When leaders are challenged and put to the test, the real ones tend to thrive. They somehow find the way to make the adjustments that make the difference between good and bad or success and failure. That type of leadership is a joy to behold. Once you’ve had the privilege to work alongside or for one of these individuals, you become spoiled and mediocre just won’t do any more. These leaders are easy to recognize, they typically standout because they simply refuse to accept anything but the best. They inherently know how to get the best effort from the people around them…without any of the drama that seems to permeate a good deal of the pseudo leaders we have an abundance of today. Maybe the answer is to get back to basics. Remind our friends and neighbors of what real leadership looks like. Remind them that leaders are risk takers and have no issue with talented people around them that they expect to have good – even great – ideas. Perhaps someone needs to communicate to those folks occupying leadership positions that leaders are driven to seek the optimal avenues to the most efficient outcomes. These outcomes require the leader to understand and embrace change and all the discomfort it sometimes brings. This understanding of change and the effort it takes to manage it, will bring out the true leader in any person.
Leadership is just an easy to use “catch phrase” for some it seems. At a time in our nation’s history when “true” leadership is needed most it appears we are saddled with ideologues claiming the title of leader more often than we can imagine. The fundamental problem as I see it is that, somewhere along the way our political process began rewarding political positioning over courage. You see, it takes real courage to stand up and be a leader. This is the kind of courage that is observed in the homes of the poor and less fortunate every day. You see, the people I speak of do not have the luxury of “choosing” to lead. They have to lead or the family doesn’t eat, or the lights are turned off. Leadership lessons for this group of individuals are conducted in the school of hard knocks. This school offers no formal degree program, but the course of study is no less challenging than the best college education in the world. The lessons taught in this school redefine the term “high stakes” when it comes to outcomes. The lessons in this school are required courses for survival. These are the lessons that make the difference in living and existing. You see leadership for those of us born at the bottom rung of society’s ladder is a matter of survival. Leadership for the people who are forced to lead or be run over is a matter of necessity. Therefore, it becomes an increasing baffling phenomenon for any of us who know and understand the requirements for true leadership; which are really not that difficult! The first thing required is courage. Leaders absolutely must have and demonstrate, on a regular basis, courage. The courage spoken of is one that begins internally and is demonstrated externally. The renowned editor of the Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington, described internal leadership as “This kind of leadership is generated instead by an inner force that compels us to try and make the surrounding world- whether it’s our family, our community, the entire nation, or beyond- a better place”. The act of trying to make the world around us a better place is not only noble, but appears to be a common experience occurrence among, not just those in leadership positions, but ordinary citizens. We tend to undervalue the internal qualities of leadership that made outsiders like Martin Luther King, Jr, Mahatma Gandhi, and Mother Teresa such powerful leaders. Leadership is a term that seems to have been used whenever it is convenient to describe an individual as a person we should we should believe. Today we understand that a leader does not need to have the anointment of the status quo, not even the majority. Leadership manifests itself in many ways; most especially in some of the most unexpected places. Therefore, a logical assumption is that leadership qualities are exhibited in the people most likely to exhibit such behaviors. The notion of leadership behavior is one that appears to be easily attributed to certain types, but we should now understand and believe that leadership is much, much more.
It seems that leadership today has become a lost art. When I view the evening news and hear of flight delays and the many other “self-inflicted” wounds we have essentially invited into our society, it is enough to bring tears to one’s eye. The greed that has seemingly taken over this nation’s leaders is astonishing. But then I stop and think; that maybe it’s me. Maybe my personal standards are more than should be placed on any elected official. Maybe I hold the folks we send to state houses and Washington D.C. to a higher standard than is reasonable. Maybe the folks who choose to give up and become apathetic have somehow broken the code. It certainly appears the our leaders want nothing to do with everyday citizens who are going to work, trying to make ends meet in an economy that only knows how to say NO. It appears to some of us that we are existing to provide the numbers necessary to keep the DOW moving in a positive direction for the savvy investor who does not care or recognize my struggles. There has to be something wrong with my logic. Someone please convince me that I am totally off base and completely wrong. We live in the greatest nation on earth. We believe in ourselves and each other…maybe each other even more than ourselves. This is the land of the free and the home of the brave. So please tell me how it can be that the people we send to the nation’s capital can stand before a national audience, not to mention the parents of slaughtered children, and tell us that background checks to purchase assault weapons violate the second amendment. How can these same “honorable” individuals two days later claim that the tragic Boston Marathon bombings require a hold on immigration reform. These actions by OUR elected officials baffle and confuse me. Please help!
Cherry Thoughts 