Whether leading the St. Louis Public Schools, the St. Louis Rams or the United States, the key of leadership is to inspire confidence. Unless it’s a tyrannical rule, in which a heavy hand exacts a pound of flesh for the slightest provocation, leaders must seek creative, humane ways to motivate people to follow their lead.
Fear can be a motivator, but a mean-spirited leader usually doesn’t inspire; eventually, people withdraw, become alienated and may even plot against him or her. From historical figures like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela to your favorite teacher, successful leaders envision success and model the correct behavior; that is, they practice what they preach.
Modern organizational concepts base leadership on the ability to influence, inspire and demonstrate success. Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Ernest L. Arbuckle Professor of Business Administration at Harvard University and best selling author of Confidence, says, “Confidence is an expectation of success.” Hence, leaders have a winning spirit.
If time after time a person leading the charge falls short, doubt creeps in, rumors fly and relationships sour. This does not mean that a leader can never stumble or fumble. ut those who understand the importance of confidence, as Dr. Kanter said, have a contingency plan, so that if they by chance fail, they have in place a plan to quickly recover.
There is no ready formula for leading complex organizations fraught with constraints, demanding constituents and competition for scarce resources. In fact, those who take on these difficult challenges are either saints or lunatics.
Remember the bromide: “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatest thrust upon them.” Since birth and circumstance can not be controlled, focus should be on achieving leadership potential. Leadership should be instilled from an early age.
Since leadership entails “the art of leading others to lead themselves,” we should have skilled self-leaders at every level of our organizations. We need effective leaders in the boiler room, the classroom, the dining room and the boardroom.
To raise awareness that we all are responsible for success can have a tremendous empowering effect on a group. But in order to influence a culture of self-leaders, those at the top should be exemplars. They must reach out, connect, encourage involvement and articulate high hopes.
Malaika Horne, Ph.D. is director of the Executive Leadership Institute in the College of Business Administration at UMnSt. Louis.