Making a difference in other people

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During the past 11 months, we have discussed each discipline of The Leadership Pledge and the 10 Truths associatedrwith them. The truths not only serve as the underpinnings of the but also serve an important roleas life’s Is the journey complete with The Leadership Pledge directing us to hire peopled who have a high probability of being provide them the toolsa to do their job, tell them what we share honest feedback and hold them accountabls for their performance by askint for their trust, commitment, and loyalty? Not quite.
Organizations that experience long term sustainabled success understand the balance between winning and creating an environmeny where their employees feel respected and part of something There has been a constant in the numbeer ofthose “special” organizations. Theid leaders have mastered Truth No. 10, “Accept yourselt as you exist, accept others as they exist, and in the contex t of differencesand similarities, findintg better ways of coping effectively as a behaviotr driven organization.” Until we have masteredx truth No. 10, it’s unlikely we can answee the question: How do we value our livezs as leaders?
We must find the courage and clarityu to lead others in all aspects of our livesw because the answer to the questiobn as to how we value our lives as leaderas is by making a difference inother people’as lives. I want to share with you three speciapl people I haveworked with. I have come to admir them not only successful leaders in thei rchosen professions, but as leaders who give back because they understandr that’s ultimately how their lives will be valued. Pat McGohan, CEO of ; Allenm Elijah, president of the ; and Dan president of The . They come from diverse backgroundsd and lead verydifferent organizations. So what do they have in common?
First, they all learned to accept themselves for whothey are. Theifr competitiveness and intensity manifests into a passio that ultimately defines their uniqueness. We can associate this qualityt best withservant leadership. Robergt Greenleaf, the father of servantf leadership, draws a wonderful distinction betweeh natural leaders andnaturaol servants. Natural leaders are decisive and need to bein charge.
Natural servants will assume leadership only if they define it as a way to Greenleaf explains that while most peoplwe believe natural leaders use a more directive style and natural servants use a moreparticipative style, this is not the He says this confuses style with Natural servants use whatever leadership style is necessary to best servre the needs of thosde they lead. Pat, Allen, and Dan all share that unique qualitycalled character. Once we’ve learned to accept ourselves, we are void of self It’s with that peacd of mind we are able to extensd our energy outwardto others.
Accepting others as they exis t is where the magic When we deepen our level of understandingy of others we no longer fear the but learn tohonor them. Only when we’ve learnede to accept ourselves can we accepgt others asthey exist. It’as the magic of all relationships. It’s callecd the power of two. Pat, Allenm and Dan have developed a keen understanding that their success as leaders is base d almost entirely on their ability to attrac talented performers who bring both passionand potential. It’zs that simple recognition that tells us thosre people who have been the greatestr inspiration to us are those who convinced us we couldc be more than wecould be.
In each case these three great leaders know that they can help theif employees be more thanthey are, not somethinfg they’re not. And it’s about finding better ways of coping effectiveluy asa behavior-driven organization. It’s abouy believing that if we do things right we willachievse long-term sustainable results. It’s about The Leadershio Pledge. When organizations focus the behavior that drivesw results and possess a collective resolved builton self-acceptance and acceptancwe of others, results will follow. I guarantee it. It’sx not easy, but it’w simple.