Secret to Leadership

All good leaders have one thing in common.  It’s not personality, it’s not authority, or a high level of expertise. Oh no!  Good Leaders Create Capacity.

Good leaders create capacity in themselves and in others.  They lead by developing and bringing out the best in others.  That good leader is “You”.  You allow others to see what can be accomplished. You give your team the tools, the resources, the power, to accomplish the tasks at hand and let go of the control’s so others can Learn, Grow, and Lead.

You coach and give people your outstanding opportunities to prove themselves, to grow, to become better.  You constantly challenge and put trust in others, creating a culture where people grow at every level of their organization.  And you realize, you can’t accomplish your vision on your own.  

Let me give you an example — a koi fish.  Give it all the food it needs, all the water it needs, and that koi fish will never grow to more then about two inches in size.  Take the koi fish out of the fish bowl and throw it in a lake somewhere and watch what happens.  The koi fish grows to about a foot in size.  What is that all about?

Well, the takeaway from such a story is what any leader needs to know.  The koi fish grows proportionately to the environment in which it lives.  In other words, in the fish bowl, the koi fish has all the security, all the food, all the basic needs of life.  It’s safe. It doesn’t have to work in growing to becoming stronger.  You put it in a lake. The water is deeper. Therefore, the water is colder.  Larger species have one thing on their mind, how quickly can I eat the koi fish.  So it has to become stronger.

That’s what you and I do. We become stronger when we need to become stronger.  And leaders need to create an environment — in which, through which, by which — all others around them are willing to excel, and grow, be nurtured, and be nourished.  Leadership is more than the lessons you learn or the things you do.  Leadership is about who you are.  Leadership is About Empowering Others to Reach Their Full Potential.  Have a great day.