Creative Leadership
After the initial shock and stress of the pandemic, it is time for us leaders to start engaging fully with the post-pandemic world—for there are tougher and hitherto unprecedented challenges on the near horizon. They cannot be ignored. The planet, and her people, cannot wait.
We define leadership not in terms of a job title, a position of the board, or a certain rank or age but in terms of attitude and actions – we know that leadership can happen in any part of an organisation, each and every day. Leadership is a way of being, not a way of earning.
The way of being of a leader can be defined as:
Seeing what needs to be done for the good of the whole community or organisation and doing whatever is in our power to get it done.
And we believe almost every adult and most young people – regardless of age, gender, colour or creed – can develop this attitude. Those that do enjoy rich rewards for themselves and the community they operate within – because the true secret of happiness is making a difference to others.
Creative leaders are not happy with complaining; or blaming; or sitting back and watching others; or holding back for fear of not being liked or failing. Instead they pay less attention to their fears (they have just as many as the rest of us but they don’t let them rule them) and they get involved – they jump onto the pitch, put themselves on the line and become part of the solution.
This toolkit gives a crash course in creative leadership – leadership that is a state of mind – which is useful, not just for the individual in their own lives, but for all organisations that they work within.
It is a huge challenge to be a creative leader in every situation – in fact it is quite difficult to do it, even just every now and again. It is far, far easier to sit back and do nothing or maybe make a few cynical comments than it is to take it upon ourselves to see if we can make a difference. But people do it every day – school governors, volunteers at charities, people who write to their MPs, secretaries who fight for better pay for all, kids who try to help their parents make ends meet, even the post boy who picks up the bit of rubbish and puts it in the bin rather than wait for someone else to do it.
These are all acts of creative leadership and each should be celebrated and respected for what it is. The more we recognise our own acts of creative leadership, the more we reinforce the belief that we are one, and the more positive acts we will make.
Here is a great Breakthrough Question to ask yourself as you take on the challenge of creative leadership:
If I was the only person who could do anything to make this better, for the good of us all, what would I do?
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