What is the stance of a leader?

Over the past week or so I've been exploring three big breakdowns that I feel every leader must face in today's world.

1. Disorientation created by maximizing of choice and loss of self (and to what we care about)
2. Fragmentation of community created by our retributive styles of conversation and living
3. Uncertainty created by the the pace of change

These are all forms of dissociation. And it is really hard to know what to do and how to respond to our world when we are dissociated from ourselves, from others, and from it.  It is easy to see how quickly we feel paralyzed, victimized, and disengaged - in a word - empty.

In my view, a leader is a person who takes a different stance in the midst of this world. The stance a leader takes is one of commitment, accountability, and responsiveness.

Often, a leader doesn't know what to do or how to respond any better than anyone else. They aren't omniscient or super human (or taller :-)). A leader is just like you and me. But, a leader faces their own not knowing  - their own humanness - and, in spite of it, takes a stance of commitment, accountability, and responsiveness anyway. Why? For the sake of the community.

Many of us have been in the middle of messes - tough meetings, failing projects, natural disasters, traffic collisions, etc. And it is often not entirely clear how to respond to what's happening. That's one of the things that makes them messy. And in those situations, we look for leadership. We look for the person who is not paralyzed, being the victim, or disengaged. We look for the person who is going to step up and be a catalyst to focus us, to enroll us, to engage us in also stepping up out of our paralysis, victimization, and disengagement. For we all have the possibility of being committed, accountable, and engaged. This way of being is one that is full and fulfilling.

The secret is that no one needs a leader to lead them there. Everyone can take that step for themselves. Everyone can be a leader.

Here are some questions to ponder:

• What is your stance in the world? That of a leader? Or?
• If not, what limitations in yourself must you face in order to take the stance of a leader?
• Another way of asking the same question is what do you believe you must have before you can be committed, take responsibility, and respond to your situation? Is this true? Do you really need that? What stance can you take anyway?

Leadership is a rich and deep topic. I'm sure I'll return to the question of what is leadership again and again. I hope you enjoyed my current take. I'd love to hear what you think about it? What impression about leadership was evoked in your reading of this?

Take care,

-Steve

Comments

[Egg]

Hi Steve - I really enjoyed hearing your take on a leader. Right now I am participating in Landmark Education's Commitment Seminar Series, and so i'm drawing a lot of parallels to what you're talking about. I assume you're a forum graduate? Well I have been having similar thoughts on leadership--- so thanks for helping me to get clear on the stance of a leader. Most inspirational to me is this line:

"We look for the person who is not paralyzed, being the victim, or disengaged. We look for the person who is going to step up and be a catalyst to focus us, to enroll us, to engage us in also stepping up out of our paralysis, victimization, and disengagement."

I think you hit it RIGHT ON THE MARK!

-egg

[Steve]

Egg,

Thanks for the comment.

Yes, I have taken the Forum, however, nothing else from Landmark. It doesn't play a big role in my current approach to either leadership or coaching although we draw from similar backgrounds (namely the work of Fernando Flores). So perhaps you see the similarity from that.

Take care,

-Steve