Leadership- Misconception of position

 

1. Misconception of Position in Leadership

 “The key to successful leadership is influence, not authority.” (Ken Blanchard)

 There is a prevailing misconception that leadership is about the position because leadership is often associated with job titles. This misunderstanding has deceived more people than all the other misconceptions combined. It has created the illusion that once you attain a certain level of authority, you become a leader. This is untrue.

You may become the head of a department, but not necessarily the leader in that department. The leader is the one who serves and sacrifices the most for a worthy cause. And if that is not you, you are not the leader, but rather merely the person with the position of authority. Job titles and positions are not indicative of leadership, but rather demanding of it.

When an organization sends out a communiqué to announce the hiring of a new chief financial officer (CFO), it usually indicates that a new leader has been hired for the finance department. While there is an element of truth in this, it does not automatically translate to effective leadership.

A new “leader” may have been hired for that department, but the position does not make the incumbent a leader, neither do the responsibilities. While many people unfortunately confuse leadership with positions of authority, positions of authority do not automatically translate to leadership in action.

Being the governor of a state is a rank of authority, just like a high court judge. But until you begin to demonstrate the leadership capabilities of informing, influencing and inspiring others, you are not a leader, but merely a person in the role of authority. No one has the right to claim the title of a leader. It is conferred informally by the beneficiaries of your hard work and sacrifice and by the consistent exceptionalism of your character and service.

Most job promotions, I discovered, are often based on education, experience and exposure rather than on the leadership abilities to effectively inform, influence and inspire others to achieve greater heights. Despite the value of education, experience and exposure, if that new CFO is unable to effectively inform, influence and inspire the people in his department, then that organization has merely hired just another employee. Andrew Carnegie and Henry Ford had no formal education, but because of their remarkable leadership capabilities, history classifies them as exceptional leaders of modern industrialization.

 

A cultural change is necessary for correcting this misconception in your organization. It requires a paradigm shift in the mindset of everyone in the institution, especially those who consider themselves as leaders because they simply hold positions of authority.

 

When governments and organizations consult with me on this topic, I work with them to build a corporate strategy that will inspire every employee to maximize their potential, regardless of their job title. The objective is to create a workplace where employees can best apply their talents and skills both inside and outside the organization.

Since titles and positions are important to organizational structure, communiqués about new positions should clearly indicate the role that is being filled. Corporate memos should emphasize how the leadership capabilities of the appointee or incumbent were instrumental in her successful promotion.

When an organization announces the hiring of a new “leader” instead of indicating the position, they would be subtly communicating to other employees that leadership is a title. They would be telling everyone else that the only person who is paid to lead is the person who was hired for it; everyone else must follow that person thereafter.

If you think that holding a position of authority automatically makes you a leader, you may never become one. Organizations that wish to advance their vision and mission should create a culture where employees can willfully demonstrate their leadership

 

Live a Life

On being asked about the ups and downs of his career, movie star Kevin Costner responded with these words, “I’m living a life.” I found this reply to be profound. Rather than spending his days judging the events and experiences of his life as either good or bad, he adopted a neutral stance and simply decided to accept them for what they are: a natural part of the path he is on. We all travel different roads to our ultimate destinations. For some of us, the path is rockier than for others. But no one reaches the end without facing some form of adversity. So rather fight it, why not accept it as the way of life? Why not detach yourself from the outcomes and simply experience every circumstance that enters your life to the fullest? Feel the pain and savor the happiness. If you have never visited the valleys, the view from the mountaintop is not as breathtaking. Remember, there are no real failures in life, only results. There are no true tragedies, only lessons. There really are no problems, only opportunities waiting to be recognized as solutions by the person of wisdom. 

Don't Dream It, Be It.

Take the Unfathomable Risks

 I will make you this promise: on your deathbed, in the twilight of your life, it will not be all the risks you took that you will regret the most. Rather, what will fill your heart with the greatest amount of regret and sadness will be all those risks that you did not take, all those opportunities you did not seize and all those fears you did not face. Remember that on the other side of fear lies freedom. And stay focused on the timeless success principle that says: “life is nothing more than a game of numbers – the more risks you take, the more rewards you will receive.” Or in the words of Sophocles, “Fortune is not on the side of the faint – hearted.” To live your life to the fullest, start taking more risks and doing the things you fear. Get good at being uncomfortable and stop walking the path of least resistance. Sure, there is a greater chance you will stub your toes when you walk the road less traveled, but that is the only way you can get anywhere. As my wise mother always says, “you cannot get to third base with one foot on second.” Or as Andre Gide observed, “One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.” The real secret to a life of abundance is to stop spending your days searching for security and start spending your time pursuing opportunity. Sure, you will meet with your share of failures if you start living more deliberately and passionately. But failure is nothing more than learning how to win. Or as my dad observed one day, “Andrew, it’s risky out on a limb. But that’s where all the fruit is.” Life is all about choices. Deeply fulfilled and highly actualized people simply make wiser choices than others. You can choose to spend the rest of your days sitting on the shore of life in complete safety or you can take some chances, dive deep into the water and discover the pearls that lie waiting for the person of true courage. To keep me inspired and centered on the fact that I must keep stretching my own personal boundaries as the days go by, I have posted the following words of Theodore Roosevelt in the study where I write: It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows in the end the triumphs of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

DON'T DREAM IT, BE IT.

GENEROSITY

“If you want love and abundance in your life, give it away.” (Mark Twain)

Generosity is more than just tossing a dollar into the lap of the less fortunate. It is where a spiritual mindset meets a heart that is so determined to make a difference in the lives of others. As a leader, what you must be generous with the most is your time, for most people are drawn to you to be informed, inspired and influenced, which requires your time.

In the words of Suze Orman, the renowned financial advisor, “True generosity is an offering; given freely and out of pure love. No strings attached. No expectations. Time and love are the most valuable possession you can share.” How generous would people say you are with your time, money and even talent?

Exceptional leaders are also known to be generous with their words of encouragement. They understand the power of words and thus use their words to build up people and themselves. Generosity is one of those words that have been relegated to religion alone, even though it is an essential trait for fulfillment in life. Without generosity, leadership is ineffective. As a leader, you must ensure that the quest for growth should never trump the need for generosity.

Exceptional leaders are also generous with their knowledge. It is the same passion with which they sought after knowledge that they also share it. As a leader, one of your objectives must be to ensure those around you know more than you do, without you ever falling behind in the knowledge that is required to advance the vision.

Of what use is your knowledge if those who are attracted to your vision do not leverage it? Millions of people were attracted to the generosity with which the iconic leaders we adore today shared their knowledge. Withholding information that would inform and inspire others is not leadership. No greater honour is there in life than to share with others what was a blessing to you.

DON'T DREAM IT, MAKE IT HAPPEN.

YOUR GREATNESS IS A CUBE

A cube is made of three sides; the length, breadth and height. This is also the basis of your life. The first dimension of a great life is the Length of life. This is the inward concern for one’s welfare. This is what causes a push to move forward, to achieve your goals and ambitions. This is the critical dimension of life where we are preoccupied with developing our inner powers. This is the selfish dimension of life. This is all about advancement, progress and achievement and all these result from well expressed ambitions and well defined dreams. The great a dream, the greater a person’s life becomes and as Dr. Robert Schuller said “There are no great people in this world, we are all ordinary individuals but the difference between us is that some have got bigger dreams than others.”

The second dimension of a great life is the breadth of life. This is the outward concern for the welfare of others. Greatness is also achieved by not being self centered but by focusing on empowering others. The more people you empower in life, the more you will enjoy in your life. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, observed “A man has not begun to live until he can rise above the narrow confines of his own individual concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity”. In fact by lighting other lamps, you make yours more brighter. Have a reflection of all great men and women in history then you will discover how they lived beyond themselves and most of them did not care much about their personal interests but offered their lives for the welfare of humanity. Examples are Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, J.F. Kennedy, Prof. Wangari Maathai, etc who made huge sacrifices in their life for the sake of the community. Remember anyone can be great because anyone can serve.

The last dimension is the height of life. In order to achieve an all round greatness, one must master the third dimension of a great life. You must move beyond the self interest (Length), empowering humanity (breadth) and reach up, way up for the God of universe, the creator of heaven and earth. Unfortunately most people forget this and after achieving the two dimensions, they assume they have achieved everything they wanted in life. Most attain the length of life, a few achieve the breadth of life while one or none achieve the height of life. We still need God and it is an obligation whether we like it or not otherwise we are only but pursuing a rat race. Most of us use God as a stepping stone to cross a flooded river but immediately forget about the stone after crossing to the other side of the water. Those who forget about God in the pursuit of greatness end up very badly and in life it does not matter how you begun but how you finish.

This is the three dimension of a complete life as propagated by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Love yourself, love your neighbor and love your God. Embrace the three dimensions for a greater life.

Don’t Dream It, Be it.

SELF DISCOVERY IS THE PASSWORD TO YOUR GREATNESS

The essence of life is about knowing, loving and respecting yourself as summarized by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Meir Kahare underscored this when he said “It is incumbent upon us to understand our greatness and believe in it so that we do notcheapen and profane ourselves”. I strongly concur with this. For a man to have a great life is self knowledge or self awareness. Every great legend lives with a top notch sense of self knowledge.

William Barclay was very clear about this. He said “There are only great days in a man’s life; the day they were born and the day they discovered why they were born.”  You might live for seventy years but be useless for all those days unless you discover the two most important days of your life. Better you live one day as a lion than living a hundred years as a sheep. Most people know their birthdays but unfortunately they don’t know anything about their second day which is the day they discover their life’s purpose. Purpose is the reason as to why something exists. In the process of unmasking your purpose, you have to be clear about who you are and what you really want in this world.

Peel off the layers of identity crisis, self doubt and reach deep into your true self. Make up your mind to be all you can be. Winston Churchill once said “Men occasionally stumble on the truth, but most of them pick themselves up, hurry off as if nothing ever happened”. This is the reality about how the purpose of life can be elusive to a person. The most challenging journey is the journey of self discovery. What values are most important to you? What is of great interest to you? What is your passion? What do you believe in? What do you aim to achieve? What gives you more energy? What are you are ready to keep pursuing even if there is no credit for having done it very well?

To achieve your purpose in life, you have to sacrifice what you are and have for what you could become. One of the critical steps to a great life is self knowledge. If you don’t understand yourself, others won’t understand you. You have to be quick in understanding yourself. Most of us we have met so many people but unfortunately we have failed to meet the most important person in our life- Ourselves. People know so much about great people but know very little about themselves. No wonder we have seen more followers than leaders in this world. Many people will be found glued on television cheering Manchester and Arsenal while on the other side they have not discovered the Arsenal or Manchester in themselves. It is very unfortunate. Nevertheless, It is never too late. You still have time for self discovery. Play the role that your destiny has for you. What is this that you have been ignoring that is calling for your utmost attention?

Self discovery and self acceptance is the key to your life’s purpose. Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power. These are the words of Tao Te Ching, These are the best parting words.

Don’t Dream it, Be it.

IT IS NOT DONE UNTIL YOU DO IT

None of the secrets of success will work unless you do. Theories won't lead to tour destiny but work will. You were created for action. The more enterprising you are, the more free you are and this is the rule of free enterprise system. William Shakespeare said Nothing can come of nothing. A belief is futile unless converted into action.For many of us who believe in the bible, the word Action is mentioned 500 times. If they don't work, you don't deserve to eat.
You cannot just dream yourself into what you could be. Recall the slogan of great leaders hub, Don't dream it, Be it. An old adage says," Laziness travels so slowly, poverty soon overtakes it." If you spend most of your precious time talking about success will win you the medal of failure.Laziness will force you to work twice.Remember God did not create apple juice, he created apples.The rest is up to man.While the world portrays itself as  a football game, most people instead of being players, they have decided to be on the side of spectators.
The world is divided into people who do things and people who talk  about doing things.I advise you be in the first group, there is no competition in this group. The other group has millions of people. God blessed us with work and he didn't put to us as a burden. We are all alike in our promises but we differ by our deeds. Wishing will never make you rich.

Brendon Francis said that Inspirations never go in for long engagements; they demand  immediate marriage to action. If the truth has to be known then most of our troubles arise from loafing when we should be working and talking when we should be listening.
The man who delivers the goods is the man who never gets turned down and is always gets a welcoming hand.

Don't dream it, Be it.