Leadership and Personal Goals

I read an article about the importance of setting clear goals, and it dawned on me that this is exactly the problem that many people have when they attempt to practice leadership - so I'm going to spend a bit of time trying to connect the two.

Validating Goals

The article itself was about determining whether a goal is valid, with an eye toward figuring out what to do in order to turn a feeling or dream into a goal - or in some instances to realize that a notion is only a feeling or a dream, and to avoid acting upon it as if it were a goal.

The first important distinction is made between a goal and a feeling.   All goals begin as feelings - a vague sense of being dissatisfied with the present, or the equally vague sense that making a change could result in a better sitaution.   Until a person knows what needs to be done to achieve their desired outcome, all they have is a feeling - it is not a goal until it is clearly understood and articulated.   A leader who does not have a goal is wasting his time and annoying his followers.

It also stands to mention that having a goal is necessary for leadership.   It should be obvious that a leader must lead his followers in achieving something.   To attempt to influence the behavior of others without a desired outcome in mind is not leadership, but manipulation - it satisfies the personal need to have power over others, but does not achieve an outcome.

Another distinction is to be made between a goal and a dream.   A goal can be attained and a dream cannot.   The distinction between a dream and a feeling is that a feeling is vague whereas a dream is specific - the individual knows exactly what he would like to happen, but is (or ought to be) well aware that there is no means to achieve it.

This problem is often seen in leaders who can articulate a goal but cannot provide specific enough direction, or who expect their followers to somehow figure out how to achieve the things he wants, even though he can provide neither instructions nor resources needed to accomplish it.

Leadership Goals are Personal Goals

The article itself was more personal in nature, but I believe that the same ideas apply to leadership situations - because the only difference between personal goals and leadership goals is that the latter are things a person can't accomplish by his own efforts and must influence others to cooperate.

I will concede that it is entirely possible to lead other people to do things that you could just as well have done yourself.   This smells a bit like unnecessary manipulation and dominance to me, but it may be justified if there are time constraints or conflicting goals - you ask someone to do something for you because you don't have the time to do it, or have more pressing demands.

But in another sense, all leadership goals are personal goals.   The desire to achieve an outcome is entirely self-centered.   Even if a person is taking an action to achieve a benefit for others, they are undertaking it because they have a selfish desire to see other people receive the benefit.   That is to say, leadership requires the help of others to achieve a goal, but the desire to achieve that goal is always personal - other people are merely the means.

Personal Goals are Leadership Goals

In many instances, the equation can be inverted: because we live in a complex social enviroment, most goals require the participation of others.  Even a simple transaction such as purchasing an item requires others to undertake the activities that make it available for sale, and even an action taken on one's own effort requires the passive cooperation of others not to interfere.

So the things that we truly do on our own and the things that we do with the help and cooperation of others are difficult to distinguish - but at this point I sense myself wandering into an academic/philosophical meditation rather than a more practical one, which is a good sign that I should stop typing.