Sage Leadership Matters

   There is an art to building anything and keeping the parts in balance:

• A vision that guides and inspires.
• An ability to connect past, present and future, attending to what you have already constructed, even as you look to what you can do next.
• A sense of timing to add the next component, or remove what does not fit.
• An eye for how the parts connect to create impact.
• A desire to learn from experience and improve as you build.

Over time some people learn how to assemble the components faster, while others discover variations of what they can accomplish and how they can go about it.

This isn’t just the art of stacking rocks; it’s a metaphor for leadership that matters.

Think about the leaders you have most admired.  Did they:

• Display vision and seem to be guided by some higher purpose?
• Recognize and help others see how the parts are connected to the whole?
• Somehow manage the tensions that can deeply divide people, only to find ways to bring them together in the end?
• Stay grounded in present day reality as they challenged you and others to create a different future?

Leaders who embrace these actions are the ones who are always learning; they are the ones you remember not just for what they accomplished, but also for how they got things done.  You may remember them as being wise, even as they faced their own dilemmas and challenges as a leader.

We don’t just need leaders; we need sage leaders.

Who are the sage leaders you have come to admire, and what distinguishes them from other leaders?

SageLeadershipMatters, by Marc Sokol