I have taken part in two annual meetings for boards I belong to in the past week.  It has given me a sharper sense of what counts in terms of leadership in organizations. 

First, a lot of what goes into “leadership” arises from a person simply being willing to take action, to be used for a specific purpose.  Leaders are NOT born for greatness; most are simply willing to step forward when many others are not.  As I look at those who assume leadership roles in groups, a large part of leadership is simply being willing to lead and following that up with action.

Second, good leadership makes a lot of difference in setting a particular tone for a group that they lead.  Whether people are energized, depressed, confused, enthusiastic–a lot of it has to do with the quality of leadership that is being exercised in the group.  

Third, from what I’ve observed a board’s effectiveness is directly related to two things:  how much time they spend reacting to what has already happened or is imminent, and planning what they want to happen or anticipating changes that are yet to come.   The most effective boards focus their energies on proactively planning for the future.

One of those board meetings I was part of required preparatory work and we met three long hours, but we focused on strategic planning and everyone afterwards acknowledged this was one of our best meetings in recent memory.  The other meeting was fairly short, reactive in focus and unfocused.  What a difference leadership makes in helping people focus strategically!