WHAT IS LEADERSHIP? … PATH TO LIFE SUCCESS

James C. Hunter said,“I never cease to be amazed that organizations do not insist that their leaders be continually improving and persistently working toward becoming the best leaders they can be. With the awesome responsibility of leading others and the high stakes involved, it seems obvious to me that organizations would focus their attention on helping their leaders develop their leadership skills and therby their character.” It is vitally important that leaders and potential leaders tap into their inner well of passion, motivation and ability to amplify personal [team] growth and development.
“We need leaders of inspired idealism, leaders to whom are granted great visions, who dream greatly and strive to make their dreams come true; who can kindle the people with the fire from their own burning souls.” As stated by former President Roosevelt this is what leadership means.
The study of ‘leadership’ consists of many different but yet connected parts; the concept of leadership perhaps even a complex one. Even in asking the question‘What is Leadership?’; one immediately conjures up words like ‘character’, ‘passion’,'vision’, ‘inspiration’, ‘motivation’, ‘excellence’, ‘empowering’, ‘charisma’, ‘integrity’ and ‘honesty’.
In a quest to further understand leadership and to be a leader one finds themselve on a daily journey, a journey which breathes life into life itself. It encompasses the reading and study of many great books: the Holy Bible, John Maxwell ‘The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership’, Jim Collins ‘Good to Great’, Thomas J. Peters ‘In Search of Excellence’, Robin S. Sharma ‘Leadership Wisdom’, Paul J. Meyer ‘Become The Coach You Were Meant To Be’, Chris Brady|Orrin Woodward ‘Launching A Leadership Revolution’, Dale Carnegie ‘How To Win Friends and Influence People’, Stephen Covey ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’, Norman Vincent Peale ‘The Power Of Positive Thinking’: and this list is by no means exhaustive.

It is important and helpful to turn to the experts. The following is a short list:

1. New Testament, Matthew, XV, 14: If the blind lead the blind both shall fall into the ditch.
2. Wendell Wilkie: Education is the mother of leadership.
3. Voltaire: The right of commanding is no longer an advantage transmitted by nature; like an inheritance, it is the fruit of labors, the price of courage.
4. Thomas D. Bailey: Conductors of great symphony orchestras do not play every musical instrument; yet through leadership the ultimate production is an expressive and unified combination of tones.
5. Franklin Field: Few people are born leaders. Leadership is achieved by ability, alertness, experience and keeping posted; by willingness to accept responsibility; a knack of getting along with people; an open mind, and a head that stays clear under stress.
6. George Matthew Adams: The greatest asset in leadership is courage. Cowards never lead. Leadership requires great patience. No one will follow an irritable or impatient leader. Leadership requires tact, fairness and confidence. One man can’t lead another who distrusts his leadership. Many other things are important — but these things are imperative.
7. John W. Dodge: A leader of men must make decisions quickly; be independent; act and stand firm; be a fighter; speak openly, plainly, frankly; make defeat his lessons; cooperate; coordinate; use the best of any alliances or allies; walk with active faith courageously toward danger or the unknown; create a staff; know, love and represent the best interests of his followers; be loyal, true, frank and faithful; reward loyalty; have a high, intelligent and worthy purpose and ideal. Do justice, love mercy; fear no man but fear only God.
8. Bill George: The leader’s job is to provide an empowering environment that enables employees to serve their customers snd provides them the training, education, and support they need.
9. Charles Reynolds Brown: Give a man integrity, common sense, and a sense of humor, and he has in him the main essentials necessary for leadership.
10. Kenneth O. Gangel: I consider leadership to be the exercise of one’s special gifts under the call of God to serve a certain group of people in achieving the goals God has given them toward the end of glorifying Christ.
11. Dr. George S. Benson: A vital ingredient of leadership is the courage to buck the stream, a willingness to face unpopularity if sound logic requires it. Most of the worthwhile advances in America have come as a result of sound and courageous leadership. In today’s world, good ideas and a little imagination make a big difference. They separate the valuable individual from the average performer, the productive research project from the fizzle, the profitable sales campaign from the dud, the prosperous nation from the poor one, the successful company from the also-ran.

In reading the above we certainly get a clear picture of what leadership is and when we include the following from John Maxwell;

“Leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less. People have so many misconceptions about Leadership. When they hear that someone has an impressive title or an assigned leadership position, they assume that he is a leader. Sometimes that’s true. But titles don’t have much value when it comes to leading. True leadership cannot be awarded, appointed, or assigned. It comes only from influence, and that can’t be mandated. It must be earned.”  ‘The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership’

we can envision our own leadership Picasso!

What I have seen and experienced is this; “Leadership is indeed earned! We are all children of God, thus we are/deserve to be loved and respected, however, leadership and trust must be earned. It is not negotiable.”Author Jim Collins, stated in ‘Good to Great’, “Leaders have ambition beyond their own personal self-interest. They are not satisfied with personal success only, but focus entirely upon furthering the vision of the enterprise or the team.” 

“Leadership is a journey, it is a way of life which breathes life into life itself.” 

“WE BELIEVE IN YOUR DREAMS”

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Tags: Excellence, Financial Freedom, Hughie Bagnell, Leadership, LIFE, Motivation, Path To Life Success, What Is Leadership?