Cultivating Your Leadership

light-bulbThere are volumes of books and thousands of articles on leadership. You can study leadership styles, leadership qualities, biographies of leaders, leadership quotes, grass roots leadership and leadership ________ (fill in the blank!).

When it comes down to it, we are ALL leaders – whether you’re leading your 12 pound dog or a 12 person staff. Leadership is a verb, not a noun. Without action, it’s just words.

Cultivating Your Leadership

This well-done video clip (created by a financial company) offers powerful encouragement for the journey.

If you seek to lead, invest at least 50% of your energy in leading yourself – your own vision, purpose, core values, principles, motivation and behavior.  You cultivate a leadership style by being the best you can be, not by copying what worked for someone one else. What is inside of you flows through you; be it frustration and anger or passion and belief.

Thus a leader learns to inspire and encourage herself.  That’s where what you read comes into play.

This post wouldn’t be complete without some favorite leadership quotes including Napoleon Bonaparte’s,  “A leader is a dealer in hope.”

“All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership.” – John Kenneth Galbraith

“The task of leadership is not to put greatness into humanity, but to elicit it, for the greatness is already there.”  – John Buchan

“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.” — General George Patton

“My own definition of leadership is this: The capacity and the will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence.” — General Montgomery

“Leadership is intentional influence.” — Michael McKinney

“All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership.”— John Kenneth Galbraith

Your life makes a difference. Lead on!

P.S. I would love to read a favorite leadership thought or quote of yours. Please take a moment to leave a comment…

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