Leadership Is Only As Good As The Leader

Leadership, like life, is a series of continuous course corrections. Looking to the future via a crystal ball based on your situation today is wholly and entirely inaccurate assuming you even had a crystal ball that worked. Bummer. Major bumps ahead.

Leadership has it's bumps. Bumps in workload can be addressed with process improvements, staffing, or revision of services. Bumps in employee morale can be addressed by a refocus on the mission, a conversation or a commitment to action. Bumps in technical expertise or knowledge can be addressed by training, succession planning or redistribution of work.

What if the leader hits a personal bump that is less than a total loss of inspiration yet greater than a funk. What if this bump goes beyond the day to day workings of her team to contribution, committment, or community for the greater good?

Then it's time for the leader to step back and ask herself some questions about people, time and costs. Questions like, what types of interactions with others are energizing to her, where is she willing to spend her personal time and where is she willing to incur personal costs? And to what end? (No, the Magic 8-Ball is not any more reliable or helpful than the ill-fated crystal ball here!)

Leadership is about inspiring people, it's about achieving goals, it's about being present in the moment to correct the course as needed . . . . most of the time. Some of the time, it's not about any of that and all about the leader.

Leadership is only as good as the leader so leaders, you've got to be at your best. You owe it to yourselves to reflect, to wonder, to be selfish, and to chase your dreams. To do anything less is to doing nothing at all.

Hat tip to Mark Stelzner for being spot-on in the "asking the right questions" department!