Ever gotten in your car, pulled out of the drive way, and quickly realized before getting on the road you needed to stop and punch in the GPS coordinates of where you’re going? I had that same feeling after re-reading my last two posts in this series on Leadership. In both cases, getting the big picture overview of the road ahead can be extremely helpful.

So despite my last post to the contrary, I’m not going to launch into more detail now about what makes a resonant leader. Instead, I’ve decided to first outline what I see as a 3-part model of applied leadership.  That way there is a landmark to refer back to as the series unfolds.  Here it is:

1. Resonate leadership– who you are, your own state of being and how well you are in tune or resonate with the emotions of others. Strong resonate leaders are characterized by high levels of Emotional and Social intelligence (EI/SI).

2. Transformational leadership– how you express yourself as a leader, but more so how other people experience, are impacted and transformed by your leadership in four primary ways (the 4 “I’s”, which will be discussed in future posts in this series).

3. Leadership Styles–  How you apply your leadership. The 6 distinct styles described by Daniel Goleman, with each one comprised and characterized by it’s own set of coordinated activities. While all 6 have their place, four readily foster resonance while two in particular can easily regress into dissonance (and yes, each of these will be discussed in future posts).

Both components one and two above are inter-related and highly relational in nature. At their core, they deal with who you are; your being a leader. In order to be a strong resonant and transformational leader, you have to first lead yourself well so you can then do the same for others. If you have these components right, the rest often takes care of itself…..often, but not always. A third component is needed.

If the first two components of applied leadership are about being, then the 3rd component characterizes how you do leadership. “Doing” leadership well means making best-practice application with and among those who follow you. Evidence shows that this is where the best leaders separate themselves from all the rest. They’re able to selectively apply, at the right time and in the right situations, the 6 leadership styles of doing leadership that are undergirded by a strong foundation of EI/SI.

As Goleman says, “no creature can fly with just one wing. Gifted leadership occurs where heart and head—feeling and thought—meet. These are the two wings that allow a leader to soar”.

This 3-part applied model takes into account both wings. In addition to being simple, realistic and evidence-based,  it also serves as an easy heuristic and diagnostic tool see where you’re at and where you need to focus so you can take your leadership to the next level.

Now that I’ve outlined the 3-part model, I’ll pick-up in my next post more on the topic of resonant leadership and what it takes to become a resonant leader.

Are you soaring yet? If not, what’s your next best step?

Until next time.

Dwight D. Eisenhower said leadership is ultimately you trying to get your mandate and desires done in your time table and in your way, while the one who is doing it for you is doing so because he wants to do it. Leadership then, becomes a process of motivating, inspiring and leading somebody while getting that person to express him or herself in the process.

Since history is replete with examples of leadership being used for noble OR nefarious purposes, what is the key difference between good leadership and bad?

The key difference is this: Good leadership does not violate the individual or lead them contrary to the beneficial and/or transcendent purpose which they desire.

Good leadership is a paradoxical blend between: a) personal humility and b) a noble, visionary driven will. Good leadership then, has to start in the area of the leader’s being. You have to BE a good leader in order to DO good leadership.

How would your followers rate you on these two criteria? What do you need to start doing, do more of, or change in order to become more of the leader you desire and your followers need you to become?

Content that helped bring these thoughts to mind and are worthy of your time and a look:
Ravi Zacharias (podcast: Leader Seminar Workshop: part 1 of 3)
Simon Sinek (book: Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams pull together and Others Don’t)