Meditations On Leadership
These are my thoughts on leadership related topics and ideas. It is meant to be a sort of journal for me and if you find it useful than I am happy to have helped.
"Telling people leadership is important is one thing. Showing them the step by step precisely how to be a leader is impossible. "Tell me what to do" is a nonsensical statement in this context. There is no map. No map to be a leader." -Seth Godin What Seth Godin says is true. The very definition of "leader" means that you are going in before anyone else. Otherwise you would be a follower. You are the map maker that the followers will follow. You are the person that will answer the cry for "Tell me what to do" you can't be the one to ask that. That is why I try to focus on developing skills and habits that will help me be a good leader. I study great leaders in history not to copy them (That would make me a follower and not a good leader) but to learn from them. In his book Linchpin, Seth Godin uses the analogy of a leader being like an artist (he is more focused on Linchpins than leaders but I'm using his analogy anyway. It's too good). Let's pretend that instead of trying to be a leader you are trying to be a master painter. You can't copy a painting by Monet, Picasso, da Vinci, Michelangelo, or any other painter and expect to become a master painter. Even if you learn how to replicate it exactly, no one will consider you a master. You should study them, you should learn techniques and habits from them. You might even find it beneficial to do a study of them and try their style of painting for a while. But if you are going to be a master painter you will eventually have to create your own style. Something that is distinctly you.
Leadership is the exact same way. You should study great leaders. You should learn their techniques and habits. You might even want to try some of their techniques exactly like them just to learn from the experience. Eventually, you will need to create a leadership style that is distinctly you. That fits your situation. That works for your followers. As a leader you are the tip of the spear that is headed into the unknown. There is no map for the unknown. There is no map for leaders. There is no ten step program that will make you a leader. You can focus on leadership habits. You can gain knowledge specific to your situation that will be useful as a leader. You can learn how to be a better people person. You can do a lot towards becoming a leader. That is the whole point of Sincere Leader. It isn't a map that you can follow to become a great leader it is a collection of knowledge that I have found useful in my leadership experience and that I recommend you study. But the doing and the becoming is all up to you. You have to blaze your own leadership path. You can't have a map for leadership but you can have a rope, ice pick, compass, good hiking shoes, flashlight with extra batteries, and everything else you might need on your leadership journey. No one knows what you will meet on this journey. No one knows if it will be snowy, rainy, hot, humid, or fair weather. You should study the weather though. If clouds are gathering prepare for rain before it comes. If the leaves start to fall get ready for winter before it hits. Read a lot. Learn as much as you can. Become a master of yourself and develop the habits you need while getting rid of the habits that hold you back. Then turn around and help the person behind you. That is leadership.
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AuthorJ. LaVarr Roberts Archives
April 2021
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