I was stirred from my sleep, before a presentation to business owners, thinking about the enormous responsibility of leadership. The role of leadership is often debated, nevertheless, many consider it a guiding force for success in business and in other sectors of our lives. There were three words that was prevalent in my reflections. They were revolution, resolution and evolution. Obviously these three words rhyme, but I was struck by the relationship among them, as it relates to leadership.

Revolution

The entrepreneurs started their businesses because of a dissatisfaction with the status quo. They noticed that something needed to change. Something in their job was not appropriately satisfying their ambitions, the needs of the client or the world at large. Therefore, they felt a change was required, a disruption was necessary, and they were the persons who could make a difference. The business owners felt that they should be the catalyst to lead the charge, by staging a revolution.

Additionally, a revolution can be defined as a complete turn. Building their awareness by seeing the world from all sides has advantages. This peripheral perspective is important in any business. There is a requirement that an object in motion must gain energy and maintain motivation and momentum.

Resolution

Secondly, a resolution was mandatory, whether spoken, written or inferred. We are speaking of resolution, also from two perspectives. First there is a resolution like the plans and platitudes and goals we make at the beginning of a new year. They serve as promises to do more, better or different. However, we can also speak of resolution as it relates to a higher degree of clarity. The Hubble telescope was launched into space in 1990. The images receive were not of the quality required by astronomers. Apparently, there was a defect in one of the mirrors. It was ground incorrectly and compromised the telescope’s capabilities. This was a classic example of manufacturer error. A repair team was sent to fix the problem and the optics were improved, resulting in magnificent photographs, increasing our understanding of the universe.

As a leader, we need to clarify our value and direction, so that our people are clear about where we stand. We need transparent directions and expectations of them. We may have to repair them to ensure that we are transmitting the proper images. I watched a video of Marcus Buckingham, noted leadership guru. He said that leaders need to clarify their values so that their followers knew what they believed in. Leaders may not be perfect, but they should be predictable.

Evolution

Thirdly, an evolution is required. Business leaders and business owners need to build evolution into their planning cycle. An expectation was required that people should improve and getting better should enable them to address the challenges of the marketplace and needs of the people. There was also a requirement that people, and practices need to evolve to a higher level of service, sophistication and developing their people.

My presentation to the entrepreneurs was well accepted. The early-morning reflection on leadership, affirmed the role of revolution, resolution and evolution in addressing the challenges and expectations of today’s business leaders and business owners.

Copyright © 2010 Orlando Ceaser