"Lead-Your-Ship"... Leadership!

"The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. Rather, the one who gets the people to do the greatest things." President Ronald Reagan 

I believe all of us at one time or another have been pachyderms. Sensitive to our raw feelings and emotions, improvising our defensive, crest fallen responses and reactions unnaturally, unhappily. Frankly, we should be appreciative for those “leaders” past who ridiculed us, those who caprice our early brave resolve: for those who unwittingly made us sharper, thicker skinned, strengthened our personal mettle and reversed our defense into leadership offense for the betterment of the team.

The best of us re-engineer solicitously against the din of poor leadership evolving into “can do, will do, done” offense mode. World class leaders are defined, measured and graded through their protraction's, their actions, their reactions: their consensus-contractions and their natural formidable magnetic attraction. Superior, proven and trusted leadership is also powered by kinetic, highly relevant learning’s and improvisations based upon experience, based upon crisp critical thinking, business judgment and sales motivation. True “Lead-Your-Ship” motivates, stimulates and orchestrates from behind their team members, not in front of them.

If you polarize a supply chain array of disciplined and focused leadership under the ribs of clear strategy, tactics and courses of action, you will reveal and can juxtapose the substrate of their business DNA; the fabric of their commitment, the speed and agility of their capabilities. Leaderships capability, its chain-link measurement can be polarized-described as :

de-active – inactive – reactive – active – pro-active – hyper-active – super active lead-your-ship 

In each case and or as aggregated as one, the ability to steer and merit success, to act on the offense regarding opportunities is as important as digging in defensively regarding threats to competitive share, change in market conditions. Great leaders are created, not born. Superb leaders, highly effective leaders, self-develop, self-medicate with knowledge to docent themselves through a never ending thread of self-regulated study, relevant education, training and applied experiences.

Having said this, we attempt to gain consensus by defining leadership as: the ability to influence, stimulate and energize others to focus on and accomplish a greater goal. Highly effective leaders story, plan, influence, energize and upgrade the common goal, into a demanded dream of one team. The report card of leadership is best graded by the caliber and business judgment of followers, by the ability and measured results of said greater goal.

Mature leadership offers three additional important and unique magnetic characteristics versus standard management or simple authority: motivation, communication, inspiration. Best of breed leadership aggregates and motivates trust, confidence and the demand engine for Spartan followers to become the same or to aspire to a heightened notch above greatness when learned, when earned. I personally liken leadership purpose and chores to an orchestra. A band of team members who unite to share their expertise on varying instruments, tempo’s, genre personalities and stimulating viewpoints all perfectly coordinated in tone, aspiration and performance by a person we refer to as “the conductor.” Lead-Your-Ship” creates, motivates and magnets team anticipation for the art of the possible in business or even in music.

AS example to this orchestration metaphor, take a look and listen to a musical orchestration I created on a long weekend in Studio W, to practice the important role of business conductor. This music video is titled The Edge and on the edge is where refulgent, highly determined and focused leaders live and strive with their team each and every day.

For those who personally demand to become a leader, I suggest you follow this business benediction I have professed for two decades: “If you want to be the leader, act like the leader.” Just make sure you are learning from and following the right leader to test, to practice, to mirror… to act like the leader you wish to someday become.

Champion leadership inspires team greatness. Challenges the process, challenges the strategy, challenges the team to inspire through victorious results. Great leadership utilizes superior business judgment, critical thinking, sales and team motivation to steer around competitive business din, competitive advantage.

Inspire others, enable others, model others, energize the hearts of others and encourage others to become the leaders they pine to be, to continue their demanding role on the offense, to deny the bulwark distracter's they met and feared so many years ago on the defensive side of leadership. Great leaders have a rugged constitution with boundless sensitivity for each and every member of their team. Lead from behind as true conductors and smart sailing leaders do thru a formidable construct we now call henceforth together “Lead-Your-Ship.”

Peter Weedfald is the author of Green Reign Leadership, a book that focuses on ensuring market opportunity thru creative leadership advantage.