Leadership = Vision in Action

What makes you want to follow after the lead of someone else? Is it their charisma, past successes, or the fact that you trust them? All of these come into play, yet it's hard to deny that being a leader involves more than possessing just one special quality. Leadership is vision in action. It's a package deal, and wrapped up in it are several critical components that work together in such a way that others will be inspired and motivated by your vision in action:

• Vision -  This is the God-given picture of where you want to go. Vision can't be taught, it can only be steered and grown in a certain direction.
• Relationships - Leadership is first and foremost about people. People are not merely a means for you to use to accomplish your goal. Rather, people are the vehicle by which your vision is driven and accomplished. Cultivating real and personal relationships with the people around you will ensure that they are on your team because they believe in you, not just because they are obligated to you. Relationships are the conduit through which your vision will flourish.
• Accountability - You won't grow unless you are able to overcome and learn from your faults and deficiencies. This requires that you allow other people that you trust into your life who are not afraid to rebuke and challenge you.
• Time - No one becomes a leader overnight. Read, study, observe, ask questions, act. This takes time. If you grow impatient, you will abandon your vision and more than likely repeat the same cycle with your next vision.
• Humility - The best leaders understand that it's not all about them. Yes, leaders are called to lead and that often means being in the spotlight, but no one accomplishes much on his or her own. Realizing that many people have helped and are helping you along the way should put this into perspective.
• Flexibility - Things will not always work out the way that you plan them, so be willing and able to move in a different direction. Humility comes into play here because this newly charted course might just be the brainchild of someone else who will probably get the credit.
• Delegation - Some of the best advice I have ever been given was to surround myself with others who were strong in the areas that I am weak. Not only will the final results be more impressive but it also frees me up to focus my time and energy on where I am strongest. Here's another truth you can add to it (saw this on Twitter the other day): 

  Delegate tasks and you'll get followers. Delegate authority and you'll get leaders.

• Wisdom - This is the ability to sit back and allow the best solutions to rise to the surface. This often comes with time and experience, but it also involves allowing for the ideas and dreams of others to come into the picture.
• Experience - What you have accomplished in the past speaks volumes to others who wish to follow you into the future. But also, allow others to grow from the knowledge that they glean from spending time with you. It's not about just what you've done; it's also about what others take away from being around you.

Our world desperately needs a new breed of leaders, those who aren't out to just make a name for themselves and build a personal fortune. We need leadership that is willing to replicate itself, not build a work force of drones.