5/1/2005 - Leadership

I've been thinking a lot about leadership lately. A thought was recently triggered by a statement from a friend, which was that conveying confidence was the most important trait. I'm not sure I agree with that 100%.

I think that a focus on conveying confidence is akin to curing a cold by refusing to wipe ones nose. Showing a symptom of leadership is not actually leadership.

If someone states a point to me with confidence, I usually don't argue. I allow the person to make their statement, since it is their own integrity that they are putting on the line. However, if I later find out that the person's statement was not accurate, my respect for them suffers. I don't think that I'm alone in this.

If a leader conveys confidence, and is later proven to be incorrect, there is very little motivation to follow that leader in any situation except when there is nothing better to do. Once there is something better to do, the leader is abandoned by the followers. Some very convincing leaders who have perfected conveying confidence can keep followers from abandoning them by conveying confidence that the decision to abandon is a bad decision.

I personally don't like to follow out of fear of not following.

My father kept integrity as his main focus throughout his career. He would not state a position that he did not firmly believe in, and he worked slowly but surely into a position of authority. He ended his career leading over a thousand people, albeit as second in command at his company. His belief, and mine, is that it is the responsibility of the second in command to take the leader's ideas, pick out the ones that will work, and then make them happen. More substance, less glamour. More than once, I had people tell me that my father was one of the few executives they knew that they unquestioningly respected. He had proven his integrity.

Integrity is the long road to leadership. Confidence is a by-product of integrity.