On being a leader: old rules vs. new rules; Think leadership means being an all-knowing deity who rules with an intimidating iron hand? Think again.

• Author: MacDonald, Bob
• Position: LEADERSHIP

UNDER THE OLD RULES of leadership, the idea of building a consensus for action was considered to be time-consuming and soft. Consensus was "nice," but it was not something that needed to be achieved. The assumption was that by the definition of leadership, leaders needed to make all the important decisions. Many feared: If the leader was not needed to make all the decisions then why do we need a leader? This attitude was a variation of the theory that the only way to be powerful is to hold all the power for oneself.

In reality, this is a sign of failed leadership. It is one thing to have the power to make all the recommendations and decisions. It is quite another to use it. Harry Truman believed that the surest way to lose power is to use power. Every time you say, "Do it this (my) way," you are reducing both your own power and the free flow of information that may assist in making the best decisions.

You are becoming a problem solver, not a solution facilitator. You are not being a leader. You are acting like a dictator. That might have worked in the past, but times are different. The world moves faster, competition is fierce, and followers are well educated and experienced. It is neither efficient nor effective for the leader to make all the decisions regarding the actions of an organization.

We need to cheat on this old rule and make a new one. When it comes to dealing with issues--at any level of leadership--the most effective leaders appear to make few specific decisions. Leaders create long-term objectives and concepts of the organization's core beliefs, but a strong leader creates a consensus that facilitates solutions to setting these objectives and concepts into action.

Traditionally, leaders come into a meeting and show how dominant they are--demanding answers or giving answers to questions that have not been raised, and then leaving, thinking that the meeting was successful. Modern leaders view their role in meetings as the point guard--a catalyst who starts the play in motion--not as the one who makes the decisions. They bring people together--diverse elements of different chemistries--to solve a problem. Going into the meeting, however, the leader knows what decisions will likely be made and the direction of the meeting will take as well. In the world of today, it is a failure of leadership if--at the end of the meeting--the leader has to say, "No. We are going to do it this way."

A great leader motivates others to recommend to...