We talk a lot about leading these days. I do anyway. I am not sure how much everyone else thinks about it. I think about it everyday. I wonder how I can be a better leader. I wonder what makes a great leader. Can Harvard professors and others dissect it into a formula that anyone can follow? These days, I mainly think about how I can help leaders succeed and how I can help aspiring leaders be just that — leaders. Of course, that takes me to the age old question of whether leaders are born or made. I have come to believe that while many a leader is born, that they can be and often are made. Now, does this mean that every person can become a leader? Yes!
After all, think about what “lead” means:
To show the way to by going in advance. (www.answer.com)
While a “leader” is:
One that leads or guides. (www.answer.com)
It is my hope that we can all lead and guide ourselves and others to a better place. The body of literature and research on leadership attests to its importance in our lives. I thought that if I learned enough about leadership that I would find THE ANSWER. The question being, “How do we become great leaders?” Two things happened when I tried: 1) I learned that there are more books on leadership than I can read in a lifetime; 2) As I read, I learned that I am not going to find THE ANSWER, but rather multiple views on what people THINK the answer is, meaning lots of people have lots of ideas on what makes a leader great.
The books are written by really smart people; they seem really smart to me when I read what they have to say. A lot of them are backed up by what seems like solid research. So, why have we not found and agreed upon THE ANSWER?
Well, I am playing around with the idea that one answer does not exist. What if there are many paths to becoming a leader? There must be, right?
I think the most important component for becoming a great leader is this: The desire to be a great leader. It is our desire for leading others well that takes us to the starting point of our journey. From that starting point, I think we find the information and approach that best suits us. So in the end, it isn’t about one size fits all. It is about the lifetime leadership journey. That’s right – lifetime. We continue to grow and master leading for as long as we chose to stay on the learning path. To me, that is how a great leader is made – one self aware step at a time.
Tags: lead, Leadership, leading
