Leadership

What is leadership?

Is it showing employees how to do a task and hovering over to see that they've completed it? Is it a coach yelling at his players to "suck it up" for the sake of the team, only to see one of his charges injure herself unnecessarily? Could it be someone listening intently to your issue and offering some advice?

I guess it could be all or part of all three. Or perhaps none of them.

What I learned today was that leadership is an evolving process of self-discovery, a desire to connect with people and the search for transformational change.

The Detroit Regional Chamber's Leadership Detroit program brings talented, motivated and successful professional together over the course of a year to explore the possibilities of change through leadership. The reputation of "The D" precedes itself in conversations, in media and in reality everyday.

Whether you are in Buenos Aires, Barcelona or Birmingham, people know of Detroit. You don't even have to speak English to know that there is a Detroit. Like New York (the city so nice they named it twice...), Detroit is worldwide.

The problem is many of us who claim a connection to Detroit aren't always comfortable about our image to the rest of the world. Like an insecure teenager who puts on make up to cover up what she believes to be blemishes, Detroit often puts on a mask designed to project an image that isn't exactly authentic.

It is my impression that the Detroit Regional Chamber recognizes that more than a makeover, Detroit needs to chart a new direction for itself. Whether or not the focus of that reorientation is centered around business, arts, politics, sports, religion, race, regionalism or all of the above is less important than making progress in the work towards change. And that is where the process of leadership can begin to stoke the embers of change.

Of course there is no real consensus on the definition of leadership. It's something that you know when  you see it. But it is kind of like building a bridge.

You've got to have people willing to work together, you've got to come up with a plan, you've got to work that plan and  you've got to be flexible enough to change course when you need to. I'm ready to put on my hard hat and see what happens.

I look forward to being a part of the journey. I will try and chronicle how the process unfolds in the microcosm, while trying to tie to the macro experience of living in "The D". We'll see how it goes.