i-TFTD #355: Leadership Begins with Belief in Becoming

#355-1. Impatient leaders say let's do something. Wise leaders say, Let's become something.

-Dan Rockwell at leadershipfreak.com

#355-2. The first follower is actually an underestimated form of leadership in itself. The first follower is what transforms a lone nut into a leader.

-Derek Sivers (1969-) founder of CD Baby (His TED videos are here.)

#355-3. It's one of the characteristics of a leader that he not doubt for one moment the capacity of the people he's leading to realize whatever he's dreaming.

-Benjamin Zander (1939-), American music conductor from the UK (I like his brilliantly delightful TED video.)

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Doing is about execution and is receiving a lot of attention ever since Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan published their book on the topic. This emphasis was a much needed correction to management literature with its rich repertoire of strategic thinking frameworks and conceptual models. However, in the real world of action-oriented business managers, many situations call for inspiring teams with a vision that transforms the team and the organization rather than merely motivating them to perform goal-oriented tasks.

A leader, by definition, cannot exist without followers. Authority and position vested by the organizational hierarchy is inadequate to be seen as a true leader of people. No one is always a leader in every situation nor is anyone always a follower. The positive belief of the leader in the team transmits to the team and gradually develops into a mutually trusting and enriching collective force.