Hesselbein, Frances; Goldsmith, Marshall; McArthur, Sarah. Work is Love Made Visible (Frances Hesselbein Leadership Forum) (pp. 6-7). Wiley.
Leadership Is a Matter of How to Be, not How to Do
When I was the CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA, I knew I had to define leadership on my own terms and in my own language, in ways that would communicate and embody the heart and the spirit of the leadership we were called to provide. After a long, difficult introspection, I developed my definition of leadership: “Leadership is a matter of how to be, not how to do.”
All of the how to advice in the world won’t work until how to be is defined, embraced by leaders, and embodied and demonstrated in every action, every communication, and every leadership moment.
The leader of today, and in the future, must be focused on how to be – how to develop quality, character, mindset, values, principles, and courage. The how to be leader knows that people are an organization’s greatest asset and in word, behavior, and relationships, they demonstrate this powerful philosophy. In all interactions, from the smallest to the largest, the behavior of the how to be leader will demonstrate a belief in the worth and dignity of the men and women who make up the enterprise.
You and I spend most of our lives learning how to do and teaching others how to do, yet we know that, in the end, it is the quality and character of the leader that determines the performance – and the results.
How to be qualities are not baskets of skills; rather, they rise in miraculous ways to comfort, to sustain, to challenge, and to embrace. I believe passionately in the whys: the values, principles, and beliefs that define who we are, what we believe, what we do, and how we work with others, our fellow travelers on a shared journey to leadership in an uncertain world.
My definition of leadership defines who I am, why I do what I do, and what I believe. I test it over and over. Leadership is a matter of how to be, not how to do.
A Call for Leaders of the Future
Today, we need leaders who help distill Peter’s concept and language of mission: why the organization does what it does, its purpose, its reason for being. Leaders of the future must invest in building a mission-focused, values-based, and demographics-driven organization, reflecting the many faces and cultures of our country.
We need leaders who communicate with the people and the customers of the organization and the many audiences with whom we engage – always reflecting in our communications that, “Communication is not saying something; communication is being heard.”
Now, may I share a secret with you? I have two tattoos – invisible ink, of course – you can’t see them, but they are there. First, Peter Drucker’s admonition to Think first, speak last. My second tattoo is also Peter’s: Ask, don’t tell.
We need leaders who practice the art of listening. We need leaders who use listening to include, not exclude – to build consensus, appreciate differences, and find common concepts, common language, and common ground.
We need leaders who in their own lives try to find work–life balance and make that balance a reality in the lives of those with whom they work. If you think that this is a lovely ideal, but not a realistic one in today’s tough world, try comparing the productivity and morale of a workforce that is encouraged and supported in finding this rare work–life balance with those of a dispirited workforce where such balance is not a consideration, and take no prisoners is a valued management style.
Today, perhaps most of all, we need leaders who share successes widely while accepting responsibility for shortfalls and failures. These leaders take a tough measure of their own performance, aware that their language, behaviors, and actions are measured against their self-proclaimed values and principles.
Hesselbein, Frances; Goldsmith, Marshall; McArthur, Sarah. Work is Love Made Visible (Frances Hesselbein Leadership Forum) (pp. 6-7). Wiley.