Transparent Leadership
Are great leaders born or created? Neither...they evolve. Excellent Leadership, according to Bob, comes from a personal desire to positively affect outcomes along with others. I have had the fortune of knowing several great leaders and only through my involvement with them and understanding their wins & losses could I grow in my abilities to lead by applying these traits to my style. Creating a leader would be like creating a world-class athlete. They are not created but start with God given talent and evolve into a skilled performer only through practice, dedication, and fortitude.
A Leader has three immutable traits: Vision, Innovation, and Performance.
Let me expand;
Vision is the ability to see and focus on what's important before it is obvious. The view from a airplane is different than on the ground so leadership vision is placing yourself in a higher altitude position regardless of elevation in order to have a clearer vision. Have you ever heard of Michael Jordon's "in the zone" concept? There were times when MJ performed on the court at a higher level than normal and he described that as being "in the zone". He stated his vision of the game was more clear than normal and he would anticipate where the ball was going before it got there. The rim, or goal, seemed larger than normal and he could respond better with his talent. What would it take for us to be "in the zone", despite all the noise, clutter, and distractions?
Innovation reminds me of a quote from Moms Mabley, "if you always do what you've done, you will always get what you've always got" also translated, "insanity is doing the same thing over and over again then expecting a different outcome". Only through our ability to adapt or evolve can we become innovative. We can get mired in traditional processes because that's the way it's always been. True innovation comes from the desire to do something better or on a greater scale and developing the best means to achieve this goal. We don't farm, educate, or conduct business today in the same way as 100 years ago. What can we do to improve or innovate how will live, fellowship or make a living in the next 20 years. What's going to happen with all the old tall traditional office buildings in downtown metro areas when business can be conducted in a less structured facility. Innovation will change how we work and play and the traffic congested commute to the traditional workplace will fall into the category with all the other "how we use to do it" topics.
Performance is the ultimate goal of adding value to the solution. No organization, group, or business can exist very long without reaching a desired performance. I have witnessed how many organizations and companies are no longer around because they could not evolve, adapt, or innovate to achieve a desired performance. They either did not have the proper directional vision or could not provide a product or service that was of value to someone else. Love it or not but we currently live in a consumer society and should always be aware or the value we bring to what we do. We all compete for playing time and need to continually sharpen our skill-sets and unbury our talents in order to bring our A-game to life, work or play.
What does this have to do with Transparent Leadership? Well dear friends, with all the information and knowledge available today at the press of a laptop key we have to not only talk the talk but walk the walk. You cannot be a effective leader unless your are either autocratic (which won't last long) or emphacratic (a Bob word)which is the ability to relate with others and have them share the vision and direction of where you are going together. People don't care about what you know but want to know you care!!!
Let me know your thoughts and ideas and check back to learn my theory of a potentialist - someone who can easily evaluate the future value (potential) of something.
posted by Bob @ 4:43 AM
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