As many of you know, I am passionate about Leadership as well as Technology. With the background and experience I have in Management and the Information Technolgy, especially Data, Business Analytics, and Intelligence area, I needed to have a space to write where I can blend technology and leadership/management. That’s why the new blog is created. I am excited to introduce:
Is there a Leadership Trait that is so difficult to follow?
So, just a few days ago towards the end of December 2018, I was doing some research on Charities, which are the ones that are worthy of donation and how they use their money, etc. Now there are some sites that provide this kind of research information, they rank the charities based on various factors, etc. But I never thought that I would stumble upon a great leadership trait while searching for charities!
However, we are not talking about the charities here. It is about what I noticed while doing this research that caught my eyes.
Have you ever seen this menu that speaks “Leadership’?
You see when we visit any website; typically there are different menu options to make navigation easier. Simple and makes sense. But when I visited ‘GiveWell.org’, I was surprised to see one of the menu options. It shows like that:
Now, we all have visited hundreds of sites. How many times did you see an option that points you see what mistakes they made? I honestly admit that this was the first time that I noticed this, and even if you have seen any, most probably they are far and few between.
Obviously, I was curious to see what is under that menu option …
List of Mistakes?
When I clicked the menu option, I was surprised to find an updated list of mistakes! Honestly, I was really surprised to see that page.
And not only they made a listed mistakes as ‘Major issues’ and ‘ Smaller issues’, they have elaborated the issues in details but they also provided the details about each issue with ‘Steps we took to improve” like this:
I sincerely commend them for being bold and honest display of accepting the mistakes.
And that is a great lesson for a leader.
This Leadership trait is the one that will make a big difference to be a great leader.
Before we proceed, please note that I do not have any affiliation with this site and I do not know anyone associated with this site. It was purely a coincidence that I ended up on this site upon search.
Would you admit your mistakes?
So, how often are we ready to admit our mistakes? And that too in public?
Or should we admit our mistakes?
Well, rather than justifying not admitting the mistake, let’s seeing what the consequences of not admitting it are:
By not admitting the mistake, the act has to be defended. This will create a contradictory action in the leader’s mind. Internally the person would know that the act is not supporting the truth. On the other hand, the acting is required to play it out as if it is true.
There is no Oscar award to win here. Playing the game of lie will create stress, affect clear thinking, and it will spill over on overall performance. Great leader cannot afford not to admit a mistake and still perform the best.
First and foremost, the cover up will not be forever. Depending on the circumstances, the mistake will eventually surface, and when that happens there will be a huge issue of TRUST which will be lost! Not a good thing for a great leader.
Think about a leader who keeps defending about a mistake and later on it was found out. What happens to the credibility of the leader? The first thing people would ask is how many other things are lies are hiding in the closet?
Once you admit the mistake, it will relieve you. It will make you a better and confident person. It will make you strong as ‘Truth is Power’.
Yes, admitting mistake is difficult. Not that we need to admit the mistake in public, but it is still one of the most difficult tasks, whether it in our personal life or professional environment. But if we are courageous enough, if we are humble enough; if we are ready to improve enough, then we need to.
And that trait is the one that makes a great leader.
Leadership Traits and admitting the mistakes- Examples:
It is known that psychologically, the toughest word to say is ‘sorry’. We will not dig into the psychology here but let’s find out how many leaders did really admit their mistakes?
What did they learn from those mistakes?
What were the consequences? What were the reactions from those to who they admitted the mistake(s)?
Accept and move on:
In 1987, President Reagan came on TV to apologize in reference to Iran-Contra Scandal) and said this:
“Now, what should happen when you make a mistake is this: You take your knocks, you learn your lessons, and then you move on. That’s the healthiest way to deal with a problem… “
President Ronald Reagan holds up a copy of the Tower Commission report on the Iran-Contra affair, while posing for photographers after his nationally televised speech from the Oval Office in Washington, Aug. 13, 1987. Reagan said he was “mad as a hornet” about damage to his administration from the Iran-Contra affair. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
President Reagan set a great example as a great leader – “take your knocks, learn your lessons, and then move on”
Leaders are not afraid to admit mistakes:
We have already seen that there are great lessons to learn from JFK in the article – “We choose to go to the moon”
Let’s learn one more display of JFK’s leadership trait.
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy (JFK) took the responsibility for the failed invasion of the Bay of Pigs. He said:
“… Further statements, detailed discussions, are not to conceal responsibility because I’m the responsible officer of the Government …”
jfk-invasion-of-pigs-speech (Courtesy: C-SPAN)
The consequences?
It is said that after this speech, JFK’s approval ratings went up way high!
Remember – The Responsibilities cannot be delegated:
Leaders have authorities, and that authority allows them to delegate tasks. So far so good.
What happens if the task, executed by the team member(s), goes wrong?
And what happens when that ‘wrong’ involves casualties? When it happens in the battlefield, this casualties can affect some innocent people, or some of your own team members.
As a leader in this situation, would you be ready to admit the mistake?
Well, that is exactly what happened with Jocko Willink as he describes in his book – “Extreme Ownership”
Recently I was reading his book – “Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win”
His example in the book hits the nail in the head about the leadership trait that is extremely important.
Without giving away too much, Jocko cites his experience that as a Navy SEAL while in Iraq, a mistake, a friendly fire, was made resulting in casualty. He was ordered to provide explanation in front of the military seniros.
(the book provides a great narrative, and I highly recommend to read the book)
Well, long story short, he admitted the mistake and took the responsibility – demonstrating this true leadership trait.
The consequences?
Jocko was allowed to continue to lead the team!
What is the Leadership Lessons?
Who doesn’t make mistakes?
As it is said, to err is human.
Let’s add that “but to admit is a trait of a great leader.”
Yes, better safe than sorry,
But when a mistake is made, it is better sorry than (be temporarily) safe!
[Tweet theme=”basic-full”]”Admitting a mistake is one of the strongest traits of a leader!”[/Tweet]
Have you made any mistakes, did you admit? What were the consequences?
Please share in comments.
Meanwhile, let me go and start counting my mistakes!
Imagine being a daughter of a man who leads a renowned political party. Your father has seen humongous success and you have cherished all of its fruits. You are geared up to follow the footsteps of your father, and you have gotten the right education for it and that too from the top-notch international institutions. You are well prepared to lead a male dominated society except you belong to a religion where women are not allowed to even be considered playing any other role than staying home. Everything was great until a military leader in the disguise of Satan comes and gets hold of the throne making your father powerless and imprisoned. You are deprived of your acquisitions and tortured to the greatest extent. Your world, your dreams, your life is suddenly upside down. Everything seems to be upside down. What will you do? Will you strive to make things better or will you let them get worse? While many may give up, this woman decided to fight to get justice not only for her family, but for the people of her country.
Yes, we are talking about Pakistan and its first and only woman Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto.
Benazir Bhutto
The Woman of great Courage
Benazir Bhutto, the woman of utmost triumph and power, has been through several phases in her life. It would be right to say that she was an offspring of privilege, and she took the mantle of leadership from her father Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who has served Pakistan in innumerable ways and was considered as the magnetic and searing leader of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). He transformed himself into a saint of democracy. Unfortunately, he was executed in 1979 by General Zia-ul-Haq, a military tyrant, who took over the reigns of Pakistan by military coup. But Pakistan has yet to see a historic figure emerge out of all these chaos.
1. The Emergence of a courageous leader:
When it comes to leadership, we all know that courage is one the most important characteristics distinguishing a true leader from the herd. How many of us would agree that a leader should enter den, knowing that Lion is inside?
Benazir Bhutto was privileged. She had an impeccable academic career at Harvard and Oxford and could have stayed out of Pakistan, but this determined lady still returned to Pakistan despite knowing the fact that return to her own country could cost her life. This indeed was a courageous move especially knowing that Pakistan is a male dominated Muslim country and its barbaric politics had seen her dad and two siblings hanged, shot and harmed one by one.
What made her return to Pakistan was her decision to serve her country. She was so determined to serve, help, and free the country that the fear of losing her life didn’t intrude her decision.
Before returning to Pakistan she defiantly said:
“The time of life is written and the time of death is written – and nobody can die before their time is up.”
What she wanted to do was to use her time, her life dedicated to the people of Pakistan.
2. Mettle is tested:
While her return was heartwarming for the supporters, it was not all a red carpet welcome by the government and opposition parties. She activated her party to get the justice, and freedom for the people and establish democracy back. However, this political movement led her to house arrests and exile all through her political vocation. She continued her campaign. You can imagine the mullahs’ protests to a lady’s administering an Islamic country. She even defeated this strong group and prevailed upon admirers all around the world for her political abilities and empathy. She plowed through the oppositions after going through a lot of trouble.
In her autobiography, “Daughter of Destiny”, she described the brutal conditions of her cage. She wrote:
“The summer heat turned my cell into an oven. My skin split and peeled, coming off my hands in sheets. Boils erupted on my face. My hair, which had always been thick, began to come out by the handful. Insects crept into the cell like invading armies. Grasshoppers, mosquitoes, stinging flies, bees, and bugs came up through the cracks in the floor and through the open bars from the courtyard. Big black ants, cockroaches, seething clumps of little red ants and spiders. I tried pulling the sheet over my head at night to hide from their bites, pushing it back when it got too hot to breathe.”
The sort of courage, which she possessed couldn’t be described more perfectly. Quite evident that she didn’t lose courage despite facing humongous hardships and tortures. She bore the brunt, and consequently, she reaped the fruits of her hard work and was elected as the first woman Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1988.
This is not a small feat considering Pakistan’s political system which is heavily influenced by the religious leaders who openly discourage the participation of women even in low profile activities.
She wrote: “I didn’t choose this life, it chose me, and Born in Pakistan, my life mirrors its turbulence, its tragedies, and its triumphs. Pakistan is no ordinary country. And mine has been no ordinary life.”
We couldn’t agree more with her. She, without any exceptions, led no ordinary life. Her life was an epitome of supremacy.
[Tweet theme=”tweet-box-shadow”] “I didn’t choose this life, it chose me, … and mine has been no ordinary life.” – Benazir Bhutto [/Tweet]
3. Ambitious Woman:
As a Muslim lady pioneer, Bhutto was more of a famous figure in the West. Be that as it may, her genuine career in office was just a populist display and accomplished little achievements. She said in her own particular words, “I am not one of those leaders who sell lies and buy time.” She likewise stated, “No leader, no dictator could do what I have done.”
In a land so enriched with diversified cultures, it is of extreme significance to keep the general population and the nation in peace, amicability, and solidarity. This duty is without a doubt troublesome and requesting. Just a man who is touchy to the sentiment of every one of the general population and knows how to respect their qualities can convey them to a stage where they execute as a country.
This phenomenal task could not be acquired in the historical backdrop of Pakistan by any individual or association, except by the first female Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, who was exceptionally ambitious. Her character, her identity, and her part as a mother and of course the Prime Minister of Pakistan is a wellspring of motivation for many. Not exclusively did she hold the four areas in an assembled state, but additionally worked for the betterment of ladies in a male dominant society.
However, the greatest and foremost accomplishment of Benazir Bhutto was that she mold the heart of every girl and woman in the country who was told that she could not pursue her dreams or goals because she is a woman. This was due to her determination to fight for women rights and to prevail gender equality. There in itself lies a great leadership lesson!
Imagine you are a mayor of world’s most renowned city. Things are quite, until it was around 9.03 AM. A big thunder was heard by thousands, before anyone can get any idea on what is happening, a building with multi-multi stories, known as ‘South Tower’ was engulfed in fire. That giant building, the south tower toppled in the next 56 minutes, bringing a billion pounds of steel and concrete and bodies raining down. Smoke billowed like thunderheads.
By now you might have known that we are talking about the collapse of twin towers.
What would you do if you were a mayor of the city of these buildings?
The then mayor Mr. Rudy Giuliani told the press this immediately after the attacks:
“Today is obviously one of the most difficult days in the history of the city,” he said softly.“The tragedy that we are undergoing right now is something that we’ve had nightmares about. My heart goes out to all the innocent victims of this horrible and vicious act of terrorism. And our focus now has to be to save as many lives as possible.”
The world was watching. In 4 sentences, in 64 words, Mr. Giuliani captured what a leader would. He provided the status, showed empathy, condemned the act, and assured the focus on rescue operation.
Later on he said, “Tomorrow New York is going to be here. And we’re going to rebuild, and we’re going to be stronger than we were before…I want the people of New York to be an example to the rest of the country, and the rest of the world, that terrorism can’t stop us.”
He came out as brave, and reassuring, just as a leader should. And it is not easy, especially, when a tragedy of this nature, unprecedented, never seen, never heard before strikes, most people panic, some get even paralyzed. It needs courage of a lion, and calmness of a yogi to handle the situation. That is what makes a leader.
Speaking of a lion, imagine world war is going on. There are casualties. There is chaos. People cannot distinguish between information and misinformation. The only way to communicate to the public is radio. The country is going through turmoil. Amongst all these you are given charge of one of the key countries involved in the war. You are taking charge as a prime minster.
Would you be ready to say the following to the government body, the parliament, and the people of your country?
“I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this Government, I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many long months of toil and struggle.
“You ask what is our policy. I will say, it is to wage war with all our might, with all the strength that God can give us, to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime.
“You ask what is our aim? I can answer in one word: Victory. Victory at all costs. Victory in spite of all terror. Victory however long and hard the road may be. For without victory there is no survival.”
—First speech as Prime Minister, House of Commons, 13 May 1940.
The lion we are talking about is Winston Churchill. We can see why he would be called lion. The clear, concise, and inspiring message made him a leader we still talk about. He laid out the ultimate goal of victory, and set the expectation the price to be paid to win the war.
“We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing-grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender!”
—House of Commons, 4 June 1940, following the evacuation of British and French armies from Dunkirk as the German tide swept through France.
The leader is setting the vision, displaying courage, and the firm decision to achieve the goal.
[Tweet theme=”basic-full”]The leader is setting the vision, displaying courage, and the firm decision to achieve the goal.[/Tweet]
This is not about meeting some goal of making millions or billions in revenue. This is about sacrificing lives, thousands of lives in order to achieve the victory. Churchill as a leader conveyed the message, and thousands were ready to fight to the end.
These examples teach us that when a crisis hits, or chaos in place, a leader shows determination, courage, inspiration, and commitment. That’s what keeps the city together, the country together.
[Tweet theme=”tweet-box-shadow”]when a crisis hits, a leader shows determination, courage, inspiration, and commitment.[/Tweet]
In this book, we will meet three business legends:
Lee Iacocca, who made a historic turnaround of Chrysler in the ’80s;
Jack Welch of General Electric (GE), who transformed GE into a conglomerate powerhouse in the ’90s; and
Louis Gerstner of IBM, who besides being a non-technical CEO, made a historic turnaround of IBM in the early 2000s.
The book is based on the autobiographies of these legends, with my personal experience of 20+ years in corporate and information technology management.
Filled with leadership quotes from these business legends, this book has pages filled with wisdom, in a concise format. In today’s world where time is the most valuable and scarce resource, this book provides practical leadership lessons from great leaders, in a simple and effective manner that you can apply anytime, anywhere, immediately.
The book is available on Amazon. As always, your comments and suggestion, either directly or as a review on Amazon, are always welcome .
Note: I strongly believe today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders. The price of the book is very reasonable, however any profit will be donated to a children’s charity. Thank you for your support.
Imagine you are holding hundreds of stocks of a company. In fact, you believe in this company. And why not? After all you work at this company, a company which Fortune magazine calls “America’s Most Innovative Company” for six consecutive years! You believe in yourself, and you believe in the company so much that you invested all of your retirement savings in this company stock. The job is fine, and the stock is nicely appreciating. In fact your company is doing so well it is called a Wall Street darling.
You were happy as you watch the stock chart. In just three months, it has gone from about $40 to $60+. In another 6 months it reached $90! Should you sell? May be not yet you think. At this rate, you can be a millionaire much sooner than you thought. May be retire early? You can’t keep up with the options on how to use the money when you will cash out the stocks.
But something went wrong in the next 4-6 months and the stock is back to $60. There are some stories in Wall Street Journal about the financials of your company, but the CEO released a statement that there is nothing wrong. Before you think to get out of the stock, in the next 3-6 months it is back to 40, and then another month – $20. Now you are surprise, actually shocked. What is happening?
Another two months and the stock is trading at $1 – yes, a buck! The company has filed bankruptcy, and you have lost your job!
If I tell you the time frame was early 2000 to end of 2002, and the CEO’s name was Ken, you might be able to connect the dots.
The company was “ENRON”, and the CEO’s name was Kenneth Lay.
ENRON filed bankruptcy in 2001 – largest one at that time in the history of United States (Worldcom broke that record the next year).
The worst outcome was thousands of workers lost their jobs and retirement and pension savings tied to the stock. It was devastating, and it was all due to the lack of integrity of the company management led by the CEO Kenneth Lay. Misleading financial statements, tactfully hiding losses with the help of (dishonest) auditing firm Arthur Anderson brought the empire to collapse.
Before 2001, Ken Lay was considered a successful CEO.
Ken Lay was found to be a cheater. The management was nothing but a fraud.
Would you call Ken Lay a leader?
In the first post, we discussed that the foundation of the leadership is based on the qualities of leadership. Those who do not possess such qualities will fail as a leader in the end, no matter what level of position they are holding.
Ken Lay proved that he lacked one of the basic qualities of a leader, Integrity, and he was ultimately not a leader. He was given a position as a CEO to prove himself as a leader, but he failed. He failed miserably and also adversely affected thousands of families.
Remember, the position someone has needs to be supported by integrity.
Leaders honor integrity.
Leaders do not compromise integrity.
The one who compromises is a cheater, not a leader.
Leader is a dish. You need different ingredients in terms of qualities to prepare the dish. Position is just a pan. It helps you make the dish. Pan itself is not a dish.
If you have a position –as a janitor, as a manager, as a CEO, respect it, honor it. That position does not make you a leader. That position just helps you prove your leadership skills.
Integrity should be part of a leader’s life.
[Tweet theme=”tweet-box-normal-blue”]Integrity is like air. Nobody notices when it is there, but the lack of it can be devastating.[/Tweet]
Be honest. Have integrity. Move one step forward in the direction to be a leader.
(this post was written on 4th of July, 2016 – in honor of the Independence day of Unites States of America)
——————————————
Let’s go back in history, go back to December of 1777 to be exact. It is brutally cold winter time. You and your army have to fight, and your soldiers are great. However, there is a slight problem. Their shoes are torn, and clothes barely cover their bodies. Soldiers do not have hut, or blankets to cover their bodies. Bitter cold nights make their thumbs numb, and body sick. Many are ill due to the cold, they are suffering from pneumonia, jaundice, and other diseases. Many wounded cannot be saved because of lack of medical help.
Yes, for the leader who is so exceptional, courageous, inspiring, and visionary that the soldiers were not only ready to fight but ready to die for him! In fact, more than 2000 soldiers have died during the fight, and yet there is no stopping for these soldiers to take the life head on.
[Tweet theme=”tweet-box-shadow”]The leader who is so exceptional, courageous, inspiring, and visionary that the soldiers were ready to die for him! [/Tweet]
Who was that leader?
If you are familiar with the American history, you won’t be surprised that it was none other than – George Washington!
Ever since I read about George Washington, I have been fascinated by his leadership qualities. It is one thing to have followers, and it is an extraordinary thing to have followers who are ready to die in the battle for showing the vision for freedom.
The 1777 battle of Valley Forge is a remarkable one in the history of United States. That battle changed the course of history of the world. And it could not have been possible without a leader like George Washington.
So, what were the leadership qualities that George Washington demonstrated that were so remarkable? Reading various historian’s accounts, we could gather the following leadership qualities that we all can still learn and implement even in today’s modern life.
Leading from the front:
Washington did not send his soldiers alone. He himself was fighting in the battle along with them, and he was a truly leading from the front. It is recorded that in the battle his horse got shot, and he got barely missed! Washington would not his soldiers to take the shot, he himself was in the battlefield to face it firsthand. No wonder solders were ready to be in the front line with him.
George Washington at the Battle of Princeton (Don Troiani – historicalartprints.com)
He showed the courage to fight along with other soldiers. He made soldiers believe in him that under his leadership and guidance, freedom was possible. It was a dream to be free, the vision to have a free country that energized people to join his army. He proved himself by fighting in the battle, by laying out ht strategy, by laying out the path that proved him a leader.
Discipline and Accountability :
It is not easy to execute such a remarkable victory among all the adverse conditions without having discipline. He held himself accountable and held his soldiers accountable too. He never missed to follow his own guided principles of honesty, sacrifice, and compassion. He also had strict rules for people to follow or face the consequences.
George Washington
Respect:
George Washington was not only led the freedom fight, but he also became the first President of the United States. In either of his roles Washington never missed to respect his fellow soldiers or the people of the country no matter what level of the citizen was.
He demonstrated that no matter what your level is, the last person counts, and you are there for him as a leader.
So, did you lead from the front for your kids, your co-workers, your team, your company?
“We choose to go to the Moon! .. We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win ..”
Don’t you feel energetic after reading the above words? Just imagine being one of the 35,000 people who was there at Rice University, Houston, TX on Sept. 12, 1962 when President John F. Kennedy delivered this speech. – now known as “We choose to go to the Moon” speech). It certainly would be exciting, and energizing. If you consider the 60’s time it could be also little skeptical. Skeptical because going to the moon was nothing like any other mission in the history of the United States. Consider that the touch screen smart phone got accessible for all of us just in 2007-08, the PC revolution really got started in late 80’s and 90’s, so to talk about going to the moon in 1962 was almost like a daydream.
And that is where the leader enters. JFK had a vision, and he gave hope and energy to people to look forward to. He also believed in science and technology and generated huge interest in those fields which eventually (directly or indirectly) led to various revolutionary inventions such as PC and smart phones.
[Tweet theme=”tweet-box-shadow”]We choose to go to the Moon! .. because that challenge that we are willing to accept, and one we intend to win ..”[/Tweet]
Just consider how huge a task it was. JFK continued his speech:
“… my fellow citizens, that we shall send to the moon, 240,000 miles away from the control station in Houston, a giant rocket more than 300 feet tall, the length of this football field, made of new metal alloys, some of which have not yet been invented, capable of standing heat and stresses several times more than have ever been experienced, fitted together with a precision better than the finest watch, carrying all the equipment needed for propulsion, guidance, control, communications, food and survival, on an untried mission, to an unknown celestial body, and then return it safely to earth, re-entering the atmosphere at speeds of over 25,000 miles per hour, causing heat about half that of the temperature of the sun–almost as hot as it is here today–and do all this, and do it right, and do it first before this decade is out–then we must be bold.”
Yes, nothing less than bold. Could you imagine the intensity, the difficulties he described to send men to the moon and getting them back – safe? This is what leadership is all about.
JFK moon speech
What JFK demonstrated was setting an amazing example and lesson that we all can still follow. JFK demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities that we all can learn from:
Vision:
JFK showed a way what science can achieve. Everything impossible starts with a vision. Whether it is inventing a car, a telephone, or an iPhone – there was a vision to begin with. The leader’s vision is other people’s eyes a day dream. What others think impossible is what leaders want to achieve. What others think cannot be done is what leaders dare to do. It is a vision that inspires others, challenges others, and leaders make it come true. Leaders believe what team can do. Leaders can make people energized, and excited to follow him or her. When JFK talked about going to the moon, it was a vision what mankind can do. He believed, he inspired, and made it happen.
Courage:
It is amazing that we were entering such an unknown territory for this mission. We were going to the place in space where no one had been. We did not have the material yet found that can withstand such an intense heat. The weight and length of the rocket, the distance to the moon, the temperature, the space, and the list goes on, and all of these without drones or robots! To send real men inside the rocket and then to bring back to Earth was nothing simple! In fact, JFK did mention how ambitious that dream was. He mentioned in his speech:
“Well, space is there, and we’re going to climb it, and the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there. And, therefore, as we set sail we ask God’s blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which man has ever embarked.”
From every angle it looked like this a risky endeavor. There is not a chance to make even a small mistake. The most dangerous and great adventure it was! But JFK took up that challenge. He showed the courage to take on a mission that was impossible.
Execute:
JFK did not just talk about it, he made that vision come true. He provided all the support and necessary resources, and most importantly inspiration to make that dream come true. Anyone can talk, anyone can dream, but to achieve the dream, almost an impossible dream requires skill to execute. This is one quality that separates daydreamers from true leaders.
Finally, main on the moon!
So, what challenges are we ready to take in our lives?
Are we challenging our kids, our team, our company to a vision challenging enough and courageous enough that they look forward to?
Are we providing necessary moral support resources to achieve that vision?
There would be unknowns, we will have to find unknown material in the form of resources, we may have to withstand tremendous heat in the form of difficulties, but in the end we need to execute it – to be a true LEADER!
Leadership has been a widely known yet hardly practiced area. We all have known well known leaders from various areas such as George Washington, Roosevelt, J. F. Kennedy, M. L. King, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson, Mandela, Margret Thatcher, Mother Teresa, Jack Welch, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and many more.
We mostly misunderstand leadership and associate it with position while we should be linking it with qualities. Leadership qualities can be learned, developed, and practiced – without holding any position. Leadership can be demonstrated at any level.
While the title can be handed over, leadership cannot be. It needs to be developed, and cultivated. No leaders starts with followers, they start with a cause. They start with a challenge. They start with a vision, and most importantly they are ready to face any challenges to achieve their vision, their goal. Whether it is George Washington, Gandhi, and Mandela all wanted freedom for the country. JFK wanted the explore the space, and make the country toe be the first to reach moon. Jack Welch wanted GE (all GE companies) to be the number one or two in the market. Lee Iaccoca (Chrysler) and Louis Gerstner (IBM) wanted to save the company and in turn save thousands of jobs. The basic ingredient among all of these leaders were the qualities that make up a leader. The title they earned as a leader was the result of their efforts and cause for the society. They were made leaders, They did not seek out followers, the followers joined them and that is a true identity of a leader.
An important aspect of leadership is it is not confined to these big names. They were nobody at the beginning, just like anyone of us. Fortunately, we can learn about leadership easily and all the names above can help us learn about it. We can learn from their work, their books, their leadership examples, leadership quotes, and many other avenues,. Leadership does not need a special or separate school because it is part of our life. Whether you are a child, a parent, an employee, a business owner, a CEO, or a President of a country, you need to have leadership qualities to effectively play your role. Without these qualities you will be just holding that position, the title, and not necessarily be a true leader.
To make this world better, we need true leaders. If you want to stand out, if you want to make this world better, you need to have these leadership qualities. In fact, all of us need to have the leadership qualities so that when we leave this world we leave it better than we started our lives.
“There are two ways of spreading light:
to be the candle or
the mirror that reflects it.”
– Edith Wharton
This blog is just a humble attempt to share the leadership lessons I have learned and continue to learn from the leaders in my personal and professional life. I am just trying to be a mirror to pass on the light.
I hope not only you will enjoy the posts, but also benefit from them.
Let us learn. Let us improve. Let us develop the leader within us.
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I sincerely thank you for being here.
If you have any suggestions, please feel to contact me by various options here, or just send me an email:
