by Anne-Maria Yritys, Featured Contributor
I AM STILL LEARNING, but my experience has taught me that true leadership is a quality that only few men, and women, possess. More than 20 years of activity in working life, but only rarely, if ever, have I encountered any man or woman fulfilling the qualities of a truly great leader.
Yet, our world needs excellent leaders more than ever. In times of increased demand for excellent leadership, how can we achieve our target of developing such qualities in people? And what are the qualities that a great leader ought to have?
Many times, a leader is thought of as someone capable of inspiring, motivating, and driving “the pack”. True, to a certain extent, but a true leader is always willing and ready to walk the talk alone if required. Sometimes, a leader better not listen to what everyone else is saying, but rather show the way and take action – followed or not.
A true leader always expresses integrity. Intuitive and awaken people will always sense honesty – from miles away. Non-loyal and dishonest behavior always leaves a trail – direct, assertive, and honest behavior, on the other side, require no further explanations.
Furthermore, excellent leaders do not engage in “lower spiritual activities”, such as gossiping, poor behavior, backstabbing, spreading rumors or anything alike. Neither do they behave in a way that increases uncertainty or mirrors non-excellence in other people. Excellent leaders focus on achieving a goal, a mission, and work with purpose.
Excellence is a choice, and a path of learning. Leaders can be both born and developed, and despite of insecurities and deficiencies, almost anyone can be developed to become an excellent leader. Moreover, excellence has nothing to do with age but rather with experience, behavior, and readiness for leadership.
We all have our weaknesses. One step towards achieving greatness and becoming a great leader is to recognize our humanity, our personal weaknesses, and the ability to transform those into our greatest source of strength.
I don’t know… every time I look at this article by Anne-Maria Yritys… I can’t help but thinking that maybe we should ensure that the “process” gets going from an early stage in schools… in such a way as to bring those qualities (if any) to the surface… and grow… Maybe, during the learning cycle, we have focused our attention too much on the knowledge… and “nurturing” of human qualities has been largely absent from learning process… ’cause at the end, if we look close enough, it’s all about Awareness… and how to excert a leverage on that Awareness. – …That’s weird… for the most, what we now call Leadership traits are but our best human qualities… that the great majority can’t unleash… because those qualities (if any) are often completely overwhelmed by the lack of any real substance…. and impoverishment of Values of modern life. I mean, perhaps there could be more good leaders… I mean, imparting all this “awareness” maybe needs to start early on…. But then, that’s just an opinion… Thank you.
Less than 20 memorable lines… Just Great! Thank you Anne-Maria. In my view you and Robert Gately are both right. To be like that… people need great reserves of inner strenght, under many points of view… a particular nature… sensitivity… vivid intelligence stronger than pride…pettiness…ego. They need values, and an uncommon sense of honesty… intellectual honesty and honesty towards other human beings… a complex of outstanding human qualities. That’s why it’s so difficult to find people like that… however, that doesn’t mean that people can’t get close to these qualities… people can change (if they want to), they can improve… in my view, it depends on the complex interplay between different factors. it’s only that those who weren’t born that way… (always assuming that they have a certain flair for “flying a little bit higher” need greatest efforts… to get there. Not to mention the will to do so. The words of Anne-Maria always strike me… I always agree with you Anne-Maria.
Something that Robert Gately said also struck me, something, in my view, profoundly real: “Leadership is a lifestyle that few of us choose and even fewer of us can live.” – I think this for two simple reasons:
– The first is that you cannot see in others or in any other thing any more than you have in yourself… and great human qualities (that are the bedrocks of Real, True, Excellent Leadership) include a broad and deep perspective of life… and there aren’t many of them around with such a depth of thought.
– The second is that that “lifestyle” comes with a terrible price to pay… the price of your coherence… of your ideas… of your sense of justice… the price to pay in order to make the right thing… no matter what… and “no excuses” as Roberst said. Few are prepared to pay such a price…
Despite all of this, I believe that people who can make it happen, should make serious efforts to enable others to become like that… or at least to improve others… I don’t know… maybe there’s never been such a phase in human history in which we need to create better people… like now.
Thank you.
Thank you Robert and Massimo, I really appreciate you actually taking the time to read, reflect, analyze your personal thoughts in regard with excellent leadership. Massimo´s response is even longer than the post itself 🙂
Massimo, thanks.
There are certain traits that are common among great leaders and those traits are hard to acquire let alone develop.
Thank you Robert!
Anne-Marie,
“almost anyone can be developed to become an excellent leader.”
If that is true, then why do we have so few excellent leaders?
Robert, thank you for reading and for commenting. Good question indeed. Perhaps the best leaders do not make a number out of themselves was one of the responses I received to why.
Anne-Maria, I think the answer is that being an excellent leader is very hard work even for those who are well suited to the job of leading.
I suspect that we all have one or more leadership traits but that is not enough to make us leaders. Leadership is a lifestyle that few of us choose and even fewer of us can live.
Leaders must:
— Give their word.
— Keep their word.
— Live their words.
— No excuses.