The Nature of Leadership

I spend my days thinking about the nature of leadership. In light of recent world events, I’ve been ruminating even more. I am struck by how a lack of it has failed the world right now. 

I’m particularly struck by the Spiderman quote “with great power comes great responsibility”. There seem to be many people in power who have absconded from theirs. Yet how do we define that responsibility? A few things stand out to me:

Unity: A leader must bring people together rather than separate them. How can I build trust and understanding among people with varying views and ideas? 

Moral Clarity: A leader must set clear behavioral expectations. What is right and what is wrong? What is acceptable and unacceptable in our culture?

Humility: A leader must know they don’t have all the answers and understand that everyone benefits from the greater good. How can I question more? How can I serve my constituents rather than just benefit myself? 

What we see in society is the result of the degradation of this leadership:

- A focus on the self rather than the whole
- A lack of reverence of fact in favor of opinion
- A lack of willingness to engage with people of differing opinions from our own
- Shortsighted decision making

This breeds a culture of toxicity and division, one that I’ve seen in the workplace and that is now playing out on the world stage. The path forward, however Herculean and difficult it will prove to be, seems possible to me only through the three pillars of my entire philosophy: clarity, communication, and relationships. 

This path forward is through uncomfortable conversations that lead to action. I spend most of my days encouraging people to have them in the workplace. We cannot abscond our responsibility to have difficult conversations in our personal lives, as well. We must foster understanding, listen, and hear one another so that we can gather facts and make informed and strategic decisions. 

My fervent wish for the future is that we can cultivate leaders that practice what they preach, revere their responsibility, focus on unity rather than division, and act accordingly, whether on the battlefield or in the boardroom. We need this today more than ever.

Through this all, I’m also struck by people’s resilience, which gives me hope. I get to see people restart, rebrand, and rebuild their careers and businesses on a daily basis. Now it’s our turn to rebuild society. Because that is our great responsibility. And that is within all of our power. 

If you’d like to explore how to sharpen your leadership skills and refine your performance and leadership capacity, please reach out to learn how Jaclyn Beck Consulting could help you and your organization.