This blog is just my thoughts, my notes, my ideas in managing life through leadership. Though I have been involved in leadership roles and training in the past, I never really understood it in the sense as I understand it now. For years, I have been in a position that requires leadership, but never really took it by the horns. I thought it was all about people following...but it's not. It is only within the past six months of my career that I have appreciated the contrast between a good leader and an excellent leader. It's always easy to appreciate the poor leaders, as they give us lessons in how we don't want to lead. But until one has had the true fortune of being lead by an excellent leader, it becomes easy to see where the good leaders, though inherently fine people, are not good enough. The good leaders have what it takes to be excellent, but it's usually okay just to be good. However, when good leader gets to experience an excellent leader at the top, it should make the good leader realize that good isn't good 'nuff.
I've known many good leaders, but have personally known only a few excellent leaders. A few of these excellent leaders do not hold positions high in the organization I work for...the ones whom I can name are the daily grind workers who come in, move the organization and its people towards the mission's goal, uplift others, take care of themselves, and walk away with a mixed sense of satisfaction of a job well-done, yet dissatisfaction that more could be done. They have patience with their dissatisfaction and know that it takes time to develop people to reach their potential. These excellent leaders do not try to "mix" the right people for a job to be done well. They understand the people with whom they work and use the best skills of each person to keep them engaged, learning, and working towards a goal. These excellent leaders meet people "at the well," so to speak. (John 4: 1-26)
Though they may not hold specific titles, the excellent leaders know their value to the organization. They study and work towards the titles, but they never seem to sacrifice their core values to step on others to reach those titles. When someone they know gets promoted and they don't feel the promotion to be just, the excellent leaders feel the pain of it. Some will voice their opinions respectfully. Others will just go about their business and figure out the best ways to survive through their values. But all in all, these excellent leaders will work to provide the newly-promoted person with the tools and information that the newly-promoted one needs to function appropriately.
Excellent leaders possess wisdom. They listen. They do not throw others under the bus.
But I find rarely that these excellent leaders move up in my organization. I almost think that their minds are elsewhere and not always focused on the promotional exams. Three years ago, however, we had an excellent leader join our organization as the one-in-charge and begin to move us ahead...at lightning speed. And now this person is leaving because personal well-being and family are most important. It was quite a ride and I want to continue to honor this person and be one who helps move us forward.
Unfortunately for me, I look in the mirror and I do not see anything close to the excellent leaders whom I admire so much. I see an okay-to-good leader. Having experienced an excellent leader at the top, I realize that I may as well be a piss poor leader. So, I'm going to fly (fall) out of my little nest that I've gotten used to. I thought my nest provided me with a fantastic birds-eye view of world. But all I saw were the branches and leaves of my tree, along with bits of sky. Here I go, but this time, I start from the ground, right at the foundation of my tree.
