What is Leadership? Really.

Amongst all the seminars, conferences, websites, books and the examples of leadership that we see daily, have you ever asked yourself what does it mean to be a leader and if you have kids, how do you encourage them to be leaders when offered the chance?

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines leadership as "the action of leading a group of people, organization, etc." or "the power or ability to lead other people". If you break it down to the verb, another applicable definition of lead is "to direct on a course or in a direction."

 

By definition, true leadership requires followers. So how do you get others to follow you? There are plenty of examples, both good and bad, throughout history, sports, politics, business and communities. Some that come to mind are Gandhi, Hitler, Teddy Roosevelt, JFK, Mother Teresa and Vince Lombardi. One thing that is common among leaders is a passion for their vision. How they demonstrate their passion will vary along a spectrum, yet people will connect with that vision and the charisma of the leader. For followers, they search for resonance with those visions, looking for direction and answers to what will help them in living a life well lived.

Leadership is also something that is in the eye of the beholder. While many can condemn the actions of certain leaders, one cannot deny the ability of a Hitler to amass millions of followers even to this day. Even at the local level, we can see who has influence, who can motivate and who drives an idea to fruition. And who is a flash in the pan, someone with perceived leadership qualities but cannot resonate with their prospective followers.

Passion for their vision requires having a vision and communicating this vision is the challenge of a leader. You may jump up and down, shout down your opposition but if you do not have a clear, defined, popular vision, you will get nowhere. You may be good at one-on-one leadership or you may be the great orator that all Toastmasters aspire to be. Getting your message across is vital to being a leader.

Many entrepreneurs talk about their vision. Great leaders have a vision for the future of their countries, communities, businesses, teams or humanity. And faith in that vision must remain unshakeable. A prominent Star Wars character once said, "I find your lack of faith disturbing." And yes, you may be able to use "the force" to "motivate", but it may not be the best tool in your toolbox. 

Star Wars Episode IV: "I find your lack of faith disturbing"

In the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life" (timely with the holidays upon us), George Bailey is given the opportunity to see what Bedford Falls would look like if he had never been born. He sees what can happen to a community where his leadership is missing, compassion for the common man is devoid and where greed and personal gain have consumed a community.

It's A Wonderful Life (1946) - James Stewart - George Bailey's Speech to Potter & the Loan Board

So where does this all lead us? When you have the opportunity to be a leader, ask yourself which path you want to take. When you are teaching young people how to lead, ask them what kind of person they wish to become. When you are in a leadership position, ask yourself which path will the community take based on your leadership. See a future that is better than the one that currently exists. Isn't that what previous generations have taught us or have we forgotten all that they sacrificed to give us a better opportunity in life?

Is it hazing or an initiation rite?

With all the news focus on the Miami Dolphins and whether or not someone who is the size of a barn can get bullied, it seems that there is a much bigger picture issue than what the 24-hour news cycle is willing to consider.  What is hazing?  What does it mean to become an adult in today's society?  What does it mean to be able to stand up for yourself?  At what point did traditional initiation rites transform into a method of exerting perceived power over someone else?

When you hear the term hazing, most times you think of college fraternities and sororities entrance requirements - eating strange things, sleep deprivation, alcohol binging, kidnapping in the middle of the night and dropping them somewhere without access to money, phones, etc.  Or maybe you have a memory of the movie "Animal House" with pledges in their civies saying, "Thank you sir, may I have another?". 

While these rituals of membership seem bizarre and ridiculous to outsiders, the goal is to put value on being part of the club. "Membership has its privileges" is a term we have come to accept.  And in order to be privileged, you have to pass some sort of test to see if you are worthy of membership. When did "membership" or transition to adulthood become a rite of abuse and torture, demeaning someone's sense of place in the community and their sense of self-worth?  Who gets to be judge, jury and executioner?

In the past, and I mean way in the past, initiation rites were all about survival tests.  In order to be an adult, you needed to take a stand, perform a test or partake in a ritual that was what the community defined as necessary to transition from adolescence to adulthood.  In the absence of withstanding physical and physcological tests and the abdication of adults taking responsibility to properly prepare their children for adulthood, the void is filled by groups or individuals no better than street gangs at every strata in our society.  When the self-appointed ones in charge get afraid that they could lose their status and power, the bar gets raised.  How many times are the tasks required for membership beyond what the current members had to endure?  Where is true mentorship among peers?

Are we so powerless that we have to resort to putting someone else down versus raising them up so that they too can be successful? Have we become so much of a 'me' society that we will step on whoever is in our way just to feel better about ourselves?

So here is the challenge. It's pretty simple. Be the adult. Be selfless. Think community first. Be curious. Be a mentor in your daily life. Be a leader. Can it be hard? Hell yes. Since when are we supposed to be afraid of hard work.

Operation Boots to Business and our Veterans

When I was at the Association of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC) annual conference last month, I attended a session about Operation Boots to Business in order to learn more about existing programs that help veterans open their own businesses. It is our desire at the Business Resource Innovation Center (BRIC) to provide any assistance possible to help veterans be successful with their goals of business ownership and moving on to the next chapter in their lives.

When our servicemen and women are getting ready to be discharged from the military, they are given information on the options for their transition to civilian life. This program's choices are college, job search and entrepreneurship. If they are interested in starting their own business, there are selected military bases that are offering the Operation Boots to Business program.     

This program builds on the SBA's role as a national leader in entrepreneurship training. Leveraging the ongoing collaboration with Syracuse University's Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF), the SBA delivers Boots to Business with the support of its field offices and Resource Partners, such as the Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), Women's Business Centers (WBCs), SCORE, and Veterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOCs). SBA's expert Resource Partner network already provides entrepreneurship training to more than 100,000 veterans every year, many of whom are service members transitioning out of the military.

If you want more information about this program, we suggest checking the Boots to Business website and the SBA website. While this program is not formally offered by the BRIC, we will do everything we can to support veterans in their transition to prospective business ownership. As a resource partner with through our relationship with the NevadaSBDC, the BRIC has access to a variety of resources including all the organizations listed above. 

If you have any questions about business assistance for veterans, please do not hesitate to send me an email.