There’s an interesting paradox about productive and effective leadership. Even though bestowing the title of leadership is a choice made by followers, good leaders must recognize that gaining leadership should not depend on being popular. It doesn’t hurt to be popular, and we can banish the absurd thought that a good leader should seek to become unpopular. At the same time, we need to explore important distinctions between being popular and earning respect.
I find the essence of this distinction in the value provided by good leadership: it enables us as followers to accomplish something we could not do otherwise:
- A good leader may describe a vision that we all can share that we did not see before.
- A good leader may see abilities in us, both as individuals and as a group, that we did not know we had.
- A good leader may give a voice to our best desires and values, pushing us beyond our discouragement or fatigue, and focusing us on what we should become.
- A good leader may be the symbol or the embodiment of the focus and temperament of the team.
All these leadership traits enable leaders to take their followers beyond where they have gone before, out into the unknown and the uncomfortable. Frequently, followers will balk at these changes, only persuaded to step “over the edge” by their respect for and confidence in their leader. To be persuasive in encouraging a team to take such a “leap,” the successful leader willingly chooses risky, unpopular directions, confident that the rewards when the team succeeds is worth the risk.