Miguel de Cervantes said, in effect, “the journey is greater than the destination.” While this may be true when travelling, I think it is off-target when applied to leadership. A leader needs to be concerned about the journey AND the destination. Here’s what I mean:
The journey:
A leader needs to love people and be concerned about preserving the democratic decision-making and institutions in our society. Name-calling and totalitarian tendencies should not be qualities of a leader in our society.
The destination:
A leader needs to seek to solve the problems of the day. This means that he or she has the knowledge and foresight to identify the key problems of the day, the courage to confront them, adversity to combat difficulties in the midst of the process, and a willingness to accept small personal losses so to assure that the greater good is accomplished.
Some qualities a leader should possess:
-a servant in mind and heart
-uplifts and empowers others
-listens, reflects, then acts
-reads voraciously
-is aware of the effect of their power on others
-surrounds her or himself with mature people
-optimistic amidst pessimism
-proactive rather than reactive
