My Definition Part 3

Leadership is the dynamic, interactive process of creating, communicating, and transforming vision into reality.

Leadership is a process. Since the ultimate goal of leadership is the transformation of a vision into reality, leadership is not found in one moment of time. Rather, leadership involves a series of acts, decisions, discussions, and interactions. Even if the vision is clear to those involved, the path to that vision can be fuzzy. Participants in a leadership team can disagree, debate, and push and pull one another in opposite directions feeling strongly that they each know the way to the treasure.

Leadership involves the process of change. Management enjoys the stability of the status quo and the comfortability of routine, structure, and continuity. Leadership, on the other hand, thrives in the context of innovation, creativity and change. This process of change can be painful for most people but leadership helps makes this process understandable and exciting.

I remember my first white water rafting experience down the Chattooga river. I was an adult chaperon on a high school senior trip. Climbing into a seven-man raft with five high school students and a river guide, I was more than excited about facing the rapids ahead. The raft right in front of ours consisted of seven students without a guide. They were on their own to navigate the waters. Most of the time they were either going around in circles, stuck on the rocks, or headed down the river backwards. The people in my raft listened to the commands of the river guide, learned quickly how to maneuver the boat, and completed the adventure without losing an oarsman to the watery rapids. Effective leadership provides that same guidance through the waters of change. Instead of spinning around in circles, a team can accomplish the adventure with excitement and satisfaction.