Leadership Requires A Delicate Behavioral Balance

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 Leadership is partially science, but mostly instinctual art, regardless of what SEAL commando trainers, drill sergeants, and athletic coaches may say. Leaders cannot be crafted out of poor initial material.

And leadership requires a delicate balance of fierce discipline (of yourself and of others), and empathy (for the feelings of others under your tutelage -- for those persons in your charge), each at its proper time; each in its proper place; and each in the right amount given the circumstances.

Sometimes even the best, most successful leaders, educators and coordinators have to avoid making a snap judgment and avoid doing something reactive, despite the instinct to strike back. It is difficult, but necessary for any leader to be able to step back and give certain relationship processes time, to insure a better, wiser perspective. Reactive communication (off of the field of battle) is seldom productive. Patience allows reason to take over pure reaction -- in fact, different parts of the brain (mind) are involved in each type of response.

Leaders are builders and not destroyers. They are Human Asset managers. They are teachers by their example and by their explanation. They are storytellers, metaphor addicts and "Repetition Raptors." These special people are sometimes conquerors and sometimes convincers; conquering may well be temporary, but conquering followed by convincing (as well as the reverse of this process) creates the longest-lasting results.

Every commander is a combination of a parent, a sibling and a Devil's Advocate. Our holy task and calling, by whatever higher power or path of destiny is to simultaneously achieve a goal (building something greater than any of us), and to groom, educate and prepare the next generation of leaders to be even better than we are.

Ask any group of businesspeople the question "What do effective leaders do?" and you'll hear a sweep of answers. Leaders set strategy; "they motivate; they create a mission; they build a culture." Then ask "What should leaders do?" If the group is seasoned and wise in the ways of life in the real world, you'll likely hear one, unified response: the leader's singular job is to get results.

Better leaders --  Those who know who know how to delicately balance their actions and responses, invariably get better results.

I am reminded of a great quotation attributed to a great American activist, philosopher and thought-leader:


"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men."
― Frederick Douglass

To which I reply, "Amen".

Thank you, as always for reading me, for sharing my articles with your colleagues, comrades, contacts and connections using the ever-expanding bandwidth of social media platforms and re-tweeting devices. And thank you for hearing me, as if I were standing before you, when I say that I have learned more from the great people I've taught and led than they have learned from me. Well.... maybe it's about equal.

Douglas E. Castle for The Taking Command Blog

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2 Types Of Leaders: "Politicized" versus "Mission-Directed" - Which Type Are You???

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There are two types of leaders. As a leader, you are either Politicized or you are Mission-Directed, and in each case the true motivations are very different, as are the followers or teammates or charges who require your vision and action.

Politicians [Politicized Leaders] at the uppermost strata of the voted-in hierarchy, are usually heavily -invested in maintaining the status quo, getting rich while in office (or getting re-elected), shaming and blaming other parties (or even entire ethnic groups) for problems and offering them up as a blood sacrifice to the masses, who are being misdirected by "investigations," "revelations," and "resignations" while the real culprits (usually the leaders in concert with their puppeteers or at the behest of their masters) continue to do as they have been doing. They keep their power by misleading, misdirection, propaganda, and appealing to the emotions of the people over whom they hold sway. They care more about opinion and poll results than about action. They are, by and large, pretenders rather than doers.

Commanders [Mission-Directed Leaders] are absolutely focused on accomplishing a goal through orchestrating and coordinating the best efforts and resources of a team. They do not waste precious time on placing blame. They do not tell others to sacrifice when they, themselves are not prepared to walk through the fire. They lead by example, and through a credible demonstration of conviction and character.

You'll find the following article excerpt to be of interest. It comes from  SmartBrief, a wonderful source of industry - specific information and insights. While it is not in exact sync with the exact point of the portion of my article above, it resonates with a similar theme:

How to spot fake leaders
The world is full of bosses who can't tell the difference between leadership and management, and aren't that good at either, write Art van Bodegraven and Kenneth B. Ackerman. The real danger comes when second-rate bosses start bragging about their supposed leadership ability rather than simply demonstrating it. "Life's too short to waste on 'leaders' who can't lead and managers who can't manage. And you are too good to sell your soul to make the great pretenders look like geniuses," Van Bodegraven and Ackerman write. DC Velocity online (5/20)

Look to mission-directed, impassioned achievers instead of to slick politicos and gamers of the government promotional apparatus to find leaders who can truly affect change instead of  making sacrifices to mythical deities in order to temporarily palliate the masses.

Douglas E. Castle for The Taking Command Blog and For The Sending Signals Blog.

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Sponsored By: 
CFI - CrowdFunding Incubator LLC 
ICS - International Connection Services 
Global Edge Technologies Group LLC 
CFI Business Growth
Douglas E. Castle On LinkedIn - Join Me! 

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Self-Growth: The Reality.

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Self-Growth: The Reality.

The Most Efficient Path to Self-Growth, by Douglas Castle, Vice-Chairman of The National Networker Companies.

*Commentary regarding a sales letter (not reproduced here) from David Riklan of SelfGrowth.com: "How 97.5 % of all Self Improvement Companies Grow their Businesses"

David Riklan publishes and produces the selfgrowth.com website and its ancillary businesses. He accepts articles written by many writers about various aspects of "self-growth." Some of these articles are very worthwhile reading, and an intelligent person can occasionally acquire a gold nugget of an idea by reading the material produced by his authors. His business grows itself by his authors' contributions of article content and fees. I admire his business model - it is a good one. But there are some serious negatives...

David Riklan is a pay-to-play proclaimer of "expert" status, and a purveyor of "experts" in the self-improvement field. He (through selfgrowth.com) hasn't achieved any great credibility (in my uniquely myopic and snobbish view) as yet and doesn't develop traction for his readers. He actually tried to get me to enlist (i.e. "pay") as an "expert," and eventually wanted to discuss my going to work for him. I declined, saying that I was intellectually incapable of holding my own in a room filled with so many other "experts." I humbly confessed that I, myself, needed a great deal of self-improvement before I could counsel others in all good conscience.

Almost every person with whom I come into contact (I usually wear gloves) is a "self-growth expert" or a "self-growth coach." I always ask myself (silently, of course, so as not to create a stir) several questions before I entertain engaging a coach or advisor:

1). Does he or she "walk the walk?" [is he or she the avatar of a self-improved creature?]

2). Would I want to emulate this person? Is her or she someone I admire?

3). Has he or she successfully coached others and generated appreciable results?

4). Can we work comfortably together?

5). Would he or she be audacious enough to refuse me as a client if I were perfectly willing to pay, but obviously demonstrated serious deficiences or limitations (in terms of ability or attitude)?

I have found that many people actually need more of a strategic path and plan than they do generic "self-improvement" tips. That is why I've chosen to be involved in strategic planning and organizational engineering instead of stand alone self-growth.

On the path to achieving a business or professional goal, an individual doubtless encounters numerous real-time, real-world difficulties which force him or her to make adaptations which are, by definition, "self-growth."

The best path to self-growth is through field testing and experience.

In brief (I frequently write while in my underwear), don't talk to me about camping --- take me on a rugged camping trip. Experience is the most potent teacher of all, and the multisensorial memories created through experience are much more readily memorable, accessible and credible than those learned in a casual or classroom environment.

We learn most effectively by observing, and then by doing. 

Faithfully,

DouglasCastle

p.s. Would you prefer the bodyguard who had read the book, or the one who had been a Navy SEAL or had worked for the Secret Service?  

About Douglas Castle 

Douglas Castle - LinkedIn Profile

The National Networker Companies

Braintenance - Stay razor sharp.

The Internationalist Page - A world without barriers.

The Global Futurist - Revealing trends.

Taking Command! - Mastering your fate.

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