[January 15, 2018] Yesterday evening at our local Boy Scout meeting, I was asked by the newly elected Senior Patrol Leader a question that I’ve been asked hundreds of times while serving in the U.S. Army. This 15 year old asked me what is good leadership. He wanted to know because he knew it was the core of success in his new position.
He had heard the word “leadership” spoken at every meeting with the scouts, by his coaches on sports teams, by teachers, and by his adult scout leaders. One thing he told me was that no one ever said what leadership was … or what “good” leadership was. Funny thing that he asked because that is why I started volunteering at the scout troop.
We use a simple definition of leadership that is easy to understand but first we begin with some clarity on the word “good.” The reason is that the word is used in at least two ways and we don’t want to create further confusion by leaving open for these young scouts to misinterpret our meaning. “Good” for us means two things: 1) effectiveness and 2) doing the right thing. Usually people mean it to be one or the other but for us it is both.
Leadership means having the ability to get people to do things they would not ordinarily do. But we go further and tell them something better. Good leadership means having the ability to get people to do things they would not ordinarily do because they want to do it. The mission of the Boy Scouts is to prepare young men to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in the values of the scout oath and law.
Leadership is the means to make this happen. And, of course, we want those we lead to “want” to do it. The secret is getting them to internalize the idea to be a better person; someone who is a contributing member of their community, church, and country. The good news is that ordinary adult leaders in the Boy Scouts have been doing this for 110 years.
If we were to read or listen to experts on leadership, the main thing that stands out is that they talk about outcomes; the effect of leadership. They don’t write or talk about what leadership actually is, but the end-state of leadership is often the focus. Of course, like this blog here at theLeaderMaker.com, we list a number of characteristics that make up good leadership too. They can be found throughout the years this blog has been serving those interested in the topic of leadership.
I left the Boy Scout meeting with some satisfaction that our new group of young scout leaders had a better idea what leadership is about. We all committed to working closely with them to help those young men be better citizens and better leaders. That’s what good leadership is also about … making more good leaders.
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