Leadership Lessons: Are You Leading with Vision or Pushing a Pile of String?

Take out a piece of string and put it on your desk top in a straight line. Now push it on one end towards the other end. Did you end up with a pile of string?

What Defines Leadership?

Leadership is a word on everyone’s lips today. Some bureaucrats pretend they have it and some politicians wish they did. Is there really less leadership than there used to be? Well an objective and unopinionated analysis is very difficult. There are more than 300 definitions of leadership. You can’t analyze it if you can’t define it. It is kind of like big foot. People find his footprints , but he is nowhere to be seen.

I have had the privilege of leading an association that serves over 650,000 licensed professionals. And I have had the privilege of consulting with some great leaders. I worked with such a leader in Scotland— we will call him Anthony. Here is what he told me about leadership. “God does not need us. He is perfectly capable of implementing his plan without us. But He chooses us to lead, and we need to take our call to leadership seriously. Not once did I see myself in this position— I thought I would be teaching kids. But I followed his lead and I found glory in my work and not in myself. “

How contrary is this to conventional thinking today? Seemingly one of the first things we look for is magnetism or charisma . And in many cases a leader selected on that basis fails and no one knows why. So, what breaks down?

The Core Traits of Effective Leaders

Leaders must have a vision, a dream or a mental image. They have to have a precise goal of what they are trying to accomplish.

Next a leader must be able to communicate the vision with complete clarity by speech , graphics, diagram, or use of metaphors or models.

Great leaders also delegate. They surround themselves with highly competent people and they empower them. They do not work them longer and harder while reducing their pay. Competent empowered people get more done.

Why Pushing Doesn’t Work: Lessons from a String

Is your string in a pile? Ok now try pulling it. Does it follow you wherever you go? I see way to many leaders in my consulting practice who push their team members and then wonder why they are underperforming.

Nothing can take the place of determination— not talent,education or intelligence. One of the most educated, talented and intelligent clients that I ever worked with failed at leading his company.

Faith and Integrity: The Leadership of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Recently I watched a movie about Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He stood against the flow as a great leader. Sometimes the majority is not right. Often in today’s world truth is determined by concensus. Justice is struck by a 5 to 4 vote. It is ok because “everyone does it this way.” Great leaders do not necessarily go along with this. So what was Bonhoeffer’s leadership quality?

Faith—we are back to Anthony’s quote.