The simplest definition of the word “leader” is “one who leads”. But what does it mean, then, to “lead”? The word “lead” is derived from an Old English word laedan meaning “cause to go with”.  Based on this early meaning, we can classify two types of leaders.

The first type is one who falsely thinks they are leading but in reality they have no followers, i.e. the leader hasn’t caused anybody to go with them. When I do leadership workshops, I like to say, “If you’re having difficulty getting people to follow you, then you’re not leading.”

The second type of leader is one who is actually leading, i.e. they have caused people to go with them. This type of leader falls into one of myriad categories each defined by their own distinctive style of causing people to go with them. These numerous styles are the subject of countless observations, analyses, writings and teachings about what it takes to be an effective leader. But regardless how sound any of this wisdom may be, it is all but footnotes to what Lao-Tzu wrote nearly 2500 years ago in Chapter 17 of the Tao Te Ching about the various ways and degrees of effectiveness there are in causing people to go with you:

“The best of all leaders is the one who helps people so that, eventually, they don’t need him.

Then comes the one they love and admire.

Then comes the one they fear.

The worst is the one who lets people push him around.

Where there is no trust, people will act in bad faith.[1]

The best leader doesn’t say much, but what he says carries weight.

When he is finished with his work, the people say, “It happened naturally.”

In what ways do you cause people to go with you?

1. Every human being is majestically and wonderfully made and therefore has untold worth, dignity and potential.
2. You are most satisfied when you place yourself in environments and associate with people that allow you to be the person you were made to be.
3. What people want from work is to respect themselves and the job that they do, and to earn the respect of others.
4. It is possible and desirable to clearly define what about our work gives us self-respect, and it is possible and desirable to find this out about others.
5. When people are working at their best, they have greater pride and ownership in their work, and better communication and teamwork, resulting in better performance, productivity and profitability.

This blog/website is quickly coming together and will be full of great content soon. Feel free to keep returning and follow my progress!

In the meantime, enjoy these thoughts:

All high tech gurus are smart. The best have the ability to listen, to influence, to collaborate, and to get people motivated and working well together (Susan Ennis, Working with Emotional Intelligence, p. 29)

I find that empathy mixed with a dose of pragmatism can reframe and help so many situations. (from my friend Jennifer Tucker’s Twitter @4tuckertalk.

Ultimately, understanding diversity isn’t about learning what makes one group of people different from another. It’s really about understanding what makes one person different from everybody else.