Wanted: A Dictionary-Perfect
Leader
by Eileen McDargh
Answers are often before our very eyes or in front of our noses
- particularly if we read the American Heritage Dictionary!
Explore with me how some of the multitude of definitions for the
word "leader" actually serve as a performance standard for leadership.
Leaving behind the standard definition of "one who leads or guides",
consider the second definition: "one who has power or influence".
Have you known people in a leadership role who seem unable to influence
the people around them? The ability to make connections, to speak
clearly and to frame information so everyone hears a "what's it
in for me" message are essential for influence. We are also persuaded
by people with conviction and passion. We are influenced by people
whom we think we can trust. Lose or misuse any of this and a leader's
power vanishes.
A leader is defined as "a conductor or the principal performer
in an orchestral section". Finding ways to bring together the
different talents of employees or volunteers so that all play
from the same sheet of music and blend their instruments into
a harmonious whole is a skill demonstrated by the finest of leaders!
As a principal performer, we look to a leader to have one talent
that is heads above the other people in that arena of "play".
We don't want a leader who professes to best at everything. But
we do want a leader to have one clearly recognizable skill.
The foremost animal in a harnessed team is a leader. Do we not look
to leaders to guide the way, joined shoulder by shoulder to the
rest of the team? Remember how the presence of a leader at a front
line became the rallying point for many a battle?
Leader is also defined as "a duct for conveying warm air from a
furnace." Care is a four-letter word heard more and more frequently
in business circles. Employees want to know that a leader cares
for them. The cold, stern dictator might get some results but never
the full-blown commitment, creativity and loyalty of a warm and
caring leader.
There's the leader that is an economic indicator and the leader
that is "loss". A leader better be in command and have a clear indication
as to the economic viability of the enterprise. A leader also needs
to know when something is done to attract talent or customers -
not to make money.
A short length of gut, wire or similar material by which a hook
is attached to a fishing line is a leader and so is the blank strip
at the end or beginning of a film or tape used in threading or winding.
What's the correlation with the world of leadership in these final
definitions? Both are used for setting up the profit potential of
the venture. Depending upon the type of fish one wishes to catch,
a fishing leader strengthens the connection between the hook and
the rest of the line. There are times in which the executive's presence
helps solidify the relationship between the customer and the sales
team so that the customer "bites the hook". Other times, a leader
gently paves the way for the real presentation to the potential
buyer or the investment community. He is the "blank tape" that opens
the doors for the full presentation of the company.
If a picture is worth 1000 words, a metaphor is worth 1000 pictures.
Using the metaphors provided by other meanings to the word "leader",
we gain a rich image of the scope and possibilities of true leadership.
© Eileen McDargh, McDargh Communications. All rights reserved. You may reprint this article so long as it remains intact with the byline and if all links are made live.
Since 1980, Hall of Fame speaker Eileen McDargh has helped Fortune 100 companies as well as individuals create connections that count and conversations that matter. Her latest book is Gifts from the Mountain-Simple Truths for Life's Complexities. Her other books include Talk Ain't
Cheap...It's Priceless and Work for a Living and Still Be Free to Live, one of the first books to address the notion of balance and authentic work. A 59 year-old grandmother, she recently returned from climbing among the highest mountains in the world. Find out more about this compelling
and effective professional speaker and join her free newsletter by visiting http://www.EileenMcDargh.com.
McDargh
Communications
(949) 496-8640
Eileen@EileenMcDargh.com
www.EileenMcDargh.com
© 2008 McDargh Communications, All rights
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