Category Archives: Ideals

The CANNOTs of Leadership

06 Friday Apr 2018

Posted by in Actions, Attitude, Authentic, Balance, Choice, Clarity, Culture, Decisions, Humility, Ideals, Inspiration, Integrity, Leader, Leadership, Momentum, Opportunity, Passion, Perseverance, Power, Purpose, Servant, Team, Trust, Understanding, Unity

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“Leadership is an aspect of power, but it is also a separate and vital process in itself.” – James MacGregor Burns

Society has done a terrific job and an injustice of conditioning the minds of many leaders to be shallow and superficial. It distorts our thinking and our ability to make decisions. In some sense, it becomes a drug that is killing the future of what great, quality leadership should be.

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Photo Credit: gettingsmart.com

Unless there is a radical change in our thought process of the way we view leadership, to be for others and not ourselves, leadership will simply fade away.

Here are a few thoughts that we CANNOT allow ourselves to do…

  • We cannot simply flow with the societal trends of leadership.
  • We cannot elevate our leadership and at the same time not hold to the foundational truths of leadership.
  • We cannot promote our leadership by not living out what we say our leadership is.
  • We cannot fall victim not acknowledging that leadership requires humility.
  • We cannot fail to realize that leadership requires enthusiasm.
  • We cannot abandon our desire to want right leadership.

Today’s leadership models promote so much focus on self that we lose sight of serving others. It is self-absorbing. To make matters worse, we buy into it. We accept it as the norm. We allow it to become part of our inner being… ME FIRST!

Our defense against leadership, that is worldly and weakens right influence, relies on distrusting our ego to the point that we must separate the error it causes in our thinking.

Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP!

©2018 J Clay Norton

Follow me on Twitter at TheBookChamber

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“Relationshipablitiness”

23 Friday Feb 2018

Posted by in Actions, Attitude, Authentic, Communication, Culture, Ideals, Inspiration, Leader, Leadership, Relationships, Servant, Team, Trust, Unity

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“When leadership is a relationship founded on trust and confidence, people take risks, make changes, keep organizations and movements alive.” – James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner

When there are people around, to lead, I figure you just might have to have a relationship with them. Can you lead if relationships are absent? I suppose you can but…

I believe the one ingredient leadership must have, is “relationshipabilitness” (I just made that word up). Leadership relationships create an atmosphere across many different ideas, concepts, interests, etc. What leaders need and should understand is that relationships must be built and YOU, as the leader, must be the builder. If you cannot be that builder, what type of structure will your leadership be? Now, some leaders just choose not to build. This is very sad. Often, you might find that leader who states, “I am in charge and what I say goes, blah blah blah.” What you have here is a leadership facade that looks good on the outside, but on the inside, it is in shambles. No thank you.

When your leadership has a relationship with people, it listens to understand them. It considers and acknowledges their thoughts and ideas. Leaders must see that people have value. What happens is people begin to see that you are committed to them and just not yourself. Leading for yourself is easy. It is all about you. When we lead for others, we devalue ourselves. Notice the “for” in each of the two previous statements. Who is your leadership “for?” At the end of it all, that has to be the question asked and answered.

Do you honestly want to connect with your leadership? Then build relationships beyond yourself. Building relationships has to be one of the most effective leadership traits of a quality leader. Be a leader who is known for having “relationshipabilitiness.”

Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP!

©2018 J Clay Norton

Follow me on Twitter at TheBookChamber

Subscribe via email to my blog at the top of the page

Ideals, Leadership & Legend

18 Friday Aug 2017

Posted by in Ideals, Leadership, Legacy

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“Men make history…not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.” — Harry S. Truman, 33rd U.S. President (1945–1953)

I’m a huge Batman fan when it comes to superheroes.  Why?  Because Batman does not have any superpowers, per se.  All he has, is just what he has…  Batman must use his mind, anticipate the actions of others, etc. He must use his human attributes to become a superhero.

Often times, we as leaders must carry the same mindset as Batman.  Now, let’s begin to think about that and how it can transcend into our leadership.

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In the clip below, Henri Ducard (Ra’s Al Ghul) speaks with Bruce Wayne (Batman) about what it takes to become a legend.

Here is the conversation.  The best lines are in red.

Bruce Wayne:  You’re vigilantes.

Henri Ducard:  No, no, no.  A vigilante is just a man lost in the scramble for his own gratification.  He can be destroyed, or locked up.  But, if you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, and they can’t stop you, then you become something else entirely.

Bruce Wayne:  Which is?

Henri Ducard: A Legend, Mr. Wayne.

This is what we should want to do in our leadership.  As leaders, we must devote ourselves to an ideal.  When we do that, passion and fire are evident in our lives.  And… We usually will not let anything stand in our way.  When we find an ideal of leadership we believe in and others buy into it, that is when our leadership can take on a legendary status (Note: There are also very bad ideals and leaders out there).

We have all had certain people in our lives that have influenced us with their leadership.  What were their ideals?  Why did you “follow” them?  Leaders who have had a “special touch” on our lives, we see as legends.  If we look back on history and look today, we can see the “pillars” of leadership.  Their leadership became legendary because their ideals were for the good of others and not themselves.  Those are the ideals we should strive for, an ideal of being a servant, putting others first.  

What are you doing today, this week, this month, this year, this life to make your leadership legendary?  If we do not have a leadership ideal to strive for, then we are just going through the motions.  Too many times, all we do is follow.  Be the leader who is devoted to an ideal and let your leadership become legendary.  Society is waiting…

Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP

©2017 J Clay Norton

Follow me on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/thebookchamber

Subscribe via email to my blog at the top of the page.