By Richard Brody
One of the most distinctive differences between true leaders and others simply in positions of leadership is the differentiation in the way they approach taking positions, speaking out, and being proactive. Many wannabe leaders behave in a fearful, far less than self - confident manner, often waiting to speak out until they observe some sort of clearcut direction that others indicate they favor. Real leadership is never about leading by polls, but rather proactively analyzing the organization's needs, goals, missions, options and alternatives, and then doing all one can do to get others to buy into his vision. Martin Luther King Jr. stated, "A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus." While mediocre individuals wait to see how the proverbial wind is blowing before they take any position, a true leader fights for his beliefs by using his energies and efforts to motivate others to follow and believe in his approaches and ideas.
1. Far too often, we tend to misinterpret someone's popularity with how good a leader he is. While in some cases this may be the case, in the vast majority of instances, it is merely because that individual avoids rocking the boat or doing anything in any way controversial, or even potentially so. Many politicians, for example, rather than leading, decide what positions they will take based on their polling and what they interpret as being the most politically expedient. When one looks at back at the accomplishments of most of these individuals, we tend to witness little in terms of longer term creativity or addressing these types of needs. Politics by polling rarely has anything to do with genuine leadership.
2. Great leaders realize that the only way to truly lead is to strategically plan, taking into consideration the past (or the organization's heritage, etc.), present needs, short term scenarios, intermediate and long term objectives. This strategic plan must align directly with the mission and goals of that organization if it is to be relevant and sustainable. This, therefore, requires that part of this procedure must also be fully evaluating the mission statement, and tweaking it if necessary, to make it more relevant and sustainable. These individuals, therefore, must be self - confident, visionary and willing to speak out on important and relevant issues, even when others resist or refuse to do so. It is the necessity of a true leader to transform the innovative and perhaps controversial to understandable and believable goals, that others are motivated by, and truly care about.
Are you willing to be a true leader? Or, do you simply want to hold some position of leadership?
Richard has owned businesses, been a COO, CEO, and Director of Development, as well as a consultant. He has professionally run events, consulted to over a thousand leaders, and conducted personal development seminars, for over 30 years. Rich has written three books and well over a thousand articles. His company, PLAN2LEAD, LLC has an informative website http://plan2lead.net and Plan2lead can also be followed on Facebook http://facebook.com/Plan2lead
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