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If you go to
Amazon.com and search in books using the word
'leadership' you get over 300,000 possibilities. If you
are interested in getting a formal education in
leadership, you can earn Phd or Masters degrees in such
disciplines as Organizational Leadership, Change
Leadership, Leadership Communication and others. You can
even earn a Servant Leadership Certificate if you need
one of those. The point is that leadership is a big
subject and it means many different things to different
people. The dictionary definition of the word lead is: To
show the way by going in advance, and to guide or
direct on a path. So, in its purest sense leadership
engages the ability to do those two things.
It's
important to understand what the core issue of
leadership is. By that I mean the most foundational
issue of leadership that is easy to understand and easy
to measure. One of the undeniable facts of leadership is
that leaders are measured and subjected to criticism and
scrutiny. The heart of that critical process goes to
measuring the results that leaders achieve. That makes
leadership a results contest and is the means by which
every leader must understand their most strategic duties
and responsibilities. People can spend years studying
and refining their leadership styles, philosophies,
techniques and other tools that leaders must use -- but
the real issue for all leaders is getting results!
When the
economy is good, it's easier for business leaders to
achieve good results. When the economy is good profits
are high and money is available. People are secure and
relatively happy. Life is good for all. It's not to say
that leaders don't have challenges to overcome in good
economic times. It's just that the nature of the
challenges and the environment that frames the
challenges have a different character about them when
people are prospering . It's also easier to get results
that are perceived to be acceptable in good economic
times and the judgment, measurement and criticism of
leaders is rather tame -- compared to the uproar that
frequently accompanies leadership evaluation in a tough
economy. Just look at the public rage that has recently
been directed toward business executives whose companies
have been heavily subsidized by taxpayers.
Please let me
be even more direct: Successful leaders get superior
results, faster! Unsuccessful leaders don't!
Copyright 2009 Tony Jeary, author of Strategic
Acceleration: Succeed at the Speed of Life
Tony Jeary, author of Strategic Acceleration:
Succeed at the Speed of Life, has been and continues
to be the coach to the world's top CEOs and high
achievers for more than 20 years. His clients include
the Presidents of Wal-Mart, Firestone, Shell, Samsung,
New York Life, and the United States Senate, to name
only a few. An advisor to many, Tony Jeary has invested
his life and career in helping others discover new
clarity for their vision, develop focus on direction,
and create powerful execution strategies that
strategically impact achievement and results. Tony is
happily married and blessed with 2 great daughters.
- Learn more about Strategic Acceleration at www.strategicacceleration.com
- Visit Tony Jeary at www.tonyjeary.com |
