A colleague looked unhappy, so I asked, “What’s wrong?”
Leslie responded, “I am dismayed by what is happening in the political arena. Bickering. Fear. Espousing ideology instead of acting. And the real news seems mostly about the President’s latest shocking tweet.”
“You define yourself as a leader, right?” I already knew the answer before asking this.
“Of course,” Leslie answered.
I then asked, “What has changed within you? You are usually bold and decisive.”
After thinking about this, Leslie responded, “I feel discouraged because I’m concerned that good leadership is quickly disappearing.”
“May I give you some perspective? Because it seems to me that you may have lost yours.”
Leslie answered slowly, “Maybe… I do need that.”
This is what I told her.
Good Leaders Still Exist and Are Needed
Leadership is always there, both good and bad. Right now, poor leadership is the soup de jour and getting all the attention of legitimate media and bloggers. However, we still have high quality leaders throughout society. The everyday leader, people like you and me, don’t attract attention. We go about our business doing what a good leader does best – having positive impact and beneficial influence.
If you feel discouraged (like Leslie), may I suggest that you put all your efforts into being a high road leader. This leader strives to bring people together, instead of forming factions. The high road leader seeks solutions that benefit everyone rather than the privileged few. Yes, crafting win-win-win solutions can sometimes seem impossible; however, the high road leader stays optimistic and has the courage to try to seek consensus.
I suggest reconnecting with the uplifting values that support the sort of leader you want to be. Then, live those values each day. Seek out others who share similar values and collaborate with them. This powerful combination of energy and intention works because of these natural laws of leadership.
- People united by a common bond support one another.
- When people work hard at working together, they can be unstoppable.
- Working together, nothing is impossible.
There are many discouraged leaders and non-leaders today. That is because we – the world – are undergoing a major transformation. What you are experiencing is the sort of cataclysmic change that happened when:
- The printing press spawned books, magazines, and newspaper,
- People left the farms for factories,
- Computers outperformed calculators and slide rules,
- Email replaced paper correspondence and phone calls, and
- Traveling to work by jet became as commonplace as commuting by car.
This shift in society affects nearly everyone and induces stress in us all.
For this reason, you and I CANNOT sit back and lament. We must take a stand for the values and morals we believe in. We should channel our efforts into building the secure and collaborative future we want.
Remember, each time you help someone within your sphere of influence, you have a positive impact on this world.
After our conversation, Leslie left with a smile because in that moment, a high-quality, everyday leader made a commitment to stop being reluctant and to own the courage required to lead from the high road.