April
28, 2004 issue
Welcome
new subscribers! | |
It
Starts at the Top
Leadership in all organizations is trickle down.
I mean all organizations.
Your family, your service club, your
morning workout group. Tell me about an organization that runs itself effectively
without a strong leader- I’d like to hear about it.
Problem
plagued organizations are predominantly the result of poor leadership. Forgive
the alliteration, but the boss does set the standards and examples for the organization
to follow. Business owners and leaders often blame the lack of good help,
the economy or taxes for their business problems. No doubt these can be
contributing reasons for poor performance. However, isn’t the primary reason
for problems with the businesses we own or work for something simpler to understand?
No leadership equals no direction for the organization. Remember
the simplicity of the game follow the leader, that you used to play so
willingly? All it took was a simple action of one friend to say to another,
"let’s play follow the leader" and the entire gang imitated the
actions of the leader. I think that leadership can be that simple with adults,
too. As sheepish adults, we are always looking for leadership.
How many times have you seen your associates,direct reports and fellow committee
members go into self-protect mode when the idea of taking responsibility for a
project or initiative gets proposed? Relief fills the meeting room when
a volunteer says, "follow me, I’m responsible and I’ll be the leader."
Are you doing your part in providing leadership in the top postions you
hold? Leadership starts at the top. Without outstanding energy, clear vision,
and shared goals how will your organization become anything better than mediocre?
Be brave, peel off your wool sheep suit and put on your shepherd duds. Set
the leadership example, let it trickle down and break away from mediocrity! The
crowd is ready to follow you.
Others have said
about leadership: "The
task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have
not been."
— Henry Kissinger
"No institution can possibly
survive if it needs geniuses or supermen to manage it. It must be organized in
such a way as to be able to get along under a leadership composed of average human
beings."
— Peter Drucker
"People ask the difference
between a leader and a boss. The leader leads, and the boss drives."
—
Theodore Roosevelt | 
