What leaders do you follow and try to emulate? Why?
Leadership is big business nowadays. Much like the wedding and event industry, the leadership industry has experienced a boom. There is no shortage of books, talks, videos, conferences, and quotes concerning leadership in our society today, and most of them are written, developed, or delivered by leaders themselves.
But leadership is becoming a dirty word and leaders are becoming more and more suspect. Why? Because there are simply too many people who are not committed to their own character development yet who are given a platform. I won't name names, but I'm sure one or two come to your mind.
Our society's propensity to elevate results over process means that things that should not be overlooked often are. And the result is that we have too many leaders who actually should not be followed, admired, or emulated.
The ones who should be followed are less concerned with their “reach” and more concerned with their relationships and the authenticity of their messaging. They are less concerned with their number of followers, their sales, or their reviews, and more concerned with accountability.
They are less concerned with perception because they are less driven by their ego.
They understand the importance of self-reflection and take the time to consider:
Whether they are consistently pursuing the right things..the GOOD things...even if those things won’t garner much attention or applause at first.
What their blind spots are and how they can best address them.
Whether they are approachable...or untouchable.
Whether they are living what they espouse.
These are the thoughts that gnaw at them at the cusp of every big decision...what they simultaneously embrace and grapple with. This is what makes up their internal barometer...and what makes these leaders worth following.
Leaders can't lead without followers.
Do our leaders deserve us? Do they deserve our followership? Is their leadership worth emulating, replicating?
Is ours?
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