Leadership is deep.
Some people think that leadership is about meeting expectations and giving other people what they want. Some people think that being a leader is about following certain examples and developing specific habits. Some people even think that leading is about having the right answers and telling other people what to do.
True, authentic leadership is deeper.
We are not leaders because of how we relate to other people, or how other people respond to us. Our leadership comes from within our deepest selves.
Leadership is a relationship.
Leaders appreciate listening and understanding.
With hard work, we learn to listen and pay attention to ourselves. As we get to know our truest selves, the selves we protect from everyone else, we begin to recognize the true selves around us.
Slowly, but surely, we are able to share more of ourselves with the world around us, and the beauty of our lives becomes clear.
Leadership is recognizing.
It is not only knowing about people, it is knowing them. It is not being able to remember facts and information, it is appreciating the meaning beneath them.
Leadership is not merely analytical, it is knowing things more deeply and intimately than analyzing them. Leaders are as much about passion as they are about precision.
It is easy for leaders to get focused on meeting goals and objectives, on accomplishing measurable tasks. The things we need to do each day, each hour, can distract us from the core values and vision that give us direction.
While measurable results are important, we must not to lose sight of the meaning that supports them.
We can find ourselves making impressive, rapid progress while we are lost. We may not know where we are or where we are going, but we are making great time.
How deep is your leadership?
How can you go deeper?
Greg Richardson is a friend, a spiritual mentor, and leadership and organizational coach, in Pasadena, California. Greg has served as a criminal prosecutor, an executive, and a university professor. Greg’s website is www.StrategicMonk.com and he is on Twitter @StrategicMonk.
FYI: Leadership is a obviously a very broad, and as the post says, deep subject. Greg and I traded posts today, so drop by his site to read my guest post. Thanks in advance.
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/angelocesare/233816156/
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