LEADERSHIP

Leadership is one of those words that people throw around a lot but I’m
not sure most people stop to actually think about what it means. Maybe
it’s just me … my initial response if you were to ask me to define
“leadership” might have simply been “the person who is in charge”.
While technically accurate, it doesn’t really get to the heart of the
what it means to “be” a leader and be part of leadership.

I’ve been thinking about leadership means quite a bit in the past few
weeks because I am one of the speakers scheduled to present on the
topic at the biennial AIA Illinois Leadership Institute – a day-long
event focused on empowerment training as part of a major call for
civic engagement between architects and Illinois communities. The cost
of the event is shared equally between AIA Illinois and the chapters,
rather than the individual attendees who are invited to attend based
on a nomination and applicant review process.

I will admit that when I was initially asked to present, my response
was “sure!” but it was only a little while later that I started thinking
“why do they me to talk about leadership?” as I don’t really consider
myself a leader. (also, I have this thing where I say ‘yes’ a lot) Since
I’m a fairly straightforward sort of person, I sent an email off to the
people who invited me that basically asked the question … “Exactly
why do you want me to participate?” The response I received helped me
think that at least they thought about why they wanted me. In fact,
they gave me a list of three things that they believe I bring to the
table that these emerging leaders need to hear:

1. Make time for activities outside of work (I think I do some of
that…)
2. The value and importance of talking to non-architects (I do a lot
of that…)
3. Keeping design at the center of it all. (Well, two out of three
ain’t bad…)

Okay, seems straight-forward enough.

This leadership program is taking place on August 1st – which is only
two weeks away – and while I’ve been thinking about this since May, it
wasn’t until this weekend that I sat down and really started to figure
out what my message on leadership will cover. Rather than pretend to
be something I’m not, I am going to play to my strengths – but what
exactly are those? I know what I think I’m good at, but what do the
people I work with think of me? When I told my partner that some folks
wanted me to talk about what it means to be a leader … he kind of
tilted his head to one side and made a puzzled-looking face.

A few years ago (at my previous job) we had a company retreat and one
of the activities we went through included during everyone
anonymously critiquing their fellow employees. Last night I dug that list
out and here is what my co-workers had to say about me:

Good with clients and contractors
thinks well on his feet, smart
knows everything
good sense of humor
good teacher
mentor
high visibility in architectural community
always takes the time to explain the answers and lets us think
about the solutions for ourselves
patient teacher
thorough
confident
handles difficult situations well
very good with clients
can talk his way through anything
intelligent, organized, motivated and creative

io;arhuegj$%&hio;ajigjal;erf a;o;%@iojagr awrkja(^#?lajag

Sorry, about that, my head got so big for a moment that I couldn’t
support it and it hit my keyboard.

Not sure you could ask for a better list but let’s be honest – those
coworkers were my friends and I probably have them all fooled. I’m still
not convinced that I have any business talking to emerging leaders
about being a leader. I’m not sure that I even know what it means to
be a leader so I did what most people would do … I dusted off some
leadership books, and then I dug out some quotes on “Leadership” from
people who should actually have something worth paying attention to.
While I have been collecting these for a long time, here are a few of my
favorites:

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more
and become more, you are a leader.
John Quincy Adams

If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re
right.
Henry Ford

Be careful the environment you choose for it will shape you; be
careful the friends you choose for you will become like them.
W. Clement Stone

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right
things.
Peter Drucker

Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you
want done because he wants to do it.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Good leadership consists of showing average people how to do the
work of superior people.
John D. Rockefeller

If you want a quality, act as if you already have it.
William James

No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or
get all the credit for doing it.
Andrew Carnegie

Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem
of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing
what they can accomplish.
Sam Walton

Only the guy who isn’t rowing has time to rock the boat.
Jean-Paul Sartre

People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision.
John C. Maxwell

The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to
where they have not been.
Henry Kissinger

When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes
easier.
Roy Disney

The employer generally gets the employees he deserves.
J. Paul Getty

Obstacles are things a person sees when he takes his eyes off the
goal.
E. Joseph Cosmic

I have always supported measures and principles and not men.
Davy Crockett

What helps people, helps business.
Leo Burnett

You don’t lead by hitting people over the head – that’s assault, not
leadership.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.
John F. Kennedy

Leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand.
John C. Maxwell

Leadership is not something you do to people, but something you do
with people.
Ken Blanchard

Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When
you become a leader, success is all about growing others.
Jack Welch

The nation will find it very hard to look up to the leaders who are
keeping their ears to the ground.
Winston Churchill

A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion,
not position.
John Maxwell

A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to
make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of
others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the
equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.
Douglas MacArthur

Leaders think and talk about the solutions. Followers think and
talk about the problems.
Brian Tracy

Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they
will surprise you with their ingenuity.
George Patton

Great leaders are not defined by the absence of weakness, but
rather by the presence of clear strengths.
John Zener

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of
principle, stand like a rock.
Thomas Jefferson

Leadership does not always wear the harness of compromise.
Woodrow Wilson

No man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s
consent.
Abraham Lincoln

There are three essentials to leadership: humility, clarity and
courage.
Fuchan Yuan

The supreme quality of leadership is integrity.
Dwight Eisenhower

So here I sit, in my well-worn spot on the couch in my living room,
surrounded by papers, notes, books and my computer, putting together a
presentation on leadership. In the end, I know I will abandon all my
indecision and simply go with my gut on what I think I should be doing. I
suppose that being qualified to speak on leadership is not for me to
determine. Even though my research has found loads of examples of
people telling others how to become better leaders, the truth seems to
be that leadership is thrust upon those who, through strength of
conviction and moral character, lead through personal example.
Leadership is a label earned with character and behavior, and ultimately
bestowed by others.

Cheers,

SMYLZ.♞