I don’t want to tell you what to do or what not to do. I don’t want to be your mother either. I’m not your teacher, your best friend or your guru. I care deeply about you. I care enough that I expect you to realize your potential and experience a sense of real accomplishment in all you achieve. I want your days to be purposeful and as such, fulfilling. I want you to want to work hard for what matters most. I want you to experience more life.
I don’t want to be your boss. I want to be your leader. And I would be just has as happy if we could switch roles – at least now and again. Because the trick to being a good leader is to first understand how to be a good follower.
I can’t teach you to become a good leader, but I can help you learn, if you choose to. Leadership is not what is given, it is what we earn. It cannot be taught, but can be learned. Does this sound too soft or too philosophical? It isn’t. Leadership is hard work. And what you think matters and how you think matters – but it is only in what we accomplish that counts. What have you accomplished? What can you accomplish? What MUST you accomplish?
You may see me as a “hard-ass” sometimes. It’s OK. I’m not willing to allow you to defaultyourself. I’m not going to take away your problems, and I may even provide you with more challenging ones. And I will insist that you hold yourself accountable and figure out what you are capable of – and what it takes to be fully competent. It’s because you only grow when you are challenged. And when you feel the accomplishment of something meaningful that is purposefully done, you will experience far greater satisfaction than when you seek distractions from life’s adversities or allow boredom to enter your mind. And I will not tolerate you or anyone who does not exhibit conscientiousness – because I know you are better than that. If you want to see yourself as a victim of life’s circumstances – or the status quo as a nice comfortable place to rest and daydream, I will provide a rude awakening, which you will deserve. It’s my job – this role I play – and what I aim to achieve and must achieve. It’s not for me that I perform this role, but for the cause, the purpose that guides me and the the reason for our relationship. And if I perform it well, I hope you will notice – and learn to one day perform my role better than I do.
I don’t want to be your boss. I want to inspire you to learn by making it necessary and possible that you do. I want to see us change the world for the better – even if in just some small, but meaningful way. I want you to grow and become more competent in what you do and be better tomorrow than you are today. I want to be your leader – and I want you to learn to be a leader too, and lead your life as best you can. We are all leaders of something, and we are all called upon to lead at some point in time. I will never stand in your way.
###
Phil Liebman earned his Master of Leadership Arts and Sciences at The Thayer Institute – studying High Performance Organizations and Competent Leadership under Dr. Lee Thayer. You can learn more about what it takes to become a more effective leader and building and growing sustainable high-performance organizations by visiting ALPS Leadership at www.ALPSLeadership.com
