As true as all this is why does leadership so often fail, and why do organisations who invest heavily in leadership development suffer such catastrophic failure: you can argue that the evidence for this is seen in News International, the Metropolitan Police and UBS. We may soon have to add the minders of the EMU to this list.
Strangely enough the answer is not complex, most people and business have some sense of where they are going to, and how they are going to get there but the failure occurs in the execution of purpose, or of not being very good at what you do.
The leadership world is full of people who will bang on about vision, mission, strategy and goals, but very few practitioners will get their hands dirty in making sure that the leadership messages are communicated throughout the organisation, properly understood, and then ingrained into daily practise.
When behaviour is in sync with the leadership message, things get done the way that they should do, but the responding behavioural practises have to be continually measured. You all know the maxim, "What gets measured gets done", well hey ho! It's true.
A word of caution, the leadership messages will change as circumstances change, and the required responding behaviour will need to change. Make sure that what you are measuring is not old hat.
Leadership does not come with an on/off switch, it always has to be in the on mode; really successful people and businesses get others to live out their leadership designs, generate the electricity, meter its flow, and let the light shine elsewhere.
You might believe that leadership is only a challenge when you are responsible for other people, that's not true! It may be more complex than when you are on your own, but you cannot lead others if you cannot lead your self. Being tuned into your personal leadership needs is the starting point for anyone in business.
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