Of all of the beautiful truths pertaining to the soul which have been restored and brought to life in this age, none is more gladdening or fruitful of divine promise and confidence than this – that you are the master of your thought, the molder of your character, and the maker and shaper of condition, environment, and destiny. - James Allen

When most people hear the word leadership, they think of it only in the business context. But leadership is broader than that; leadership is really a philosophy of life. Knowledge and courage; head and heart. Core convictions and leading from the inside out; why is this necessary to quality of life?

CEO’s and managers, teachers and coaches, and even compassionate mothers are leaders. It all begins from within, by having the self-discipline to lead and know yourself; to understand that the essence of life lies in leadership. As Robert Louis Stevenson once said, “To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life.”

Truly wise people aim, not only for leadership in their businesses, but also within their personal lives. It is the courage to lead and live with great character that sets the task manager separate from the faithful leader. A great task leader embraces the “get it done” motto, the great people leader embraces the “people are more than just objects” motto, and the great faithful leader embraces the “making worthy contributions to others” motto. But the leader of life embraces the “the quality of my character and convictions and how I execute them will impact everything and everyone that I touch” motto. Wow! That brings immediate clarification as to why we need to lead from the inside out. And that takes an abundance of courage and humility: two great leadership qualities.

When I attempt to coach a client, the objective is for them to see life in a whole new perspective and truly liberate the fullness of their personal potential. Inner leadership proceeds outer leadership. Remember that we define growth and development from the spiritual center first? Before you can understand the dynamics to lead others, you must first learn to lead yourself.

Woodrow Wilson was quoted as saying, “You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget that errand.”

A client recently shared, “No one really ever took me aside and taught me to lead people. No one showed me what to do to deeply motivate my team or communicate more effectively. No one explained how I could boost productivity through the enhancement of employee motivation and commitment. And what about the art of managing my time and getting things done? I always seem to have far too much to do and too little time. Everyone expects me to have all the answers to all their questions. I’m constantly under stress and take out my frustrations on my people, or my family, which only make things worse. As for a sense of balance between my professional and personal life, it’s just a dream. I say to myself, ‘Next year will be the year I get back into shape or start spending more time with the family.’ But things never seem to slow down.”

My personal belief is that all failure, whether in the business world or in one’s personal life, can be tracked to a failure in leadership. Companies don’t perform at their peak when their leaders are unskilled and unwise. People don’t perform at their best when they have no leadership and accountability over their lives. And when the best employees are jumping ship, when morale is destroyed, when no one trusts management, and when teamwork is a thing of the past, then there is a failure somewhere with leadership.

Today’s industries demand relentless innovation, yet most seem to have lost their creative fire. And all the change that they are being forced to deal with is crippling. Technology is changing, the industry is changing, and customers’ expectations are changing. On top of all of that, corporations can’t seem to figure out the direction in which they need to move. So what is the solution?

We need to take ourselves out of our comfort areas and literally, empty the cup. Whatever we have in it. Even if we are afraid of loosing the “valuable contents”. We are full to the brim. We have filled our minds so full of our opinions, ideas, and biases that nothing new can get in. And in our rapidly changing world, where leaders must constantly be learning new concepts and equipping themselves with new skills, that’s a deadly character flaw. So what to do? As I said this past week, “you take the next step…whatever that may be.” This coach realizes that we must constantly be receptive to new knowledge. We must always view ourselves as lifelong students, no matter how many initials and titles follow our names on our upscale business cards. We must grow humble. And yeah…sometimes I have a problem with that too! Haha I definitely have inherited an opinionated and independent spirit! hahaha

Leadership is about focused action in the direction of a worthy purpose. Leadership is about realizing that the impossible is generally the untried. Leadership isn’t about position…it’s about action! CEO’s, GM’s, managers, programmers, controllers, engineers, and even the shop foreman can be a great leader. To lead is to inspire, energize, and influence. Leadership isn’t about managing things but about developing people; and that begins with you! The true assets of a company are the people that enter the door and exit the door every day. Quite simply, leadership is about helping people to liberate the fullness of their talents while they pursue a vision that they have understood as worthy and meaningful. You can do this guys! Managers can do this. Even your frontline workers can show leadership in the work that they do.

And the truly faithful leaders…not just the effective task leaders…go beyond improving the current operations, by enhancing quality, by streamlining systems, and raising customer-care standards. Although those are important tasks for the success of the corporation…the ultimate leader tries to improve their life score of executing “right” action. Going beyond what is expected, what might be easy, what might be painful, what might feel good or initiate membership into a group. Faithful, visionary leaders take in the humanness that is within all of us. Sort of like the newest Geico commercial where in the end the therapist says, “ human beings behaving humanly. Brilliant!” ha

True leadership is hard. It takes a lot of effort, commitment, and discipline. It takes exposure of who you are and challenges your edges. Remember, I alluded to standing at the edge…the exhilaration and the fear…the rush courage can bring if executed well.

A couple of my clients (former and current) had the courage to question and challenge me this past week. Kudos to both of them; because now…they get my passion…they get my commitment. Sometimes we need to question and push back. It’s all a part of that accountability thing.