Integrity~Transparency~Accountability

I first heard it at a seminar on Social Media. "It's all about transparency, integrity and accountability. Whatever you post will be there forever. You can't say you didn't mean it, and it will never go away. What you put there will stay there and you better be prepared to take responsibility for it."

Then I heard it at a Lodging convention, "this generation of leaders has a high level of integrity, transparency and accountability...they work in teams...they are committed and they want you to be too..."

Every generation looks at the next generation and seems to say, "what's the world coming to?....Kids these days are..." We've all heard variations on this theme, yet there truly are some great examples of the kind of leadership I've been hearing about. The kind that look around and see everyone as leading from their seat, no matter what position they hold, and every employee is a team member and their own position is an opportunity to serve and motivate and encourage. The kind that say, 'go ahead, open the gate and come sit with me, let's have a chat, I'd love to know what you're thinking'.

There have always been, and always will be risks associated with stepping out to lead. The cost of being vulnerable enough to ask others for their opinions, yet accepting the responsibility of pulling everyone's ideas together and making decisions with the wide range of ideas and options that are presented, and receiving negative feedback...or worse, is the very thing that has caused the rigidity of many leaders in the past. Yet, the leaders that I have been exposed to of late, are, so far, remaining consistent, and in the face of difficult times and truly challenging circumstances, they are stepping out courageously, keeping the dialogue open and they truly care about what resonates in the people around them.

True leaders who lead from their hearts accept those risks, and they answer their e-mails and phone calls, and they listen. They do their homework and learn how things became the way they are so they don't just repeat the mistakes of their predecessors; but they don't worry about that so much because they're focused on what was going well and try to build on that. They are kind to those who tell them they are wrong, and grateful to those who tell them they are right, but at the end of the day, they know they have done the very best they could do that day. They do what they have to do to prepare themselves to face it again tomorrow.

Great leaders can't stop believing that if we all swim in the same direction, we'll accomplish something great together. Great leaders know that no matter how awesome they are, their efforts will fall to the ground if they fail to inspire those around them into moving in the same direction they are going.

I have some great leaders in my life. This gives me hope for the future and the next generation.