ourselves as leader or too little from others as followers.
It’s time to appraise leadership from a deeper place.
As a leader, it’s time to develop from a deeper place, regardless of the container in which one leads. Character, integrity, honesty, service, vision, compassion are the stuff of real leaders. They are the core qualities that create and animate the kind of leaders that are needed today. There are more than enough surface-level posers out there playing the role of leader and too few being a leader of real substance.
Being a leader of substance requires a commitment to development and growth.
Titles and letters, degrees and accreditation are mostly accouterment and not that which matters most. Beyond the surface lies the real truth of genuine leadership. It’s woven into the core and substance of the individual, who they are today and who they are actively becoming. We are all served by those who are able to demonstrate our potential as human beings, who live and act in accordance with a higher truth. That is the stuff of true leadership. The rest is detail.
Evolve your leadership. Activate your people. Generate greater success.
(One leads to the other.)