A Leadership myth is something that we have been taught, trained or told that does not hold up under the examination of experience. 

1.  A great title is vital to be able to lead.     

        TRUTH:      A title is not an absolute necessity for a true leader. 

2.     You have to be in charge in order to effectively lead change.

        TRUTH:      You can effectively influence change from any level.         

3.  Born leaders make better leaders.

        TRUTH:      Leadership can be learned. 

4.     Every person has the potential to be a great leader.

        TRUTH:      Some people are just NOT wired with leadership gifts.

5.     The grass is greener on the other side. 

         TRUTH:      Every setting has its setbacks. 

6.     Money & moving up the ladder are always the great motivators in leadership. 

        TRUTH:      While money is a factor—it is not always the fundamental issue in making a leadership       decision.  

7.     When things are going well—you can tell there is a good leader at the top.

        TRUTH:      There is a good leader in charge somewhere in the organization—not necessarily at the top.

8.     Bigger is better.

        TRUTH:      Better is better. 

9.     If it worked before—it will work again.  (likewise “if it worked there—it will work here.”)

         TRUTH:      Current success is not always a clear indicator of future success.  There are many factors involved.  

10.    When you promote people they will perform better and produce more.

        TRUTH:      If they are not doing it now—they won’t do it then.

11.    Visionary leaders don’t have to deal with details.  (just the big picture)

        TRUTH:      If they don’t—they won’t be leading very long. 

12.    Great leaders possess charismatic and magnetic personalities.

        TRUTH:      Some great leaders have no personality at all. 

        --that statement is a stereotype.  (and it is wrong)

13.    The person who holds the highest position is the person who is leading the organization.

        TRUTH:      the person with the most influence is leading the group.

14.    Education is the best preparation for a leadership position.

         TRUTH:   more education does not necessarily mean more wisdom.

         TRUTH:   while education is important—it is experience that makes the ultimate difference.

15.    The leader knows it all had has ALL THE ANSWERS.

         TRUTH:      The leader knows who knows. 

          TRUTH:      A leader cannot have a complete knowledge of everything.  That is why they have to have the right people with the right skills on their team.

16.    Leadership gets easier with more experience.

        TRUTH:      the higher you go in leadership—the harder it gets.

17.    Your personal life has no direct impact on your professional life.

        TRUTH:      The two are intimately intertwined.

18.    No one is irreplaceable. 

        TRUTH:      Positions are not—but some people are. 

19.    Your age can limit your advancements

        TRUTH: your actions, your accomplishments and attitudes will determine your future.

20.    The person with the most qualifications gets the job.

         TRUTH:      The person with the best connection or makes the best impression gets the job.

21.    Leaders have to be loud and demanding to get people’s attention.

        TRUTH:      You don’t have to be mean to mean business.

22.    It’s lonely at the top. 

        TRUTH:      an effective leader will surround themselves with a great team.

Bert L. Jones

President & CEO of GO InterNational

#1    Character & Integrity:    

        Helps you know who you are.

#2    Observation & Evaluation:

        Helps you know where you are.

#3    Vision & dreams

        Helps you know where you want to be

 
#4    Intuition & strategy

        Helps you know how to get to where you want to be.

#5    Determination & hard work

        Helps you know the cost of getting where you want to be.

#6    Teamwork & networks

        Helps you know who it will take on your team to get you to your destination.

#7    Trust & confidence. 

        Helps other people know that it’s safe to follow you there. 

Larry Bird once said: “First master the fundamentals”

Being faithful to fundamentals is instrumental to long term success. 

Bert L. Jones

President & CEO of GO InterNational

There are two different ways to turn lights on at my house.   The first way is to walk through the house and flip the light switch on in each room.   The lights in each of these rooms only respond when they are manually turned on.    Unlike these lights that are all the way through my house, is another kind of light, it is the motion detector light that we have mounted on our house.     We have it pre-set to respond with light to any movement that happens within a certain time of day and within a certain sphere of our property.

Just as there are two types of lights, I believe that there are really two types of leaders.   The first type of leader is just like that light switch that must be manually turned on to be most effective and productive.   Someone has to physically flip the switch to get a response.  You will notice throughout the house and in most leadership situations that these are the most prominent type of leaders.  You will find many of them throughout your business or practice.  If asked to carry out a responsibility they can respond, but without the request they rarely react.   

In contrast the second type of leader has a pre-set perceptivity.  The perception of this type of leader gives them an unusual peripheral perspective.    This type of leader can sense when something is happening within their sphere of influence and they automatically respond to the movement or need by shedding some light on the circumstances.   I love the efficiency of this type leader because they “turn on” when there is a need.   They “stay on” as long as they are needed and then shut off automatically when there is no longer a need for their assistance.   They never waste energy by turning on too early or staying on beyond the point of need and best of all they are always ready to respond to the next movement.

The problem with many leaders today is they lack the ability to perceive the movement that is taking place right under their sphere of responsibility.   Because they lack perception, the motion usually turns into commotion.   I have noticed as I study the Leadership lessons of Jesus, that one of the most distinct qualities of leadership that He displayed was the ability to perceive when something was going on and then to automatically respond to that need by shedding light on the situation.   I pray that you will ask God to help you to be a motion detector leader more than the manual leader who has to be flipped on before they can make a difference.

Bert L. Jones

I used to believe that courage was the secret weapon in the reserve of all super hero leaders.  I once thought that courage was much like a special collectors item, something that you were proud to possess but not something that was practical or that you pulled out and used everyday.  I am now convinced that courage is critical for leaders to display daily to make an influential difference. 

In fact the need for courage goes far beyond the notion of being brave—to how leaders behave in those critical everyday moments where strong courageous leadership is demanded.  In the cartoon version, the courageous super hero leader displays some daring act of courage that instantaneously resolves the problem and before the episode is complete, everyone is celebrating the success of the courageous leader. 

Unfortunately the real life drama of leadership looks a little more like a soap opera than a cartoon.   The story lines of leadership are often difficult, dramatic, dangerous, and drawn out over a long period of time.  While these leadership story lines can lack fanfare—they certainly require Courage.

I love this statement from Chuck Swindoll, "Courage is not limited to the battlefield or the Indianapolis 500 or bravely catching a thief in your house. The real tests of courage are much quieter. They are the inner tests, like remaining faithful when nobody's looking, like enduring pain when the room is empty, like standing alone when you're misunderstood." 

In their book A Leaders Legacy, authors Kouzes & Posner write “Leadership is about taking people to places they’ve never been before, and we can’t go to those places without courage.  Leadership is courage in ACTION.”  

You will discover that it takes courage to pursue your dreams and vision, to make a difficult decision, to make a necessary but unpopular change.  It takes courage to chart a new course of action and to take calculated risk, to confront a person or problem or to communicate truth that someone may not want to hear.  It takes courage hold your team accountable, to set high expectations and goals for your group.  It takes courage to stand against popular opinion, opposite points of view or tremendous opposition.  It takes courage to continue on when you feel like giving up.  The bottom line in leadership is this—leaders must be outrageously courageous!                              

Winston Churchill said “Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities . . . because it is the quality which guarantees all others." 

John Maxwell said:  “Courage is the 1^st essential quality of effective leadership.

Remember these words, repeated 3 times from the Lord and 1 time from the people to Joshua as he prepared to take on the mantle of everyday leadership from Moses.  “ONLY Be strong and very courageous…Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.”  (Joshua 1:7-8 NLT)

Bert Jones

Recently while returning home from a speaking engagement, I came to a conclusion about communication.  My flight home required two different flight connections and unfortunately both planes would go through pockets of terrible turbulence.   On the first flight the plane would without any warning encounter extremely rough weather conditions.  As the flight continued its jolted journey, passengers awaited a word of assurance from the captain that everything was under control and would soon calm down, but that communication never came. 

After landing and connecting to my next flight we were once again up in the air anxious to get home.  It was not long into this flight when the Captain came across the intercom announcing that we were about to approach some turbulent weather and some important instructions to get us through the next few moments.  This Captain assured us that everything would be fine and that we would soon reach a different altitude making the ride more comfortable.  His commitment to communicating with us created a different atmosphere than I had experienced on the previous plane even in a similar predicament.

The communication conclusion that I came to that day was that the altitude was not what changed the attitude of the people on the plane.   It was the leader.  James Humes said it best, “The art of communication is the language of leadership.”  All great leaders understand that communication can make the difference between calmness and chaos in the cabin of the plane.  

Aaron Goldman suggested that a leader should communicate with others the same information that they would want to receive and in the way they would want to receive it if their positions were reversed.   As we look at leadership in the future, the advantage will always go to the leader who has the capability to communicate in a concise, clear and confident fashion with the people on their team.  John P. Kotter said “Without credible communication, and a lot of it, employee hearts and minds are never captured.”  It is our leadership responsibility to capture those hearts and minds through meaningful and effective communication.

Leadership in the cockpit can be challenging as you face daily turbulence and deadlines but never forget the difference communication with the people in the cabin can be in getting to your final destination.

Bert Jones