A Few Thoughts On Leadership

I am 9/10ths of the way through the most amazing book.  "Launching  A Leadership Revolution" by Chris Brady and Orrin Woodward.  If you think "who needs/wants to be a leader?" then you should read it.  

We are all leaders every day whether we have children, work at a job, own a business, attend a church, play on a team, or belong to a family.  The real point is that right now, today, leaders are needed everywhere.  If you have any opinion on current events, leadership is what makes changes.

Leadership is the influence of others in a productive, vision-driven direction and is done through the example, conviction and character of the leader.

Dwight D Eisenhower said 

 

Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.

Leadership is not much more than influence.  Not that influence is any small feat.  But how many times a day do you ask others to do things?  For me, having two boys, a husband, friends, children I teach at church, and business associates, I am constantly interacting with others and asking people to do things.  When I go to the store to buy goods and groceries, I need leadership skills.  Why?  For example, how many times is an item I'm purchasing rung up at the wrong price?  It's so much easier to get the results I want (pay the posted price) if I have leadership skills.  Losers fix blame while winners fix problems.

Another undeniable quote from Eisenhower

...a piece of string illustrates the main principle of leadership.  Push the string ad you can barely get it to move.  But pull the string, and it will follow you anywhere.

I believe this is the main principle of leadership.  No person likes to be told what to do.  But if I know that something needs to be done and I can help others see it needs to be done, I want to motivate them to want to do it.  I HATE telling people what to do because I HATE being told what to do.  If I can shed light on the many important things that need to be done in this life, I will know that I filled the measure of my creation.