The essence of leadership

On August 23, 2010, in Successful leadership, by Neculai Fantanaru

Not everything that is around you can give contour and a bright shade to your leadership.

I will always carry in my soul and in my mind that unique moment that I spent in the company of the master. I carried a great affection for him, as usually reserved for a parent. In turn, the master carried a boundless love for me ever since I was a child.

It was evening. After a frugal dinner, the master has retired in his “sanctuary”, the holy shrine – as he liked to name his room of creation. I followed him with a sense of excitement. I knew what was going to happen: a new lesson.

Through his passion, the master painted many paintings – and all reflected his talent, wealth of knowledge, wisdom and experience. It seemed to me that only he could give me the inspiration and creativity I needed in order to become a great artist.

The master turned his attention to one of his paintings, remained unmoved for a moment, admiring it with a special sensitivity, as if he wanted to distinguish something strange, or as if some memories suddenly invaded his mind. A moment of silence followed, while he meditated to put his thoughts in order. I was observing his gestures. He seemed calm, and his eyes were clear. Then, smiling with nostalgia, said to me:

- Nicu, the artist is a man who sees, who forwards his vision. He is able to graft in the minds of others the most compelling images transposed on canvas with such finesse and precision that they seem alive. It is impossible to doubt of them.

The leader does not “paint”what he sees, but what he thinks

Unlike a great painter, who can reproduce an image that he imprinted in his mind with an extraordinary skill, reproducing so accurately the finest details, a leader, although he resembles an artist in many ways, never reproduces in his “work” what he sees, but, above all, what he thinks. A skilled leader knows that all that glitters is not gold; that not everything which is projected it is also attainable. In leadership, you must think, analyze and assess everything very carefully.

A leader cannot get himself caught of what he sees like a painter, because reality can be quite different, can be changing, and that is why it cannot be expressed or captured in a “painting”. If the leader does not form a complex picture of everything around him well-grounded into reality, then he could never propose himself any attainable objectives.

Do you capture just the landscape?

Leaders have the problem of deformation. They do not exactly reproduce in their plans what they see, they sometimes impovise, because everything can change. However, they neither distort reality; otherwise they overlook what is really important.

I remember the statement once made by Stephen Covey, the author of the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: ”A leader is the person who climbs the highest tree, he carefully studies the landscape, and screams at the top of his lungs: “This is not our jungle”.

This statement reinforces my point of view. Often, the way you perceive things around you separates success from failure. As a leader, if you do not focus your efforts in the right direction, you will not be able to make any progress; moreover, you will fail in any of your endeavors. For your performances to be better, concentrate on what matters the most, not capturing only the "landscape". Because not everything around you can give contour and a bright shade to your leadership.

Do you focus your visions and efforts towards achieving the proposed goals? To whom is favorable your vision? Do people notice and appreciate your vision? Trying to achieve something without moving in the right direction is like making a painting with a magnificent image, but which will never be sold.

The essence of leadership is much like the essence of art and a painting which impresses through its used technique, imagination and innovative ideas, accessibility and profitability. The same way and in leadership, beginning from an existent background, the plan, the ways and the means for action must „impress", so that they would be accepted and possible to realize with as low investment as possible, and to ensure maximum benefits.