The Embodiment of a Leader

“Where are the voices of leaders who can inspire us to action and make us stand taller?”, a quote from Lee Iacocca, in his book, Where Have All the Leaders Gone? (2007). The quote, for me, depicts the first trait of a true leader –someone who can inspire and motivate those around him to reach ambitious goals through “above the call of duty” efforts. True leaders distinguish themselves from managers in how they inspire others. Managers can achieve results, however, typically with performance goals followed by rewards or consequences for failure to meet them. While performance measurement and a merit system are needed, a leader can motivate people to achieve results without the pressure for individual gain or loss – a leader’s employees want to meet the goals because he/she has created a shared vision. I work for a female executive officer at a bank, and she often has this effect on me – when she “assigns” work, she typically does so methodically, giving work to her direct reports that either challenge them or that they are passionate about. The result is a group of leaders who are impassioned by their individual contributions. Wherein managers delegate through routine and workload management – asking themselves first, which of my employees already has the most work, whose job description is this, who have I not assigned work to lately, and the like.
Leaders also possess a high degree of moxie – when I say this, I mean that leaders understand the task at hand, see the end goal and understand that risk is often required to meet/exceed goals. Colin Powell said it best
You know the expression “it’s easier to get forgiveness than permission?” Well, it’s true! Good leaders don’t wait for official blessing to try things out. They’re prudent, not reckless. But they also realize a fact of life in most organizations you ask