Leadership is an Art

Inspiring others, stoking afire of passion in others, is an

art that cannot beunderstated. To inspire

others to follow you, embraceyour dream as their own, and

work towards making thatdream come true, is a

phenomenal though poorlyunderstood concept that

paradoxically remains of theutmost significance in the

professional world, yet failsto be taught. How does an

entrepreneur teach others tobe the best of themselves?

How does a leader cultivateambition while retaining toptalent? How does a CEO gain

the loyalty of his/her workersand not encourage

stagnancy?

Such are but a few of the manyquestions that Max Depree’s

Leadership is an Art explores withversatile accuracy. Acknowledging the

multitude of prevailing beliefs thatcurrently characterize the ‘right way’

to lead, Depree concisely butcomprehensively answers many of the

questions that plague modernleadership. He teaches many lessons,

and so I have chosen to list a few of myfavorites

The first responsibility of a leader is to definereality. The last is to say ‘Thank you.’ In betweenthe two, the leader must become a servant and a

debtor.In developing any capitalistic

enterprise, the leader mustunderstand expectation and

articulate what is considered successand what is failure. In achieving

such, the leader must do whateverthey can to produce what he or shesaid would be produced, be that a

product or service. Yet, even whenacting as a “servant,” the leader mustunderstand they are always doing sofor a price, thus acting as a “debtor.”

“Leadersdon’t inflict

pain; theybear pain.”

The harsh reality of running a business is that there is sacrifice. There isburden. There is pain. However, even in the face of difficulty, a leader

cannot bend to the stress. To bend to the stress, to take your stress anddisplace it onto others, namely other employees, is to discourage those

you’re supposed to encourage. In order to secure the best possibleproductivity from your workers, you must set a stellar example they can

model. While it is hard to not internalize stress, leaders must strive toremain relaxed. Otherwise, said internalized stress will manifest in other

ways, hurtful ways.

“Participative management is notdemocratic. Having a say differs from

having a vote.”

An important though subjective distinction, it issignificant to let your employees know they have a voice

in the organization and where it’s going. However, aneffective leader must also realize that, ultimately, thefinal decision is up to him or her. Moreover, employees

themselves must realize this. They must understand thatwhile their input is appreciated, it is not necessarily, or by

any means really, the end all be all. Depree delves intodetail on this vague idea and provides insightful advice on

how to approach and implement this philosophy.

The truth is that leadership is a dynamicskill, changing with the tides and altering

with the current state of the company.What leadership requires a year ago may

be different today. What leadershiprequires at one company may differconsiderably from what leadership

requires at a different company.Leadership is malleable, flexible, but

strong. It is an art top business executivesmust learn and must always continue to

learn; and Depree helps do just that.