Leadership

“Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish.” -- Sam Walton

"The great leaders are like the best conductors - they reach beyond the notes to reach the magic in the players." -- Blaine Lee

"The best leaders have a high Consideration Factor. They really care about their people." -- Brian Tracy

"Leadership is much more an art, a belief, a condition of the heart, than a set of things to do. The visible signs of artful leadership are expressed, ultimately, in its practice." -- Max DePree

Leadership. I believe that everything rises and falls on leadership.

I ate breakfast yesterday with a friend of mine who was telling me of some incredible leadership blunders where he works. Morale is in the toilet as a result. On the other hand, I know of organizations whose morale could not be higher despite our economy...just because they have solid leadership.

The thing that amazes me when I talk with people about leadership is that, very few people consider themselves leaders. I believe that is not correct. I believe that we ALL are leaders.

I agree that some are given the gift of leadership to lead larger groups of people. But what I mean when I say that we are all leaders is that I believe that leadership is influence, as John Maxwell says. If this is true, then I can make a case that we all are influencing someone. It could be a coworker, a friend, a sibling, a child...anyone.

So the question is, how's your leadership--are you influencing others in a positive or negative way?