On Leadership
A good leaders can't get to far ahead of his followers. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt
In thinking about how to entice our culture to move towards sustainability, it occurs to me that this quote, which I've discussed in depth before, deserves another review.
People are in all different places along their journey. Each of them is a follower, and for each follower, there are a few steps forward that they can't yet see. A good leader is able to assess the follower to determine how best to help the follower reveal these steps.
From my perspective, I'm particularly interested in helping the leaders to find their next steps, so they can in turn help the followers to see theirs. In focusing my own readership, that may be the most important thing I can do, namely, to know exactly where I am along the continuum, and make sure I focus my educational activities on helping people see that next step.
This plays into the issue of audience. At the conference at Calvin, the audience already knew much of what was presented during the first half of the conference. That makes me think that I should make sure to ASK the registrants what they want to know even though the program for the conference is to some degree already set.
A good leader not only knows his followers and where they are, but also know who follows those followers.
A good leader helps followers to meet their needs. This can play out in a number of steps. First, point out the needs and how they are not being met at the present. Go on to show how these needs will never be met by follwing the current path. Then, give them a very clear vision of themselves having all of their needs met. Finally, show them the path to achieving that vision.
I do not claim to be an expert leader. At the same time, I do not shy away from my position as a leader or my desire to do what I can do as a leader to help achieve the vision of a compassionate, sustainable, local future.
In thinking about how to entice our culture to move towards sustainability, it occurs to me that this quote, which I've discussed in depth before, deserves another review.
People are in all different places along their journey. Each of them is a follower, and for each follower, there are a few steps forward that they can't yet see. A good leader is able to assess the follower to determine how best to help the follower reveal these steps.
From my perspective, I'm particularly interested in helping the leaders to find their next steps, so they can in turn help the followers to see theirs. In focusing my own readership, that may be the most important thing I can do, namely, to know exactly where I am along the continuum, and make sure I focus my educational activities on helping people see that next step.
This plays into the issue of audience. At the conference at Calvin, the audience already knew much of what was presented during the first half of the conference. That makes me think that I should make sure to ASK the registrants what they want to know even though the program for the conference is to some degree already set.
A good leader not only knows his followers and where they are, but also know who follows those followers.
A good leader helps followers to meet their needs. This can play out in a number of steps. First, point out the needs and how they are not being met at the present. Go on to show how these needs will never be met by follwing the current path. Then, give them a very clear vision of themselves having all of their needs met. Finally, show them the path to achieving that vision.
I do not claim to be an expert leader. At the same time, I do not shy away from my position as a leader or my desire to do what I can do as a leader to help achieve the vision of a compassionate, sustainable, local future.