We are in challenging days… Everywhere we look or listen, society is____________________ (you fill in the blank).
The more I “look around,” the more I see a steady increase in what leadership should not be. Lack of leadership is running rampant all over the place. What has happened in our society that has allowed for and brought about this change? The primary reason, I believe, is we have turned away from servant-leadership and are now chasing our own selfish desires.
And there and here lies the problem… Leaders who do not value a servant-based mentality become intolerant (please note that I am not writing about areas of morality here) to the views of others. A false idea of tolerance undermines quality leadership, and many people never recognize it is happening. Intolerant leaders seem to think they can impose their leadership on others, and you have no right to question it.
Leaders who lead with intolerance of others’ viewpoints create the notion that their leadership is absolute and anything that contradicts said “truth” is only relative – for you.
This notion is where I see a fundamental shift. Many, in leadership roles, while having to “answer” to someone above them, only feel they are answerable to no one but themselves – especially if they can convince they have the best interests of others in mind or, as they say, “at heart.” This is where I say, “Please do not tell me you have my best interests in mind and then decide the decision you make only benefits you or the ones you are actually concerned about.”
As I write this, I genuinely believe you will be able to pick this topic up and almost put it into any time slot of history, past, or future, and it will still be applicable. However, due to the constant flow of information from so many different outlets, our viewing and knowledge of ever-changing leadership are much more assessable. It should not and does not take one long to recognize the difference. While that is a benefit, it also allows the disguised “leadership lie of self” agenda to continue to be pushed.
Funny thing is, while I “think” I have an answer for almost anything, I really do not have an answer for this. I do not know how to help those in leadership positions understand that by serving others, they will also benefit themselves. I suppose the only answer I have is to suggest modeling the right leadership behavior and hope others will take notice and see that there is something different about being a servant-leader first. I fear that it will take something drastic in their leadership lives to understand this…
Go be a great educator and leader today… Our future needs it…
Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…
©2020 J Clay Norton
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