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Effective leaders bring passion, perspective, and significance to the process of defining organizational purpose.
…constituents want not just a vision of where we’re heading but also where they’ve been and where they are now.
In short, every exemplary leader that I have met has what seems to be an unwarranted degree of optimism–and that helps generate the energy and commitment necessary to achieve results.
Emotional intelligence is more important to successful leadership than I Q or technical expertise. Emotional intelligence includes self-awareness and the abilities to manage one’s emotions and impulses, motivate others, show empathy, and stay connected.
A leader who is self-effacing and lacks charisma may fail to inspire confidence. A charismatic leader who believes that he or she is more important than others eventually will lose followers. To inspire both loyalty and excitement, a leader needs to couple humility with charisma.
Leaders must communicate their organization’s mission to all parts of the organization. The mission provides a reference point, an anchor, and a source of hope in times of change. When it connects with people’s values, it brings purpose and meaning to those who are fulfilling the mission and provides the impetus for creativity, productivity, and quality in the work and in personal development.
The first responsibility of a leader is to manage his or her own character, integrity, humility, knowledge, words, and acts. Refuting the idea that management is an exercise of authority over those below, chaordic leadership is based on follower ship — a voluntary response to a clear, constructive purpose and compelling ethical principles. Chaordic leaders focus upward and sideward as well as downward. They do not dictate; they modify conditions that prevent synergy and accomplishment.
Managing quietly involves knowing that a leader is not the sum total of an organization. It involves inspiring, encouraging, and enabling others by creating a culture of openness, trust, community, and energy. Quiet leaders are low-key but engaging and interactive. They tend to their organizations and spend more time preventing problems than fixing them. They infuse values and slow, profound change for which everyone takes responsibility while holding other things steady — a natural continuous improvement.