Leadership Gold Part 6 of 10: Helping Others
February 23, 2009 by dr. lam · 3 Comments
Many times, leaders assume their leadership position merely for the material gain or posturing that such a title affords, e.g., the corner office or a respected status. However, all great leaders in the history of mankind have one thing in common: they have made a difference. Leadership provides an individual the capacity to help others in ways that he or she could not do as well outside of a leadership position. I like how John Maxwell summarized the main objective of leadership: helping others. That is beautifully put.
I feel that in my position of leadership that I have your attention so that with hundreds of people reading my blog every day I get an audience that I can directly impact. I can’t tell you how great that feels. Your blog responses mean the world to me. It means that I am getting through. It means I am connecting, and we are connecting with one another. When I work with my staff, I am so proud that I know that I am giving them a great place to work so that they in turn can help others. I feel that we all in turn share that leadership position so that we can then lead others. I like the saying, “Leaders lead leaders.” By leading my staff to impart the ethical, passionate, and creative approach to patient care, they then carry out that mission.
I hope that all of you assume the mantle of leadership in small and great ways. Remember that to be a leader you just need two things: direction and followers. That does not necessarily make you a good leader but just a leader. If you want to be a leader, ask yourself what direction are you taking your followers? Do you have any followers to begin with? Are you taking them on a selfish direction for personal gain? Or are you sticking with Maxwell’s basic tenet of leadership, that all great leadership is focused on helping others?