Great Insight about Moral Leadership

Last week, I had the privilege of attending a presentation by Professor Robert J. Bies, Ph.D. to the Greater D.C. Chapter of the International Coach Federation, the governing body of the coaching profession, globally.

Professor Bies is a leadership professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, and consistently considered a favorite professor by the students. He is not only insightful about leadership; he also has a very special ability to challenge and inspire, which is exactly what we should do as bosses and leaders!

I will highlight some of the take-a-ways for me:

Leadership

• We are all leaders – our attitude determines whether we are a good leader or an ineffective one.
• We can lead whatever our role.
• Leadership and learning are indispensable to one another.
• Leaders are signal senders. What signals do we want to stand for? What signals are we sending?
• As leaders, let’s be judged by our contributions, our effectiveness in helping others.

Self-reflection and Purpose

• Self-reflection is critical to our effectiveness. We must see the situation, judge what is right, act, reflect/evaluate, and, if necessary, revise, and act again.
• Find our purpose, our passion, the fire within us, and then act. This is how to get people to care, to “want to go for it!”
• Do we want our legacy on earth to be that we do some things meaningful helping others or is our life just something to do?
• What am I doing to make the world better? What am I doing to help others?

Influence

• We want to influence people to want to be great, have an, “I’ve got to do it!” attitude. With caring comes courage. People care about a worthy mission.
• This was such a worthwhile discussion, a wealth of important, insightful and inspirational ideas.
• How we lead our lives affects our ability to influence, especially without authority.
• Aspire not to have more, but to give more.

This is leadership that matters!