I Know it's More Fun to Talk About Bad Leaders....

I've noticed that the posts I write about bad leaders and managers and poor organizational practices tend to be much more popular than the ones I write about good, worthy, effective leaders, managers, and organizations.

We seem to like to focus on how things are screwed up.  Maybe it makes us feels lucky - or superior.

But there's something very powerful about discussing good things. The beauty of acknowledging genuine positive realities is that it establishes them more firmly as 'the way things can be;' it serves as a reminder and an inspiration to us that good things are possible, for us and for others. We can lead so people will follow; we can create strong teams and strong organizations based on loyalty, commitment and trust.

Last Monday night in NYC, we had a book launch party for Leading So People Will Follow and our first annual Fully Accepted Leader award ceremony.  The whole night was enormously fun, but the the award ceremony was the highlight, at least for me, because it was a chance to publicly acknowledge a group of leaders for whom I have great respect and affection.

When I first began sketching this book out in my head, I decided to profile actual leaders; I thought that having real examples of live people being far-sighted, passionate, courageous, wise, generous and trustworthy would be both inspiring and instructive to the reader. So I chose two leaders as exemplars of each of the six leader attributes in the book, all senior people I've worked with and observed over the years.

The party on Monday was such a wonderful opportunity to celebrate and thank them for their efforts to be good  leaders every day.  A number of people mentioned to me, at the party and since then, how inspiring it was to hear about people who are worthy, followable leaders.  Too often, we focus on the dark side of leadership - all the people who are doing it wrong.  And certainly there's something to be learned there; some of my most powerful leadership lessons have been examples of what not to do.  I've included lots of cautionary don't-ever-do-this-if-you-want-to-be-a-good-leader stories in my new book, as well.

The downside of all the stories we tell about bad leadership, though, is that we sometimes forget there are good leaders: if you just listen to the public conversation, you could start to think that everyone in a position of power is a self-aggrandizing jerk; that all holders of public office are cynical and dishonorable; that people who lead others are only in it for themselves.

But it's not so.  Over the past few decades of working with thousands of leaders in dozens of organizations, I've met and worked with hundreds - literally - who are, or who aspire to be good leaders. Who spend time thinking about how they can improve, how they can lead their teams better and more effectively. Who care both about their people's welfare and the company's results.

And I'll bet you know some, too.  So.  Let's declare October 16th, next Tuesday, Fully Accepted Leader Day. On that day, this year and every year, let's take the time to publicly celebrate and thank the great leaders in our lives; those people who we’ve experienced as consistently far-sighted, passionate, courageous, wise, generous, and trustworthy in guiding and directing us.  It could be a boss, parent, coach, teacher, or peer. It could be your company's CEO, or the executive assistant who organized a disaster relief effort single-handed. It could be someone who stepped up in an emergency, or someone who shows up as a quiet, inspiring leader day in and day out.

On the 16th, I encourage you to thank these people publicly: on your blog or through facebook or Twitter; with a photo essay on Pinterest; by sending an email to the person and cc-ing your larger circle. Talk about what makes them great - what they've done and how it has impacted you and others. And of course, the 16th is just an excuse: how great it would be if we took the opportunity any day, all year, to thank those leaders who have touched our lives in a positive way.

Let's talk about it.

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1 day and counting - Erika's new book, Leading So People Will Follow, available everywhere tomorrow.

Amazon has selected Leading So People Will Follow as one of the 10 Best Business & Leadership Books for October.