Today is the last in my series of notes on the book The Leadership Challenge. We made it! I am kidding, of course. As it turns out, this series has been very well received. The number of views have been off-the-charts. For that reason, I will likely do something similar, in the future.
This last part is largely an overview and recap. So, it will be shorter than the previous six. I hope you enjoy. Have a great week!
Part
Seven – Leadership for Everyone
Chapter
Thirteen – Leadership is Everyone's Business
The
journey to the top of the mountain often takes a decade or more.
None
of us knows our true strength until challenged to bring it forth.
We're
all born. What we do with what we have before we die is up to us.
It's
possible for everyone to learn to lead.
Those
who are most successful at bringing out the best in others are those
who set achievable “stretch” goals and believe that they have the
ability to develop the talents of others.
We
do know that effective leaders are constantly learning.
Jim
Whittaker, REI's first employee and the first American to climb Mount
Everest, once observed, “You never conquer the mountain. You
conquer yourself–your doubts and your fears.”
Fear
of failing or fear of what might happen doesn't help anyone.
If
getting to the top is hard, staying there is even harder.
Leadership
development is self-development. The instrument of leadership is the
self, and mastery of the art of leadership comes from mastery of the
self. Self-development is not about stuffing in a whole bunch of new
information or trying out the latest technique. It's about leading
out of what is already in your soul. It's about liberating the leader
within you. It's about setting yourself free.
The
quest for leadership is first an inner quest to discover who you are.
Through self-development comes the confidence needed to lead.
Self-confidence is really awareness of and faith in your own powers.
The
more you know about the world, the easier it is to approach it with
assurance.
Work
to become all you can be.
As
you give back some of what you have been given, you can reconstruct
your community. As you serve the values of freedom, justice,
equality, caring, and dignity, you can constantly renew the
foundations of democracy.
All
great leaders have wrestled with their souls.
You
can't lead others until you've first led yourself through a struggle
with opposing values.
Without
a set of beliefs, your life has no rudder, and you're easily blown
about by the winds of fashion. A credo that resolves competing
beliefs also leads to personal integrity.
To
step out into the unknown, begin with the exploration of the inner
territory.
You'll
never find an example of a leader who enlisted 100 percent of the
constituents in even the most compelling of future possibilities. Not
only is this realistic, it's fortunate. We should all be grateful for
the forces we can't control and the voices we can't enlist. We need
the cynics, skeptics, and alternative voices to keep our freedom. We
need the challenges, surprises, and adversities to strengthen our
courage.
Change
for change's sake can be just as demoralizing as complacency.
Be
careful to not have too much fun. Sometimes we can lose sight of the
mission because we're having so much fun.
(Also,
be careful because) it's easy to be seduced by power and importance.
Do
not allow work to consume you.
Always
remain open and full of wonder.
Constituents
look for leaders who demonstrate an enthusiastic and genuine belief
in the capacity of others, who strengthen people's will, who supply
the means to achieve, and who express optimism for the future.
Without
hope there can be no courage.
The
secret is success is to stay in love (with your mission)
Leadership
is an affair of the heart.
