Ever since I was a little boy I’ve wanted to be a leader in whatever activity I’ve participated in. When I was six years old I was the “captain of the police force” with my school mates. As a young person in high school and college I held numerous student body offices. Admittedly in part my reason for wanting to be a leader was so I could be “the boss” or be known as someone who was “important.” The drive to be recognized was pushing my desire to lead.

Could it be that this is why we are having difficulty with leaders in the world today? Are they being driven by the need to be recognized, to be important? Is greed their driving force?

In my seminars I teach the concept of Collective Identity – we are judged by the sum of all our parts before we are recognized and acknowledged for our individual contributions. I believe that the collective group known as leaders is doing a poor job. We have lost trust in them; they appear to be people who are out of integrity both in their corporate and personal lives; they are greedy.

The world is almost starving for true authentic leadership. With my parents as role models, I’ve learned that true leadership is more about serving others than the position one holds in the organization.

Because I have a deep concern that we are in a leadership crisis the next few editions of the newsletter will focus on 16 things that we believe all leaders must have moving forward in the 21st century. Some of what we will write about is not new, but its positioning may need to become different. I am also mindful that some of the skills leaders had to get us to where we are today may not be the skills needed to go forward into tomorrow.

Here then is a preview of the 16 points for good leadership we will be writing about in depth in future issues: Interview and select the right people; Utilize the strengths of each team member in a way that will bring out all parts working for the good of the whole; Have a detailed vision; Don’t treat everyone the same, treat them as individuals; Know when to help someone go beyond what they think they can do; Know when not to push someone beyond their level of readiness; Know when to get out of the way and let the individual do what they know how to do; Be able to set boundaries; Create a positive climate so all members on the team can flourish; Be open to receive feedback from members of the team; Set an example of how to function when team members are discouraged; Honor individual requests when the need arises without compromising the needs of the – team or department; Make personnel changes when things are not working out properly; Have the ability to work in a multi-cultural setting; Be able to adapt to and lead change; Be able to give instructions in a timely manner.

Steve Hanamura, president of Hanamura Consulting, Inc., and author of I Can See Clearly: A Different Look at Leadership, has 30 years of experience working with organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies to regional not-for-profit institutions. He is widely sought after in the areas of leadership development, building effective teams, leading diversity initiatives and managing generational differences.

He can be reached by phone at 503-297-8658 or by e-mail at sh@hanamuraconsulting.com