Chan Master Fuchan Yuan wrote: “There are three essential elements to leadership: humility, clarity, and courage.” After more than three decades of mentoring and training over a thousand leaders from a variety of organizations of different types and sizes, I could probably count on the fingers of one hand (and I still have a few fingers left) the number of organizational leaders I have known to possess all three of these attributes.
1. Humility when it comes to leadership is the ability to put an organization before one’s ego, and not require constant flattery and praise. Too many people in leadership positions seem to need and want that kind of pat on the bat. Furthermore, one can never be an effective leader if one does not develop a kind of “tough skin” and is not easily insulted or “angered”. As I have taught countless leaders and potential leaders, it can be terribly lonely “at the top,” and anyone who truly wants to be an effective leader must possess or develop “the patience of a saint.” The reality of leadership is that there will always be some people who are dissatisfied and want to criticize and blame you, regardless of the facts. A great leader is a humble leader. Perhaps the definition that I think is most descriptive of humility is the one from Wikipedia, which states that “Humility is the quality of being modest, reverential, even obsequiously submissive, and never being arrogant, dismissive, rude, or even conceited.”
2. Clarity of leadership is a combination of having a vision and being able to communicate that vision effectively to others. However, it is actually much more than that. It is having a true belief in one’s vision, and being so enthusiastic and clear in one’s intention, that one can motivate others to follow and adopt their vision as theirs. Clarity also means that the vision must be accompanied by a clear and complete plan, and with a cause and effect that clearly shows others why certain actions are being urged. When a leader has clarity, he avoids the common risk of miscommunication or miscommunication, and therefore must do his homework to ensure that he first fully understands the goals he wants to achieve from his vision, the ramifications of the action (and alternatively the risks of either acting or procrastinating), and true integrity to communicate a consistent, honest and trustworthy message repeatedly.
3. Effective leaders are courageous leaders. True leaders must have the courage to dare to accomplish the things that are needed and to stand up for their beliefs, without first waiting for the “pack” to speak. Obviously, this means that true leaders must not waver in their beliefs or waver in their message.
The tricky part about these three essentials is that while many other needs of a leader can be acquired through training, experience, education, etc., these are character traits and must be a genuine part of the leader’s personality. a leader.