In January, I went on a search to find great leaders and the criteria that makes them great.
Someone recommended Ken Blanchard's book Leading At A Higher Level to me. I read that, plus his book The One-Minute Manager. Blanchard is in his 70's and has spent decades helping leaders become better than they thought they could become. He shares from his heart of experience, not just from his head of knowledge.
An senior citizen with continually-fresh concepts. How unique is that!
Too many people think they can lead because of what they have read or studied about successful people; and, they know how to implement those learned strategies. The world has enough copycat leaders. What we need is Febreze leadership--people with continually-fresh lessons learned from their own unique experiences. The old, stale odors of yesterday are removed by a fresh spray of shared current learning.
After reading Blanchard's book, I felt refreshed and motivated--not so much to implement his leadership principles, as much as a challenge to look at what I have learned as a leader from my own experiences and how I can enrich others.
Ken Blanchard a great leader because he (1) he continually thinks outside the box; (2) he is generous in sharing his knowledge and experience; and (4) he is secure enough to genuinely want people succeed; and (4) his leadership principles smell good.
If you are leader, what unique-to-you leadership principle can you share with others?
