Leaders are Brokers

A stockbroker’s responsibility is to take what you give them financially and make more of it. You wouldn’t be satisfied if your broker broke even, or worse, returned to you with less money than you gave him. We expect our broker to multiply our investments.

Leaders have a similar responsibility. When you’ve been called to lead others, you have a responsibility to broker – or steward – that obligation for gain. Gain first for those you lead, and then gain that will be returned to you as their leader. (more…)

This past week I was visiting with a comrade regarding smart people who aspire to be leaders. This led us to discussing the difference between having wisdom and having knowledge.

Most leaders love to have smart, knowledgeable people on their team. After all, that’s less pressure on the leader to have all the answers, right? The challenge for smart leaders is to avoid using their intelligence as a competitive advantage in a race to be the smartest person in the room. Though brains may impress, they alone don’t inspire a loyal following from peers. And if your peers aren’t willing to follow you, your future as a great leader is at risk. (more…)