LEADERSHIP MUSINGS

Leaders and how they do things have always mesmerized me. I am fascinated by those who have waded into the deep waters, gotten in over their heads and emerged wet, a bit rattled, but better for the experience. I have been intrigued by those whose visions were much bigger than them. I have been drawn to the stories of bold faith, unrelenting passion, the willingness to forge ahead when others have simply fainted from the challenge.

I have noted that leaders cannot be neatly categorized. We want to do this. We want to somehow shoehorn them into a box. We want our leader's somewhat predictable. We tend to want them Teflon. But this is seldom the case. They come in variety of sizes and shapes. They emerge in all kinds of situations. They evolve in different environments. Often their commonality is that they are not very common.

I think, I think this: I think that what they do share is a sense of destiny. They deeply believe they have a mission that must be fulfilled. It is not self-generated, but it has been given to them from beyond. It drives them to continue in the face of most adversity.

It is not so much they can do whatever, it is they cannot not do whatever. They somehow have a sense of something beyond the now. They see, not so much with their eyes, but with their spirit. It is sense more than sight. And because it is something they sense, it compels them. The compulsion is not to see it more clearly, but to fulfill it completely. They are drawn more than directed. They are pulled more than pushed.