Here I am again- sitting at the computer and trying to understand how a leader emerges…  how they work… where they find their energy… their patience… their knowledge…  I am looking for a map.  I need to get from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’…  I realize…  I realize… I realize….

I realize it is NEVER that easy or everyone would be a leader.

I think back on the great leaders of our time.  I consider the leaders I have known in my life.  I conclude that with few exceptions, there were fundamental, specific portions of their lives that attention and focus were always paid.  I can summarize these areas in a few bullets:

• Spiritual Health
• Physical Health
• Learning and Growing
• Having a Plan and Setting Goals
• Friends, Family and Your Spouse
• Personal Financial Security

I have been trying to focus on all these areas in my life at once for the last year or so.  Not that I was not already living these pillars in some fashion before, but I have recently focused all my energies on these 6 pillars above all else.  I will tell you that I have seen great improvement in all areas of my life.

WHAT! I'm the treasure? What a ripoff!

There are countless studies on the positive developments that people encounter when they employ a focus on just one of these areas in their lives.  The key for living leadership is to create a solid foundation for each of these areas and then create habits, making it easy to adopt your habits into a lifestyle.

Let’s take a look at how each of these areas can help you focus as a leader.

Spiritual Health - Evan Carmichael discusses spiritual health for leaders in his blog- “Belief in a higher power (whatever your devotion) propels an individual towards the ideal self. Spiritual beliefs provide a doctrine that forces us to examine our own actions and motivations against a core of morality”. Nuff Said.

Physical Health - It is no secret that you feel better when you are in shape.  Harvey Mackey from the Star Tribune in Minneapolis discusses some of the positive aspects of health on leadership in a recent article.  He quotes Maj. John Patrick Gallagher, “Self-discipline and being able to perform under pressure and exist outside our comfort zone would be the key that unlocked our success (as leaders).”

Learning and Growing - There is no need to quote anyone here.  We all know that the more you study, work and understand the great minds of business, management and leadership, the more effective you will become as a leader. I strongly recommend books on CD from the local library, setting a reading list in Amazon or borrowing books from other leaders you may know.

Having a Plan and Setting Goals - This cannot be stressed enough.  When you envision your goals you are more likely to achieve them.  A Mental Rehearsal study discussed by Wright State University examines basketball athletes who mentally imagine their shots as well as physically practice the shots.  ”Research has found that a combination of “imagined practice” and actual practice often results in better performances than those achieved with preparation that relies solely on actual practice.  In addition to athletics, studies have shown that imagined practice improves performance in diverse contexts that include communication, education and clinical and counseling psychology.”

Friends, Family and Your Spouse – People need people.  We are social animals.  It is critical for leaders to have a safe place to go and talk and unwind.  Most leaders have a strong system of family and friends.  It is true that some drive out their closest relationships as they dive deeper into their leadership role, but those are more often the exception than the rule.  Great examples of American leaders with strong families are FDR, John Kennedy and George Bush.

Personal Financial Security – Leaders cannot focus on their companies, constituents or teams if they are not able to take risks with their career.  It is critical that leaders keep their personal finances in order so that they can focus on the job at hand. Leaders should not worry about risk or money.  Being solvent creates a more stable marriage and allows for a strong family life.

Taking all of these pillars and implementing them into you life will take time.  But the more you act like a leader and make a little time in each day for all of these leadership fundamentals, the easier it will be to exude leadership and live the journey rather than search for the end of the map.

Don't Let Your Passion Destroy Your Dream

At seeing the Whale-  Ahab lost his last sense of reason.  ”All that most maddens and torments; all that stirs up the lees of things; all truth with malice in it; all that cracks the sinews and cakes the brain; all the subtle demonisms of life and thought; all evil, to crazy Ahab, were visibly personified, and made practically assailable in Moby Dick. He piled upon the whale’s white hump the sum of all the general rage and hate felt by his whole race from Adam down; and then, as if his chest had been a mortar, he burst his hot heart’s shell upon it.” Melville

What does all that crazy talk mean?

Let’s start with Hubris- Excessive pride, presumption or arrogance… the flaw that leads to the downfall of the tragic hero.

Basically the story goes that Ahab had a run in with the Whale many years before.  The quest to find the Whale and make it pay for the pain it had inflicted in him, consumed Ahab.  It consumed him to the point that he was willing to destroy his boat, his crew and himself in order to accomplish his goal.  Hubris personified.

Ever work for someone like that?  Ever felt like that?  Look at the quote.

Ahab became crazy; visibly personified his demons and had he been given the opportunity he would have used his heart- his very core of life- to inflict damage upon the Whale to meet his goals.  Paints a very bold picture of a tragic hero. A person who is not leading with the best intentions for his team, company or family.

It is important for leaders to understand that they are not always right.  They should rely on the counsel of others and take a step back when they are beginning to become consumed with their quest.  Leadership is about far more than having people follow you.  Leadership is about empowering the people you work with and looking out for the best interests of the team.

Think about your end goals.  Jim Collins Says, “The most productive relationships are partnerships rooted in a freedom of choice vested in both parties to participate only in that which is mutually beneficial and uplifting.”

Before it becomes about you as the leader-  write down the end goals and discuss how those can be achieved WITH YOUR TEAM.   The idea is not to talk them into your position.

Leading is not about the leader-  but about the goals.  Just to leave you all with a note about a study done on Civil War leadership.  The study showed- and I quote “…lack of information sharing and consensus building resulted in serious disadvantages (in battlefield losses). In the cases examined, the pressure for prompt decision making was not sufficient to justify the loss of information that resulted from the determination to act alone.”