True Leaders Believe in Something Greater than Themselves

Are you getting sick and tired of leaders who watch out first and foremost for themselves before they do the health of their businesses? They abandon the employees they serve firing those who worked hard and skillfully to implement the leader’s strategies. In some cases, the leader’s incompetence lead to the disaster you are living with.

Such leaders are out to help themselves first rather than their customers or other stakeholders (not stockholders).

Are we not all looking for bosses and leaders with vision who can lead us to climb that next mountain to discover the thrill of success?

That is why character, courage, persistence, and inspiration must come from something that lies deep within the leader. It’s as if their drive comes from their belief in the vision of something greater than themselves.

I shared this thinking with one of my accomplished colleagues. He believed that such views were totally off base. So, being a glutton for punishment, I asked him why. He said that such leaders do not exist. And if he ever had a manager who professed such a point of view, he would not believe him.

So here you have two opposite ends trying to grapple with what good leaders are about. One is cynical and believes that such leaders do not exist in the world. The other is idealistic, choosing to believe that all people have the spark of greatness. And we are searching for those rare people with the spark that has turned into a roaring flame.

What is your view? Have you worked for or met such leaders? Can companies reach new heights without such people at the helm?