
Clear Confident Leader Weekly Observer, Issue #35
From the Greenbelt of Boise, Idaho, Calm before thunder showers
Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.
– Vince Lombardi
Leadership can be divided into two categories: leadership as a role and leadership as a way of being.
– Richard Strozzi-Heckler
Commitment is a cornerstone for creating a better future for ourselves and those around us. When our commitment wavers, we freeze or pull back from following through. Without a clear commitment, we lack impetus to act and devolve into reacting to whatever comes our way. There are a lot of events happening in the world today to consume our lives in reaction.
Creating clear commitments for ourselves enables us to cut through the cacophony of things that distract our attention. Living with clear commitments focuses our attention to achieve what we care about. I find it very useful to regularly ask myself these questions:
- What do I care most about?
- What are my intentions for effective action?
- What are my commitments to myself and those I care about?
By clarifying what I care most about, I’m able to prioritize where to focus my attention and energy. By being clear about my intentions, I create resolve in how I want to act. By stating my commitments, I dedicate myself to following through in the face of adversity.
I care about creating a better future today in our families, organizations and communities. My intention is to act skillfully with pragmatic wisdom and compassion. My commitment is to cultivate clear confident leaders who energize themselves and those around them to make a difference in their lives and work.
We often think of leadership as something that is done by someone with a title: President, CEO, etc. We judge leaders by what we observe them to be doing and how it impacts us. There are hundreds of thousands of articles, books and programs stating what leaders need to do. And as some authors have stated, the past 40 years of the leadership industry in America has not done very well, as we continue to see declines in our view of leadership in corporations, government and media.
My sense is that our view of our “leaders” is a reflection of our view of leadership. To the extent that we view leadership as something done by others with a titular responsibility for the group, then so do our leaders, as they are not so different from us. To really shift leadership, we need to make our individual commitment to being leaders ourselves. By committing to leadership as a way of being, we hold ourselves and others accountable to rise to a higher level.
I encourage each of us to ask and answer the following questions:
- What do I care most about?
- What are my intentions for effective action?
- What are my commitments to myself and those I care about?
- What helps me be a leader with those with whom I live and work?
I partner with executives and professionals to confidently lead in the face of uncertainty and complexity. Together we build trust, and cultivate leadership and organizational effectiveness to create a better future today. To learn more visit here.
Let’s create a better future today!