Lead Differently
March 21, 2012
"Leaders and leadership are often thought of in a poor light. Leadership is often viewed as a necessary evil. There is even a growing voice to the idea of leaderless organizations. I'm not sure where that is headed, but I do know I don't want to be a part of a leaderless organization. My experience is that people want to be well led. We all seem to thrive when we are under great leadership. We know it when we see it because our talents are being leveraged, our purpose is clear, our contributions are appreciated, our ideas are welcomed and we're making progress organizationally and personally. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Most of us have had an experience or two—or more, in which we were NOT well led. We were doing time and watching the clock. We weren't giving extra effort because that was not what we were told to do and doing what we were told to do is ALL we were supposed to do! Which of these scenarios matches your experience with leadership – necessary evil or liberating force? People and organizations are much more likely to thrive if the leader subscribes to what Robert Greenleaf called Servant Leadership. It is not a new idea—Greenleaf didn't invent it nor did I. However, it is an idea whose time has come... It is time to Lead Differently!"