Old school leaders say, “Obey me.” It’s time to listen to what evolving leaders say.

In January of 2011 I found myself weary from nearly 100% travel with change management consulting. I took the first quarter of that year to reflect on what I had learned and where I was going. It was at that juncture that a few things became crystal clear to me:

Leadership Matters

It really matters. When the projects I worded on had solid leadership, the changes we were implementing were realized. There was focus and energy. And of all the techniques at my disposal to influence positive adoption of change; engaged and committed leaders were the most important.

Leadership is an Action, Not a Position

On these enterprise wide change projects, leadership emerged at different levels of the organization. Invariably, there would a junior leader on the project teams that could reach across the organization, building understanding, buy in and ultimately the right actions. And there would be some senior leaders who failed to take action; believing that an email from them as the “senior leader” would suffice. Believe me; I’ve yet to see any circumstance in which an email helped people implement a change; no matter who it was from.

Leadership Models are Shifting

Ambiguity abounded on these projects, by their nature. It is not dissimilar to the ambiguity every leader faces today, given the pace of change. It is virtually impossible these days to find an industry or function that is stable enough that leaders can “know it all”.

Since that time of reflection in 2011, I’ve focused more and more of my time and energy in the development of leaders. I am more convinced than ever, that we need solid leadership ACROSS our organizations, communities and community groups. Not just any leaders and not just those that happen to hold a title that confers leadership responsibilities.

Old School Leadership vs. Evolving Leadership

We need leaders, at all levels and in all our places of interaction, that have moved from our “old school” leadership models to a new “evolving way of leadership.” Here is the difference:

Old school leaders ask for blind obedience: do what I say because I know best.

Evolving leaders ask for focused action; let’s work together toward a desired goal.

Old school leaders ask others to listen and comply.

Evolving leaders give others a voice and choice.

Old school leaders are most comfortable when they know, without doubt, the way forward.

Evolving leaders trust that together, we can find the way forward.

Old school leaders say, “Here’s is what you need to do. You don’t need to know why.”

Evolving leaders say, “We may not know exactly how, but we know why.”

Old school leaders say, “Obey me.”

Evolving leaders say, “Follow me.”

Join me for a complimentary webinar called “Passing the Torch: Three Strategies to Develop the Leadership Your Community Needs” on October 20th or 26th. Register by clicking the date that works best for you. I hope to see you there!