Are you a leader? Do you aspire to be a leader? Doesn’t matter what level—organization, committee, mission group, weekend soccer league.
Ben Zander, conductor, teacher (search YouTube for his clinics with young musicians), leader, shares this observation:
The conductor of an orchestra doesn’t make a sound. He depends, for his power, on his ability to make other people powerful.
We read maybe with some Schadenfreude about the downfall of prominent leaders whose ego grew large in the belief that they were the organization.
Zander’s observation remembered often and incorporated into our very actions will save us. Sorry, leaders, it is not all about you. You had better thank all those people who make you look good.
I like bringing many things back to the realm of energy. I can sense it in an organization almost as soon as I enter a lobby. Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft who rescued it from the Steve Ballmer-generated slide, said this about business, but equally meaningful for any organization of any size, “The only way a business is successful and productive is if employees feel that sense of empowerment, that sense of energy and connection for the company’s mission and are doing meaningful work.”
Faith Venture 
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