Leaders remind us!

I recently ran across a powerful quote about friendship: “A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words” (Donna Roberts).  I have friends that fill that role in my life. These are people who know me so well that they keep me accountable to being who I am supposed to be. There is no way to pull off a lack of authenticity or function in any kind of pride or false humility when you are around friends like these because you realize they will call you out…and you know you are better for that. Furthermore they can encourage you when you feel you have lost your way, because they remember where you were heading in the first place.

At the core of leadership is the need to provide this role in an organization. Michael Hyatt, the CEO of Thomas Nelson, recently wrote that when people in organizations forget why what they do matters—when their work becomes about going through the motions—that is when great leadership is indispensible.  “Leadership is more than influence”, he writes, “it is about reminding people of what it is we are trying to build—and why it matters. It is about painting a picture of a better future. It comes down to pointing the way and saying, ‘C’mon. We can do this!”

There is an old story about a man who came across three brickmasons who were at work. He asked the first one what he was doing; “I’m laying bricks” was the answer. The second worker was asked the same question; his response was “I’m building a wall”. Finally the man asked the third workman what he was doing. His answer: “I’m working on a beautiful Cathedral.”

Has your organization forgotten the words to the song in its heart? Do the people connect their daily work to the larger story? If you are a leader, one of your responsibilities is to remind people that there is a song at the heart of the organization and to point people back to the masterpiece they are contributing to. If you can do that, you won’t have to drive or force people to do what you want them to do, but you will be able to lead people into doing together what they, in their hearts, have really wanted to do all along, but just couldn’t figure out how.