In this post I would like to explore a leadership quote from Marsha Evans, who retired as a U.S. Navy rear admiral in 1998 and went on to serve as the CEO of the Girl Scouts and the American Red Cross. In a 2005 interview in Association Management magazine she had the following comments, “an organization only moves at the rate of speed of the leaders who set the pace” and “if leaders don’t feel that a job can be accomplished, they should step aside. Leaders don’t have the luxury of not being optimists.”
There are several things that Evans says here that carry special meaning for me. First, leaders truly do set the pace. There may be many people involved in the lead-up to decision making, but it is the leader who finalizes the decision, approves a timetable, and then oversees the pursuit of that timetable. The leader ensures that goals are met as and when intended. They indeed set the pace.
When the leader does not ensure that those time lines are met, when they either drag their feet or do not hold people accountable … that is when things get bogged down and the best of intentions fall by the wayside. Now, I don’t mean by that comment that all is lost when a targeted end-date/time is reached without goal-accomplishment, but much can be lost … from being at the front end of impacting an issue (which may have political or strategic importance) to maintaining the synergy of the group. A leader has to be decisive both in decision making and in action follow-through.
Second, I absolutely love Evans’ statement that “leaders don’t have the luxury of not being optimists.” Leaders set the tone … they create the environment within which others accomplish their good works. If all is doom and gloom or if the leader reacts in a panic or at all unsettled, this will permeate through a staff in a hurry. To a degree, a leader needs to be an eternal optimist. And by this I do not meant that a leader should be unrealistic in responding to situations and issues, but a leader should show confidence in the ability of the group to overcome the difficulties at hand. People need to have confidence in their leaders … they need to have a clear sense that they have the ability to find a way in which to get the job done.
Author Cross-references:
Marsha Evans: None
Key Word Cross-references:
Accountable: Also see post 12/12/08, 1/6/10
Optimist/Positive Attitude: Also see posts 3/16/09, 3/25/09, 7/7/09, 12/5/09, 2/24/10
Synergy: Also see post 11/20/09, 2/24/10
Workplace Environment: Also see posts 12/12/08, 1/28/09, 2/6/09, 7/7/09, 8/3/09, 9/9/09, 1/6/10, 4/19/10
Tags: Leadership
on Leadership ... by Steven Davis, CAE 
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