Leadership and the Citizen
Why I think more Canadians must find ways to lead.
Next in my series of personal reflections is the subject of leadership. This first editorial is a pitch to the reader on why every citizen should find a way to lead. The subsequent editorials will focus on qualities I have found important to me as a leader.
When focussing on the domestic and international challenges confronting Canada, I often wonder what role leadership could have played in avoiding, or at least mitigating, some of these issues. I don’t think I’m alone in this notion. As someone with a military background, I have witnessed how powerful leadership can be in solving complex problems in all manner of environment. Most Canadians have not had this level of exposure, so the importance of leadership might be less obvious. My aim is to not only reveal the role of leadership in all aspects of our lives, but to make a case for why everyone should find some way to lead.
A useful place to start is to look at the result of an absence of leadership; some call this poor leadership, but I am of the opinion that poor leadership is simply the absence of leadership. We’ve all bore witness to many high profile cases of absent leadership. Typically, this failure is centred on a person’s ethical or moral violation - this might be constant bad behaviour or single incident. What this really means is someone in a position of authority has betrayed the trust extended to them. This could be breaking the trust of a large group like a nation or a small group like a local business. In my opinion, a leader who betrays trust has been inexcusably selfish. Look to the story of King David and Bathsheba for an timeless example.
My impression is that the average citizen is shying away from taking on a leadership role. Perhaps some view the work of a leader as thankless with a constant stream of people problems; others likely feel the age of social media provides no room for leaders to make honest mistakes less they be publicly pilloried. Sadly, most citizens do not appreciate that leadership is an impactful way to make improvements in our workplaces, communities, and country. Leading is one way Canadians can avoid being a disreputable type who wants all the rights, but none of the responsibilities.
Ultimately, I hope I’m wrong about this aversion to leadership because all of the problems we have faced in the past, that confront us today, and await us in the future, have needed, and will need capable leaders. For the future, the next innovation to advance civilization will need strong leaders to drive the work, motivate the team, and shape the environment for people to achieve their full potential. Problems big and small don’t solve themselves. No one stepped foot on the moon, or Mars in the future, without staunch leaders. The phone in your pocket does not exist without leaders. The medication that saved a family member did not happen without leaders. Real problems, real change, real innovation, real risk, and real compassion are the everyday business of a leader.
Image credits: Growth Hackers
If you’re a rational being, you’re thinking, “this leadership thing sounds really hard”, and it is. Leading is challenging in many ways, but doing hard things is a fundamental part of life. Doing hard things develops important aspects of your character - it makes you tougher, increases confidence, imparts empathy, drives you to expect more from yourself, and inspires others. There are few things in life of any real value that are not hard to achieve; fewer still have not required strong leadership.
Leadership is hope. If we have no one to step forward into uncertainty and chaos then how will we make the world better? In 2014, President Obama spoke to world leaders reminding them of the importance of leadership and stated, “We choose hope over fear. We see the future not as something out of our control, but as something we can shape for the better through concerted and collective effort. We reject fatalism or cynicism when it comes to human affairs; we choose to work for the world as it should be, as our children deserve it to be.”
Photo credit: Ruven Afanador
With all that said, here’s my final pitch on why you should be a leader. Leadership is not a choice. Virtually everyone is already a leader in some aspect of their life - whether they know it or not. Everyone has a responsibility to lead in order to positively contribute to their workplace, society, or their family. If you are not leading, the time to start is now. It will be uncomfortable at first - being accountable for failure, directing a team, and dealing with interpersonal conflicts. It will get easier to lead, but it will never be easy. Start small and be kind to yourself as a new leader and seek mentors to share their expertise and experience. Leadership is a way citizens can leave things better than they found them. So, why should you lead? You lead because it’s the right thing to do.
Leadership is indeed hard. I have experienced good leaders, absence of leadership and bad leaders. My definition of a bad leader is one that fails at the concept of "do no harm". These are the most toxic leaders which one must recognize their situation and seek to flee or replace that bad leader, depending on the alternatives and freedoms available at the time.