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Daily Leadership Thought #77 – Leadership Implies Responsibility

January 10, 2011

Peter Drucker quote: The leader sees leadership as responsibility rather than as rank...

Once you aspire to or assume the mantle of leadership it comes with enhanced responsibility for your words and actions.  Too many public leaders and media personalities have been tapping into the depths of our collective and individual fears to satisfy their own thirst for advancement.  There will inevitably be consequences to their misguided rhetoric and actions despite how much wealth and power they personally accumulate in the process.  And, as evidenced in Arizona recently, the results can be quite tragic.

The objective of a leader, especially a public figure, should be to bring people together and foster a dialogue that strives to bridge our differences and find areas agreement.  The end result should be to tap into the greater good rather than pursuing a Win-Lose agenda.  After all, we are all taking this journey called life together.  I encourage you to be careful about succumbing to your fears, especially when it comes to listening to those you instinctually turn to for advice and counsel.  The preferred path is to strive to find the “better angels of our nature.”  This country and the world as a whole has a lot of healing and unifying work to do.  Our generation of leaders will either propel us forward or push us backwards.  It is up to us. We all need to be paying more attention to who we listen to, follow and why.  Leadership responsibility starts with looking in the mirror and reflecting on our own intentions.