Real leadership.

• Author: Dee, Kevin M.
• Position: HR Matters - Evaluation of leadership styles - Column

I was listening to the radio the other day. A panel of notable Alaskan folks told the audience what they thought would happen in Alaska over time. All of them were actually quite positive about our long-term future. They postulated based on their experiences and backgrounds quite elegantly, giving corroborating facts and information as much as time allowed. As I listened I felt more and more as though I was listening to a group of life raft passengers telling me we should see land soon or that rescue would be coming any day now. I felt frustrated and when asking myself why, I realized that everything that I heard was, at this point in time, speculation and opinion. What was missing was the vision of where we want to be as a state and the plan to achieve it. In other words, there was no defining how we would achieve any of this. Never mind the obstacles that are staring us in the face. There was a lack of leadership in this discussion.

Unfortunately, this is also true in many organizations. How many times have you heard supposed leaders or managers get up and announce a new initiative or plan, tell you how it will help you and then walk away? You are left befuddled--with something you did not ask for, don't trust, and when you try it, doesn't work. There seems to me a gap between leaders and real leadership.

When it comes to real leadership several things occur, whether in government or private business. It has to do with getting everyone possible engaged so that their voices are heard and they know that what they think matters. It has to do with what people value in their lives--like family, making a difference, financial security, and so on. It has everything to do with aligning those values and what is important to people and translating those things into actions. It takes real leaders to initiate real leadership. Real leadership engages people and inspires a shared vision of the future through communication, inclusion, and touching on shared aspirations. Real leadership is an experience of integrity in action. Real leaders are individuals easily noticed when they walk into a room. Their integrity and the ways in which they walk their talk and live in their values shows up when they enter a room and it sets them apart. It takes real leaders to begin the process of real leadership and it all begins with an inspiring vision.

An inspiring vision can transform people and groups and lead to accomplishments we never thought possible. Such a...