Centered Leaders Acknowledge Their Limitations

The sentence rings in my head. I can't forget it. I was enjoying a music video (back when MTV showed music videos all the time) of John Cougar Mellencamp. He was dancing up a ladder as he sang. I thought it was entertaining. His songs of blue collar living resonated with my past. And, here he was dancing.

And the sentence. "You can't tell he's not a dancer," said June (who is a dancer). "I don't like all that fake dancing..."

Fake dancing? To an authentic, practiced, disciplined dancer there IS such a thing as fake dancing.

To an authentic, practiced, disciplined leader is there such a thing as fake leadership?

Does it take more than saying the right words and following the right steps?

Absolutely. It takes character. It takes real courage, genuine clarity, authentic compassion and sparkling creativity. None of that comes overnight or accidentally. It takes work, development, training, focus, and feedback. The kind of commitment that a real dancer makes to dance.

You can't fool a real dancer. Centered leaders acknowledge their limitations.

They move beyond beginner's steps and master the skills needed to lead effectively, to solve real problems and to achieve their goals.

Centered leaders work long and hard to develop the art of leadership.

Are you a real dancer?

-- Douglas Brent Smith

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