ELEPHANT ALERT!
Grab some antacids.
According to USA Today, Harvard recently released its National Leadership Index. It should have come with the label: “Warning: contents likely to cause heartburn.”
In the U.S., 80% of the public sees the country in a leadership crisis. That’s an increase of 3% over last year, and a whopping 15% from 2005. And worldwide it’s not much better. Globally, confidence in business leaders is the lowest in a decade (Development Dimensions International).
Who’s at fault? Fingers are often pointed at those in leadership positions. After all, they’re getting the bad grades, right?
Many people miss the accomplice.
Here’s the elephant in the office: Most organizations perpetuate a culture where everyone stands around waiting for those in leadership to lead, to make decisions, to motivate, to hold people accountable, to get things done. And when things don’t get done, these same people become “victims”.
Results never lie. One of the primary reasons there is a leadership crisis is because of the approach that so many bring to leadership. Instead of empowering the many, the majority acquiesce to the few. Not much work gets done this way.
STOMP THE ELEPHANT
The strongest performing organizations have cultures that separate themselves from their competitors. They perpetuate the understanding that everyone is a leader – and therefore, everyone is response-able. A lot more gets done in these organizations.
You can take a greater leadership role today just through your actions, by making the shift from:
- Demanding others are held accountable… to developing an accountability mindset around you.
- Blaming others for errors… to modeling what you want to see.
- Telling others what to do… to asking questions that create thinkers around you.
We are not helpless. The choice to lead is ours.
Where will you lead – where will you stomp elephants – today?