Successful Living > Real Life Lessons > What Does It Take to Be A Leader?

Creating A Better Leader

A leader is an "individual with a mission."

The mission could be building a bigger business or a better product; making a kinder world (or finding a new one); defeating a threatening enemy (war, disease, famine, ignorance); helping the poor, sick, handicapped or orphaned; (providing justice to the oppressed); or stewarding God's good creation (by caring for a part of the cosmos - art, science, church, family, business, government, the environment, etc.). But having a mission is not what makes a leader effective; the following 11 criteria also must be present.

1. To accomplish his or her mission, a leader must be a visionary.

That is, they must provide followers with a vision of what can be -of a new possibility-that will ignite their energy and capture their loyalty. To do so, leaders often have to think "outside the box": to see things in new ways, step out of the dominant paradigms that deny possibilities. Think about it: Where would we be today if a few leaders hadn't been able to defy the paradigms of their day? Consider:

One could add hundreds of other examples, but there's the general idea.

2. A visionary leader also must be a strategist.

The leader must not only present a vision, he or she must convincingly demonstrate its potential realization and how to get there, i.e., how we get from "A" (where we are now) to "B" (where we want to be). To do this, the leader must act as a "path-finder" or "pioneer," charting a course through virgin terrain. This requires strong gifts for strategic analysis - realistic assessment that 1) counts the costs and 2) identifies and analyzes potential obstacles as well as resources.

This knowledge then must be painstakingly developed into clearly articulated strategy. Otherwise, the vision will remain a dream as the old cliché, "Good ideas are a dime a dozen," addresses. How many people have had brilliant ideas for new products or causes that failed to materialize? Most likely, they lacked either strategic plans or the ability to implement them.

3. A leader with a vision and strategy must think in new ways.

How can an objective previously considered impossible be attained? History is rife with leaders who found new "paths" in pursuit of their mission:

While these examples represent a rather grand scale of attainment, the need to think "out of the box" to find the most effective path, is the same no matter what the goal. Whether building a local church or business, conducting a fund-raising or political campaign or garnering support for a cause, civic organization or investment venture, a willingness to try a different approach is essential. By definition, achieving a vision that has never (or not very often) been realized presents a complex set of challenges. Thus, the leader's role is to solve complex problems in order to reach the "Promised Land" - and to recognize that the solution may be unusual, novel or risky.

4. A leader lives the courage of one's convictions.

All this talk about defying dominant paradigms or stepping out of the box implies some strong, non-conformist tendencies, i.e., as in not conforming to expectations and assumptions of "the people" or "conventional wisdom". Most people are externally validated, meaning they are dependent on the opinion of others to confirm their direction. For these folks, "others" provide key approval for everything from one's career to appearance, manner of speech and acceptable topics or attitudes. Talking, thinking and dressing like everyone else in one's peer group in order to "fit in," to avoid any criticism, are paramount.

In contrast, the healthy leader is internally validated. He knows within himself whether his work is excellent or mediocre. He knows what he's a master of and what others are inferior in, and he weighs their opinions accordingly. Just as important for his success, he also must recognize what areas he is weaker in and seek out "masters" who can offer tactical assistance for his overall strategy. A frequent misstep here would be overestimating one's own competence, which can be, and often is, fatal. So too, relying on others' supposed "expertise" can result in disaster. It's a difficult balance that can take decades to master the distinctions and nuances involved.

This is not to say that a leader doesn't want to be liked, approved of, commended or agreed with. It's simply that she can live without them. When a leader receives such affirmation, she receives it well, but for her a little goes a long way. What carries her through is the courage of her convictions. Conversely, if she hasn't read widely, or mastered her chosen field, if she has overlooked important advice from proven experts and failed to learn from her own mistakes, then her convictions will rest on faulty assumptions, and her "courage" may drive her, her convictions and her flock of "lemming" followers right over the nearest cliff! In the past century alone, witness the many cults, malevolent utopian causes (communism, Nazism, etc.) and crusaders - some perhaps within your own group of acquaintances--whose vision crashed and burned, usually with a full manifest of passengers on board.

5 . A leader understands the importance of self-awareness.

Leaders are only human, meaning they will be ignorant in many areas, some critical to their success. No one can be a visionary, teacher, scholar, people person, administrator, writer, speaker, and cash flow manager all at the same time! Many "leaders," however, choose to remain blissfully ignorant of their own areas of ignorance i.e., they don't know what they don't know . Because leaders usually are brilliant in a few areas, they're tempted to cover their lack of knowledge in other areas with arrogance. They assume that since they're a genius at theology or physics or medicine, they must be adequate-if not exceptional-in all areas of endeavor, from people skills to political strategy to investment analysis. In this case, a leader's ignorance is only exceeded by his arrogance. Unfortunately, this weakness is pandemic among leaders. How many leaders do you know who've missed opportunities for true impact because of poor "people skills" or "financial judgment"-missing links that they ignored or denied?

So, what's the remedy? First, while valuing his intuitive sense, a leader must be on guard against his most common enemy: hubris . A good place to start is by recognizing where you have some room for improvement. If you have difficulty conducting a realistic self-assessment, consult your mate! Secondly, listen carefully for "feedback" concerning how you affect others. You may think you're a master organizer, scholar, gifted leader and saint, but what is others' experience of you? The discrepancy between your assumptions and others' experience of you may be sobering indeed. For this reason, and because of the profound insecurity that drives many to "be leaders," some leaders tend to avoid such revelations at all costs, including the success of their own missions. When fragile self-identity is at stake, too many leaders will choose "being right" or "saving face"--even over-achieving their stated objectives.

This brings the question of motivation to the fore. Why be a leader anyway? Why take the risks that come with power or glory, just to compensate for some internal insecurity? Or is your motivation simply to get the job done and serve? Here's one test: If you're not as sure as you possibly can be (given that none of us can be totally objective in assessing our own motives) that a given course of action is in the best interests of the people you would lead, do you still feel compelled to lead?

6. A leader has passion.

A leader must mobilize people so as to overcome numerous obstacles if she is to realize her vision. She must energize people through her passion , which in turn is rooted in conviction. Today we seem largely to have many passionate leaders who lack convictions-and a few dispassionate men of great conviction. Neither will do. Passion for new possibilities is contagious. Likewise, a lack of enthusiasm. If you're not excited about the difference you can make, why should your audience be? An interesting definition of "enthusiasm" is God (theos) and en (within). Many people will be motivated if they sense your vision is at least in part "God-inspired."

Yet a new vision of the future, no matter how passionately expressed, will fall flat unless it connects with its intended audience. Consequently, the leader must not only have a profound knowledge of the hopes and desires of those she would enroll, but also of the potential frustrations and bedevilments they might bring. She must, in fact, share a deep empathy with the people she hopes to lead.

Now, empathy is not sympathy, or even compassion. Empathy entails a "connection" which allows one to not only see through others' eyes, but also to "feel" what they feel. When we identify with people on a visceral level, they intuitively "get it." An astute audience can tell whether your identification with them is authentic or opportunistic. If the leader is authentically empathetic, his words resonate within the hearer: "Yes, he's right. This is the answer."

The leader must also value those he would lead . Military leaders like George Patton or Robert E. Lee could demand (and receive) superhuman effort from their men because, at a gut level, the men they led knew they weren't viewed as just cannon fodder. On a non-military level one also could think of leaders like Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Mother Theresa who were devoted to the best interest of their followers. Conversely, when the flock figures out that the shepherd really doesn't care all that much about their personal welfare, they scatter. Heeding the old adage, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care (about them)," would have saved more than a few leaders the loss of their support, influence and reputations.

7. A leader is a prudent risk-taker.

A leader must be ever vigilant for any opportunity that allows him to advance or strengthen his cause, mobilize new resources, or exploit a new opening to circumvent troublesome obstacles. Carpe Diem-seize the day! should be his morning mantra. Consequently, he constantly must be willing to take risks--that alone may qualify one as a leader, as the vast majority of people are "risk averse" to the extreme. To be successful, however, the leader must learn how to carefully weigh each risk, and to have "contingency plans," in place to take prudent risks, if you will. The wisdom required (and the humility to obtain wise counsel) will once again set the successful leader apart from many who want to lead, but will fail because they've never learned how to calibrate risk or "pack extra parachutes."

A leader needs to be generous in overlooking human frailty and in rewarding and acknowledging others' contributions. In other words, he needs to be magnanimous. No one wants to follow a small-minded, mean-spirited, glory-hogging cheapskate!

There's simply no substitute for reading deeply and widely in order to understand your strategic situation. How did you (your business, product, church, or cause.) arrive at its current status? What historical, political, economic, sociological or environmental factors played a role? What do your critics say, and why? What do you think of opposing strategies? What ideas are shaping those people you want to influence? What insights can authors offer you about your general context, your own presuppositions, your opponent's world-view, etc.? History does repeat itself every several generations. If we read widely, (meaning not just the guys you agree with) we save ourselves much wasted time, effort and many embarrassing miscalculations . Plus, we gain the added benefit of being well educated and well rounded. After all, ideas do have consequences.

Leadership is earned through service . When we serve, we volunteer to take responsibility (the ability to respond) for whatever we've signed up for. When we serve responsibly, we're awarded authority concomitant with our responsibility to facilitate effectively carrying out our assignments. Thus, the more responsibility we take and discharge well, the more authority we are granted. Sooner than we think, we work our way up from bus boy to manager, from club secretary to club president, from lowly volunteer to press secretary, from volunteering on city committees to being elected to the city council, from altar boy to Pope (well, okay, there are some exceptions).

Many leaders, in seeking to serve God, eventually tend to confuse their will with that of the Almighty. A common joke amongst all too many staffers of faith-based organizations goes something like this "What's the difference between God and _______ (name of leader)? God doesn't think he's _______ (name of leader)."

Lest we think too much of ourselves and our missions, let us remind ourselves that we are but briefly passing, and thus we will be briefly used. King Solomon, in probing the mysteries and meaning of life and calling exclaimed: "Let us state the conclusion of the whole matter: Respect God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all." (Eccl. 12:13). If we focus on Solomon's advice, the rest will fall into place.