Great leaders are purposeful leaders. They have a gut feeling that is usually right. The know why they are on this planet. They see the good in others. They are able to draw out the best in others. Why? The are very good at knowing who they are and what they are good at. They know where they are going although they may not be able to describe the exact path. But deviate from that path and they will refocus like a laser. Their purpose is their internal guidance system that helps them correct when they deviate from the course. Good things come to purposeful leaders. They are positive. People like being around them. They are winners!!!! While some have purposeful leadership qualities within them, many do not. The good news is that these traits and how to acquire them can be learned!

In organizations of all types, peak performance such as that described here is illusive. Why? There is an excess of defensiveness and turf guarding. People are focused on keeping their jobs. Not rocking the boat. Following procedures, etc. Does that sound like purposeful leadership. Not at all. So how do we go from an organization that is semi paralyzed by its own stuff to one that rewards risk taking, that believes in new ideas and relishes them? We have to unlearn a lot of what we have be told since our early years. We were formed at a very early age to do all the \”shoulds\” of life. To not disappoint. To listen to parents. To teachers. To bosses. We learned this to avoid pain and negative feelings and in the process this invalidated our early and innate strong intuition. The intuition of a kid. Curious. Energetic. Inquisitive. Happy. Fun. Where did it all go?????? And what did this do to our gut? It basically destroyed it. As a result we do not have an abundance of purposeful leaders. We have leaders trying to gain the rewards of life. The possessions. To keep their job. To get that promotion. To beat the street. But when it comes to creativity and intuition we defer to processes. Do we get creative through a process? Do we trust our gut through a process?

What we need is a way to rid ourselves of the past impositions of how we should feel, what we should do, who we should listen to. What we need is the freedom to look at the positive things transpiring in many places all around us. To believe that our colleagues have value and strengths and that we as leaders can help draw them out, freeing them of the past shoulds. We need leaders who are not afraid to trust their gut and go with it.

Yes all this can be learned. Is it easy? Its not that difficult if there is the will and persistence and atmosphere to \”think different\” as a great man said. We can learn as individuals or as teams, improving integration in the process. How powerful it is to see a room full of executives, aligned around a common purpose, possessing an endless supply of energy, channeled on whats best for its customers, employees and stakeholders.

Mark L. Grossman is a leadership development expert, strategy management consultant and coach with over 30 years of experience working with the best, for the best and on the most challenging issues world wide
http://marklgrossman.wordpress.com

Mark L. Grossman is a leadership development expert, strategy management consultant and coach with over 30 years of experience working with the best, for the best and on the most challenging issues world wide
http://marklgrossman.wordpress.com

Author Bio: Mark L. Grossman is a leadership development expert, strategy management consultant and coach with over 30 years of experience working with the best, for the best and on the most challenging issues world wide
http://marklgrossman.wordpress.com

Category: Business Management
Keywords: leadership, purpose, management, business