The Leadership Contract

Years ago, I was working with a major client to develop their leadership pipeline. During the seminar, one of the attendees decided to drop out from the program and his reasoning was that he is more comfortable being an individual contributor rather than getting on the leadership journey. At the time, it didn’t make sense to me but now I know that leadership is not for everyone and it’s okay if you are not ready and prepared to take on leadership responsibilities. I believe the leadership journey gives you the opportunity to learn and grow, mature, make a significant contribution and stretch your abilities. Leadership is a heavy responsibility and a fulfilling one at the same time. To be a great and respected leader is not for the faint hearted. The leadership journey is filled with challenges and it’s also an amazing opportunity to make a difference in our homes, organizations, business communities and our World. Leading with passion and authenticity can be rewarding. Great leadership is about integrity, honesty, passion, vision, taking risks, fearlessness, compassion, courage, authenticity, collaboration, self-awareness, selflessness, purposefulness, humility, intuition, and wisdom. When we help leaders renovate their inward state, what’s happening inside them that influences their outside results we will be enhancing the leadership practice. Having been in the change leadership and management space for many years, I can confidently say that the main reason why change initiatives, projects, or programs are not achieving the outcomes and results and why the changes are not sustainable is because the leaders go back to doing things the way they have always done it. When there is no authentic or real change from the inside, leaders revert to the old ways of doing things. How do we change that? By working on the inward condition of the leader comprising of belief systems, thought processes, worldview, self-concept, self-identity, and socialization. You can never be any different from the way you see yourself. When we look at exceptional and outstanding leadership, it’s about character, courage, and wisdom. It’s important that when we talk about developing leaders, we ensure that we elevate the consciousness of these leaders to lead through complexity, uncertainty, volatility, disruption, and ambiguity. Enjoy and learn the nuggets presented in this podcast and continue the journey of becoming a great leader that others want to follow and work with voluntarily. Secondly, be the leader you will be proud of working with. Have a fantastic week and see you at the summit of great leaders.