Nancy's Notes

I am generally not one to put a lot of value to celebrity and generally do not find my heroes in pop culture.  But today as I heard of the death of Neil Armstrong; the first man on the moon, I suddenly felt profoundly sad.  But why?   Certainly he had been a pilot; something always close to my heart and several years ago my Dad had shared a table with him at an aviation event.  But that was not the connection I was feeling.  It was much more than that.  It was the knowledge that I am now a full generation away from the little girl that sat riveted in front of that TV set on July 20th, 1969 when Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. I had spent weeks waiting for the event.  I had scrapbooks full of every article or newspaper clipping I could find.  My family did not leave the room on that Monday afternoon as we waited for the landing of the module on the surface of the moon, and stayed later still as we waited the 6 hours until Neil Armstrong placed his boot on the dusty lunar surface and proclaimed “That is one small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind.”  My father kept saying that this would be remembered as an amazing moment in our lives.  It was a different world.  We were in an era that still had ‘awe’.  We could not computer generate a trip to another planet with a resolution that looked like we were really there.  But what we did have was a grainy black and white picture that told us that as a society we had gone somewhere we had previously only imagined in our dreams.  My father was right.  I do remember July 20th, 1969  as an amazing moment in my life; partly because of it being a great moment in history but more so because I can still feel the incredible feeling of having shared that moment with my family.  So the profound sadness I feel is not about the loss of a man I do not know.  It is the sadness that yet another special moment in my life is now such a distant memory.

Leadership is a tough quality to define.  I spent a thoughtful few days thinking how I see leadership and where I might place myself in that role.  When sports scouts look at a prospect, they classify leadership as an “intangible.” Leadership is definitely a quality, and while tough to define, it is a trait and you’ll be able to distinguish whether a person has “it” or not.

When you take a look around you and throughout history, the world has been fortunate to have been inhabited by a whole host of influential leaders. Some of the most admired leaders have been Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. What made these people such great leaders? Were they particularly great public speakers? Martin Luther King, Jr. undoubtedly was a great speaker, but I’m not sure the same can be said for Gandhi and FDR?

While leadership is certainly difficult to DEFINE, there are attributes that we can associate with signs of being a leader.

1. Visionary: A leader brings a vision to it’s group. It’s a plan by which others can FOLLOW. This vision brings the followers the emotion of hope and something the followers can strive to achieve. The vision should be clear and the leader should stand up for what the leader believes in.

“A leader is a dealer in hope” – Napoleon Bonaparte

2. Reliable: You don’t want to follow someone that shows up late or doesn’t do what they say they are going to do. In a leader, you want someone that’s reliable, with a message that people can follow. If leaders aren’t consistent in their efforts and their actions it causes followers to begin to doubt the dedication of the leader to the cause. 

3. Audacity: It takes guts to be a leader. It’s not for everyone. Some people would prefer to tag along for the ride and that’s fine. Not everyone can or should be a leader.

4. Empowering People: Inherently, people want to do a good job. They want to succeed and make others happy. As a leader, you need to allow people to succeed. By empowering people, the leader isn’t doing the task for the person following the leader, but instead gives them the tools necessary to succeed.

5. Positive:  ” A leader doesn’t need to be all about rainbows and sunshine, but there definitely needs to be a boost of positivity especially when tackling a difficult project or the “going gets tough.”

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” – Winston Churchill

6. Motivating: If you don’t have the previous characteristics, it certainly isn’t very motivating for the follower to follow the leader let alone do a great job. A leader needs a vision, otherwise people don’t have a map and tend to get lost.

So…I have determined that these are what I feel are the most tangible attributes to this very intangible subject so now seeing where I fit in will be next.  I may add more over the next few days as I continue to ponder it.  But I do know that the quote from John Quincy Adams remains key to this …”If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader”.