the Ideal Leader?

What is the ideal leader? What does the ideal leader look like? How can this aid in my becoming a better leader-better person?

For us to begin our journey we really need to understand what the ideal leader looks like. What are those leader competencies along with our leadership capabilities?

"Understanding the role and function of leadership is the single most important intellectual task of this generation, and leading is the most needed skill" – G.W. Fairholm, Perspectives on Leadership

As we go through this journey together let's deliberates this by having a heart-to-heart conversation. We must look inside ourselves to see whether we meet that ideal image. There are so many different leadership books written with varying views of what a leader is. 

In addition, many leadership development programs have been created as well and some at a substantial cost to develop leadership capabilities.

“The first step in becoming a leader, then, is to recognize the context for what it is—a breaker, not a maker; a trap, not a launching pad; an end, not a beginning—and declare your independence.” ― Warren G. Bennis, On Becoming a Leader Revised Edition

When I look at my own journey as a leader and manager of my team I started from scratch; like many of you. Without formal leadership development to prepare me for what was in store for me and not knowing where to start. or what resources I should begin with. One of the first things I did, was to understand what the ideal image of a leader was and what it meant to me. Now this may seem odd to you, but for me it was not, my desire was to be a good leader and then a better leader; a leader that influences others; a leader that has a positive impact on the team while supporting the organizational business strategies. One of the biggest learning curves for me was self-awareness …

Warren Bennis book On Becoming a Leader, originally published in 1989, lays the foundation that a leader must be authentic, i.e. author of one's own creation; a combination of experience, self-knowledge, and personal ethics. This need for an effective leader to remain true to their self-invention would be further expanded upon by others into what has become known as the Authentic Leadership approach.

I deliver a classroom leadership course for “On the Job Development” from the front-line supervisor up to and including the president of the company in my organization and I asked two questions in the beginning of the session. What is Important to You in a Leader? And Why is it Important to the Company? Just as in my training sessions we are going to begin the conversation here. Let’s visualize the ideal leader. Draw a person and begin to list out the qualities that are important to you for a leader. [Insert a pdf page to be downloaded here]

How did you do? What other qualities did you come up with? Do you meet the qualities that were listed out as important to be a leader? If not, what do you need to work on?

For us to continue to grow and become better leaders we first must be honest with ourselves. So, let’s get started!

Oh, And One Other Thing Just As I Teach In My Classes. The Formula For Success Is This:

PW: Pre-Work (Tools & Resources On This Site)

C: Content (Training Materials & Notes)

P: Practice, Practice And Practice

PW+C+P=Success

Pre-Work 40%

Content 20%

Practice 40%

If You Stop At Pre-Work – Than You Will Only Be 40% Effective

If You Stop At Content – Than You Will Only Be 60% Effective

If You “Follow Through” – You Will Be 100% Effective In Becoming A “Better Leader-Better Person”