A Leadership Collage

Leadership is the dynamic, interactive process of creating, communicating and transforming vision into reality. With this working definition in mind, leadership takes on the aura of metamorphosis – the changing of the present into a better tomorrow.....the moving forward with greater excellence.....the growing and maturing of innovation.

Let me suggest a few pictures of leadership that might help define the multifaceted layers of this abstract concept. Leadership gives direction like a compass. As an organization strives to find its way in the midst of a foggy forest, leadership can point the people to true north. A compass is not influenced by the opinion of others or the pressure of peers; it is based upon a constant reliance on the pull of absolute truth.

Leadership provides light within the shadows of doubt and the darkness of despair. Leadership is like a lighthouse projecting the bright beam of guidance to ships that need a sense of security. Illuminating the shore and the danger of the rocky coast, the lighthouse provides a warning of the unseen and shouts of clarity in the storms of uncertainty.

Effective leadership creates a culture of excellence. Leadership shapes the priorities and mission of the organization. Leadership is like the potter who fashions a lump of clay into a vessel of great value. Like the potter at the wheel, so a dynamic leader carefully forms and shapes the tasks, and the agenda, and the people, and the program of the organization. Leadership involves creativity and an eye for quality. The potter holds great power in his/her hands... the power to craft and the power to destroy... the power to shape or the power to crush. Effective leadership exercises the power of symmetry and balance.

Leadership takes people from the present into the future aligning them with a vision that yields great fruit. Leadership has destination at its core. Leadership is like a bridge. Having the opportunity to hike the Grand Canyon about a year ago, I was so impressed with the topography of the environment. At times the rugged cliffs were impassible if it were not for a bridge that spans the chasm allowing the hiker a safe path to follow. To traverse the Colorado River without a bridge would be treacherous at best and deadly without care. Leadership plays the role of a bridge allowing an organization to move from today to a better tomorrow.

 

Leadership also adds adventure and excitement to an organization. Leadership brings about change, challenges people to take a certain amount of risk, and provides the expertise for a safe arrival at the journey's end. Leadership is like a jet pilot. I have never touched a jet fighter, let alone flown with an air force pilot, but just watching the Thunderbirds from the ground takes my breath away. The speed, the accuracy, the precision, and the excitement of those jets flying in formation is thrilling to watch. Leadership has a way of offering that kind of adventure to a group of people. The more the organization trusts the leader, the faster the plane can fly. The greater the skill of the leader, the more accurate is the flight toward the destination, and the greater the commitment to the mission, the greater the thrill of the ride.

Finally, every significant organization has a final product, an end goal, a bull's eye of focus. Leadership needs to design a blueprint for success. Leadership is like an architect. A vision is not a nebulous blob or a fuzzy picture. Vision has clarity, focus, and definition. Leadership draws the floor plans...leadership creates the building... leadership constructs the infrastructure... leadership lays the foundation, raises the walls, places the rafters, plumbs, wires, paints and furnishes the rooms.

Leadership is quite difficult to define. Sometimes a word-picture paints an image that captures an aspect of leadership. And sometimes that picture resonates with meaning that helps clarify the abstract. If you have such a word-picture, I would love to hear from you.