Sunday, July 24, 2011

Leadership is Earned


Some of the terms that are often used to describe leadership are:

influence, induce, guide, go before, show the way, conduct, to serve, to go ahead, direct, command

Do you notice a similarity between the terms? None of the terms are coercive. Think of leadership from this perspective - If you had no position power at all over a group of individuals, how would you influence, induce, guide, or direct the group? The answer is the key to leadership; it's earned by past example and current conduct. It's earned by having ideas that inspire. Look at the terms again - in order to guide, show the way, or go ahead, you need to have been there before.  In essence, you need to have credibility with the group through proven experience. There it is - leadership is earned; it's not bestowed or pronounced, it's a power given by those being led.