Leadership - part two

Leadership Lost: When a Leader Doesn’t Lead

 “To lead an untrained people to war is to throw them away.” -- Confucius

In government, business, churches and our personal lives, we can see the damage caused by a lack of sound leadership.  It is not that we are unable to make decisions on our own and need someone to do that for us.  Actually, it is good leadership that creates the environment where we can make good sound decisions and become all we have the potential to become.  We need leadership to help show the way, prepare the way, and get out of our way.  Good leaders build us up, not control us.

Some would say that the problems we face today are due to a broken system.  That if we get the system, no matter where that may be, right we would be okay.  That is just not true.  It is not the system that is broken but the leadership.  We can look at the government to see how that is true.  In an article written in March of 2010, Robert Guttman, Director of the Center on Politics and Foreign Relations, said this, “The system is not broken.  What is broken is our faith in our national leaders from the President on down.  The clock is ticking and they need to show they can rise above politics for the sake – and health – of the American people.”

Again, that is not just true for the government, although it is an excellent example, but it is true for the leaders in our businesses, churches and even our families.  We have lost our faith in our leaders because they have refused to be leaders.  They will not take the responsibility needed to lead. 

I want to look at four areas where many leaders have refused to lead.  They may hold the title of leader but they do not hold the position or respect from followers.  These are leaders in name only and many times are worse than having no leader at all.

“God grant that men of principle shall be our principal men.” – Thomas Jefferson 

When the Leader Lacks Vision.

One of the key responsibilities of a leader is to develop and articulate vision.  When the person in leadership fails to do so, the people are left to find their own path to follow.  When this happens to a group, the people loose purpose and the desire and ability to work together.  As Max Dupree said, “It is the first responsibility of a leader to define reality.”  Or Warren Bennis said, “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.”  That is done by having and clearly sharing the vision.

A leader without a vision is just a person spouting orders.  They change their mind from moment and they cannot tell you where they are going.  Leaders without vision are a huge handicap to a business, church or government.  As Helen Keller said, “It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision.”

 “When you have vision it affects your attitude.  Your attitude is optimistic rather than pessimistic.”  -- Chuck Swindoll

When the Leader Won’t Make Decisions.

Leadership experts and most leadership studies will show you that: Good decisions are made quickly and changed slowly.  Poor decisions are made slowly and changed quickly.  It is a common problem among poor leaders that they do not make decisions well if at all. 

A poor leader will want to talk to others before making a decision or “pray about it” rather than do what is right and make a decision.  These kinds of leaders loose the faith and trust of their people.  They show others that they cannot be depended on and they are fearful to move forward.  Tony Robbins said, “A real decision is measured by the fact that you’ve taken a new action.  If there’s no action, you haven’t truly decided.”

Without the ability to make quick and proper decisions a leader cannot be prepared for what is to come.  People notice that and feel very insecure about that kind of leadership.  Arnold Glasgow said, “One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.”  If the emergency is there and the leader is faced with doing something quick, he is already too late.

 “Decisiveness is a characteristic of high-performance men and women.  Almost any decision is better than no decision at all.”  -- Brian Tracy

When the Leader is Self-Centered.

Sad to say, but there are just too many stars in the world.  We have a crisis of leaders who wish themselves to be the star of the show, the top of the pack and it does not matter what happens to others along the way.  Andrew Carnegie, a man who was a great achiever and had massive wealth and power knew this when he stated, “No man will be a great leader who wants to do it all himself and get all the credit for it.”

Leadership has never been a one man show.  The leader who is worried about himself, what he can achieve, what he can gain or how it will make him look is no leader at all.  People will not follow such a person for long.  Nothing is more tiring than to have to prop up the ego of a person who is in the end, useless.

“Pride get no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it then the next man.” – C.S. Lewis

When the Leader Lacks Integrity.

Harold J. Seymore said, “Leadership is a combination of strategy and character.  If you must be without one, be without the strategy.”  Nothing can destroy the very fiber of a team more than dishonesty.  The leader who lies, cheats and misuses his or her people will lose even those who are loyal in the end.  No one will serve a dishonest person unless they are dishonest themselves.

It does not take a lot for a people to know that if their leader was dishonest with others they are most likely dishonest with them too.  People will follow a cause or purpose if they know it is real and greater than them.  Once they feel it is all been a sham they will not only run from it, but seek to destroy it in the process.

All these qualities missing in some who call themselves leaders are not the result of circumstances or unfair treatment, they are the true character of these people.  Leadership brings true character to the surface and for some that is not a pretty sight.  Having said that, they are also qualities that can be established in leaders.  These are all matters of doing what is right.  I love the words of Scottish satirical writer Thomas Carlyle, “Make yourself an honest man, and then you may be sure there is one less rascal in the world.”

These negative qualities are not here to criticize leaders or to point the finger at others, but to be a warning to us.  If you do not feel your leaders are leading, there is a reason for that.  Should we restore them if we can? Yes!  Should we help them see their weakness and show them ways to improve?  Yes!  Should we keep them as leaders during that process?  Absolutely not!  Leaders must be able to lead.  If they are not then they need to follow and learn how.  After all, you cannot be a good leader unless you are a good follower.

“I cannot trust a man to control others who cannot control himself.” – Robert E. Lee

© Jack Hickey 2010