LEADERSHIP: I-C.A.R.E. PART II. . .

Effective, efficient and faithful ‘leadership’ (the relationship between the leader and the led) is committed to high achievement more than to competition. Walt Disney wanted his ‘competition’ to succeed (he even helped them do so) for he believe that he could achieve more if they did succeed (the success of Six Flags actually helped Disney move to the next level with Disney World).

Distinctive, high achieving leadership is also rooted in an ‘abundance model’ not in a ‘scarcity model.’ Again, Disney believed in abundance. He wanted Six Flags to have a number of parks for he believed that if they did and if they were successful then his two theme parks would prosper (which they did and which they do). A ‘scarcity model’ promotes internal competition and over the long haul this harms the organization (the number of top companies that have imploded these past fifty years because of internal competition is staggering).

Distinctive, high achieving leadership seeks ‘commitment’ more than ‘loyalty.’ ‘Commitment’ means that each person cares enough to question, to challenge, to bring his/her gifts, talents, abilities and capacities in ways that enhance the organization’s purpose, vision and mission. ‘Loyalty’ – especially ‘blind loyalty’ or ‘loyalty to a person’ – too often leads to harm, if not outright destruction (again, a brief survey of the past fifty years will confirm this).

Distinctive, high achieving leadership seeks ‘buy-in’ and, more importantly, ‘emotional-ownership’ rather than compliance and adaptation from folks. This means that, among other things, leadership uses influence and persuasion more than coercion and manipulation. This means that leadership seeks to ensure that the work itself is meaningful. This means that leadership seeks to ensure that each person believes and acts as if he/she does, indeed, make a difference. Most of us know when our waiter/waitress ‘emotionally owns’ his or her role and when he or she is simply complying with his or her duties. To put it another way: A person who views his or her role as a ‘calling’ will ‘emotionally own’ his or her role and a person who views his or her role as a ‘job’ will, more often than not, simply ‘comply’ with what it takes in order to do a ‘good job’ (or a mediocre job).

Before we define ‘I-C.A.R.E.’ it will be helpful for us to explore a bit more about ‘leadership.’ We will do both in Part III.