From Credibility to Leadership

In our first class session, we discussed a Leader’s Legacy. A Legacy is defined as: “Something handed down from an ancestor or a predecessor or from the past: a legacy of religious freedom” (http://www.answers.com/topic/legacy)

But how do you establish a legacy? How do you distinguish yourself from the best in class?

Leading by example, establishing new working relationships, becoming a strategic business partner, showing commitment, communicating, and developing trust are just the beginning for establishing CREDIBILITY.

Former General Electric CEO Jack Welch in his “It's Not About You” speech at Stanford Graduate School of Business said:

“The day you become a leader, it becomes about them. Your job is to walk around with a can of water in one hand and a can of fertilizer in the other hand. Think of your team as seeds and try to build a garden. It’s about building these people,” he insisted. “Only you will know the team.”
(http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/research/joss_you.html)

Many of today's leaders recognize the imperativeness to change their work environment yet still fail at doing this. Their failure is often a result of underestimating the requirements of successful leadership. The fact is that it is not all about technical or operational adjustments. It goes beyond that. It is about adopting new ideas, attitudes, and approaches – it requires strong LEADERSHIP.