I have noticed a very interesting phenomenon in my life as my experience, activity level, personal involvement, and mental attitude have grown and matured over the last 37 years in business, in general, and over the past 12 months since I began publishing my own website, in particular. I only speak for myself, but I am and continue to be a student…about most everything I do with my life. I have an inquisitive mind and want to know why things are the way they are as well as how they work and change.
I have always been interested in people, particularly people of great achievement, i.e. great leaders and people of accomplishment. I have always been interested in what motivated such people to act as they did, from where did they gain sufficient knowledge to perform as they did, who mentored or taught them how to accomplish as they have, and what did they do to establish themselves and maintain their position as a leader. From all of my study, as I have been thinking about it over the recent weeks, I have noticed some very interesting commonalities among the people of great achievement. It is these very things-they-all-have-in-common that I want to discuss with you in this article.
I have a very difficult time with simply following-the-leader, just because the leader (whoever he or she may be) says to do this or to do that. I have discovered that most leaders feel they same way about receiving marching orders themselves. They don’t like or appreciate having something being rammed down their throats and then pressured or cajoled into doing something they know is not right just because “everyone-else-is-doing-it” or just because “that’s-the-way-we-are-all-supposed-to-do-things.”
While it is true that the best leaders are the ones who were the best followers, that does not mean that people who have earned their leadership role will just immediately fall back into a follower position when what they are being given to do, they know in their heart is not the best or the right way to do it!
Leaders always gotta lead. I know of no exceptions to this overall truth. Leaders first learn how to lead by following a greater leader than themselves, but once they accomplish a leadership role for themselves, the good and strong ones will not simply role over and fold back into a follower’s role again. Permit me to say it again…Leaders gotta lead!
Having said all of that, I now want to discuss with you my point to this entire article. The scientific term for my subject might well be “Critical Mass.” What I mean by that, is that of all of the great men and women I have come to know personally or have read about and studied their lives, there exists a common thread that runs trough each of their lives whether they know each other or not, whether they worked together or not, or whether they performed in the same arenas of accomplishment or not. What I am talking about is a common character trait. A personal internal value that they all share in common. Something that can be likened to all great leader’s shared DNA, if you will.
I have discerned from all of my study and experience a most interesting and valuable piece of information that I would like to share with you. It is knowledge that not all will be interested in. It is knowledge and understanding that only the strong and purposed leader-oriented people will want to consume and digest. I am not boasting,… pounding my own chest,… or giving out braggadocio. I am simply sharing with you the results of my findings from over one-half of a century of study and observation of all types and kinds of people and their leadership roles.
Qualified people who possess leadership talents and abilities who continually and loyally follow their personal leader, mentor, friend, what ever you choose to call them,…can and will all come to the point where they can no longer be content to just follow. Why? you ask….I have already told you,…because…leaders gotta lead. All such people will eventually come to the point in their lives where they because of age, maturity, experience, or any other of several circumstances or events simply can no longer follow their established leader. World history proves what I am telling you. For the sake of a better term, I will call this established leader the senior leader. The involved junior leader is full well aware of when he has reached that point in his life. Sadly, and all too often, the senior leader is the one who is clueless.
My words do not serve as a “threat” or “shot-across-the-bow,” but rather as an observation from over three and one-half decades of observing why some senior leaders continue to grow and become greater leaders and why most begin to die and become lessor leaders as time goes by. Timing has always been the major key to a person’s success.
It is the wise leader who recognizes who the real people of influence are within his overall organization,…who the sub-leaders are who have accomplished the most with the best use of their talents and abilities as God has gifted them,…who the subordinate leaders are who touch the most lives and positively impact the majority of the organization’s followers. These people are the ones who need to be greatly edified and lifted up to all of the organization as good and useful examples of what the best leaders are and what they do for the overall group.
It is a major mistake for the senior leader to overlook his qualified junior leaders or fail to properly recognize them and edify them to all of the organization. By that, I mean, that if the senior leader fails to do as I am suggesting, then I know he or she will one day soon stand in steadfast disbelief when they watch the “exodus” of the great reservoir of talent and ability and experience depart from the organization to the detriment of everyone. Why does this sort of thing happen….because…..leaders gotta lead! And they will always lead somewhere, somehow, and with someone.
If you are the senior leader of any kind or size of organization of human beings,…please hear these words…..please appropriately respond to the suggestions made herein….please allow your junior leaders the opportunity to lead. I promise you, that you will be glad you did!
Peace and Love to all of You………………..Poppa Bear