We Need Better than “Just Good Enough” Leaders!

Now from the title of this week’s blog, you would assume it concerns the most recent U.S. election. You would be right. You might also think that I have picked a side. You would be wrong! But the events of the past week do have me thinking out loud about the state of leadership here in the U.S. and around the world.

I have had the pleasure of hearing the world’s leading expert on leadership, John Maxwell, teach in person on several occasions. He often states that we are in a “leadership crises” both here and abroad, I am prone to agree. Regardless of your political persuasion, you must have the intellectual honesty to admit that both of the eventual candidates had serious character deficiencies. Therefore, when most Americans went to the ballot box they voted for their “just good enough” candidate.

So how did we get here? Certainly, there were quality candidates on both sides of the political spectrum at the early stages of the process that did not have such baggage. They were earnestly sincere in their beliefs and had a track record of honest leadership. I think part of it is that often we confuse celebrity with ability or perhaps notoriety with integrity. The sad truth is that the “cult of personality” is alive and well in modern society which often disappoints. The outcome is that I believe that with some exceptions on both sides of the aisle, our best is not in Washington, DC. Even though there are great men and women leaders who would be imminently qualified, who would want to expose themselves and their families to the level of “no holds barred” destructive scrutiny that is pervasive in most campaigns? The result is that those in office, tend to stay in office well beyond their shelf life!

Whereas I have no clear fixes for the system as it currently is, I do have some criteria for what would constitute EXCELLENT leadership. Notice I did not say perfect because there is no such thing. As John Maxwell shares, we should practice Healthy Hypocrisy where it is OK if your words and deeds do not always MATCH UP as long as they eventually CATCH UP! But I think we can and should do better than “just good enough” leadership both within ourselves and the leaders we elect.

• We need excellent leaders that focus on the GREATER GOOD versus the NARROW INTEREST
• We need excellent leaders that consider the NEEDS OF THE MANY versus the DESIRES OF THE VOTING BLOCK
• We need excellent leaders that lead from the perspective of the LONG WAY versus the NEXT ELECTION
• We need excellent leaders that understand COLLABORATION is more productive than CONFRONTATION
• We need excellent leaders that are PROBLEM SOLVERS versus CRISES PRODUCERS
• We need excellent leaders who understand the BENEFITS of UNITING people far outweighs the UTILITY of DIVIDING people
• We need excellent leaders that know decisions can be YES, AND propositions versus just the EITHER, OR ELSE or WIN/LOSE ultimatums.

On second thought, perhaps that is how we fix the system. Maybe if we expect ourselves and others to be “more than adequate” leaders versus “just good enough” and if enough of you step up to leadership roles, then maybe we can create a system that works!

Remember that the name of my firm is based on the fact that leadership is an OUT LOUD proposition. So, find your voice because you have something to say!

As always if I can help you and the people you associate with Get Better, Be Ready and LEAD OUT LOUD, I would invite you to email me or to visit my website below and see if any of the training or coaching experiences I offer can provide an impact! Also, as a bonus, if you go to my Out Loud Strategies website (www.outloudinc.com) and enter your contact information, I will send you a FREE guide to establishing a mentoring initiative program in your organization! Such an initiative would be critical to add value to your organization!

Yours in Leadership,

Bill Faulkner

Principal Consultant – Out Loud Strategies

Independent Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team ^TM

Email = bill@outloudinc.com

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