Of Leadership

Leadership requires a servant-heart, vision, commitment, and sacrifice.

Leadership builds bridges, not walls - even where the wall could be justified.

Leadership looks to educate, not dominate.

Leadership looks to connect: people with the leader, and people with each other.

Leadership is not about a person's position, but her disposition.

Leadership looks to take people on a journey toward a common cause.

Leadership empowers and inspires.

Leadership focuses on solutions, not problems.

Leadership celebrates character more than giftedness.

Nothing radical or new: +Seth Godin has been putting these and similar lists out for some time. Yet how rarely do we see these qualities in those who call themselves leaders. Perhaps that's why "managers" are a dime a dozen, but "leaders" are one in a thousand.

A final thought: since leadership is so rare, why do so many organisations dismiss potential leaders because they are too young, or too old, or women, or too ethnically different?