Introduction

Now and again, a quote really hits the bull's-eye for me.
Robert Greenleaf is legendary for his concept, Servant Leadership. I'd spent years trying to make sense of what I was seeing in board rooms, corridors of government, project teams and so on. Why were capable people simply not leading in a way that delivered what was possible? Greenleaf wrote thirty-odd years ago:

Who is holding back more rapid movement to the better society that is reasonable and possible with available resources? Who is responsible for the mediocre performance of so many of our institutions?

Not evil people. Not stupid people. Not apathetic people. Not the "system". Not the protesters, the disrupters, the revolutionaries, the reactionaries...

The real enemy is fuzzy thinking on the part of good, intelligent, vital people, and their failure to lead.

That was it! One major limitation was the quality of thinking about the crucial topic of leadership. And second, though I met many 'good, intelligent, vital people', there seemed to be barriers getting in the way of them consistently and effectively leading themselves and others.

So let's get the fuzziness out of your thinking about leadership! And help you notice when you're not leading and give you ways to spend more time being the leader you want to be.