How do you define the role of leadership in your company? A college freshman tackles the subject and enlightens her leadership-expert father along the way.

What do leaders do? For years, I’ve been writing this column in an effort to be a support to you as a leader. I’ve done my best to present ideas that may not be readily apparent or comfortable for you to investigate. In doing so, it is my hope that the ideas I’ve presented have been effective for you in what is more than likely a chaotic, turbulent and even crazy world at times. I’ve shared ideas about awareness, tactics and tools that (I believe) will support you as a leader.

Then, a few weeks ago, I got a call from my daughter Ariel. Over the phone, I heard my 19-year-old college freshman say, “Dad, I have an assignment in my Psychology of Leadership class and I’m stuck. I need to define what it is leaders do.”

I found myself beginning to grin as I listened to Ariel. How many of us as leaders have asked ourselves the same question? Over the next few days, Ariel was back and forth with me, sharing her personal inquiry about leadership. I found myself getting excited; this exercise could be really interesting. What we know about 18- to 30-year-old-workers is that whatever their leaders do, those leaders better walk their talk; otherwise, it’s easy to label this generational group of folks as lacking a work ethic and having any loyalty.

Ariel came up with a map for leadership that included direction, decision-making, communication and team development. These four components work in an interactive way, as an interactive model.

Her leadership map was designed as the points of a compass. There are four distinct arms with numerous extrusions, all of which tie to each other. The world of leadership is ideally always pointed to the metaphor of true north. The points of the compass support the leader and those following, in effective course correction, to always move toward true north.

How many companies have you seen head off course? What is your truth north, and what is mine?

Ariel said her true north is direction. “Without direction leaders have no sense of course,” she wrote. “Direction is clearly defined by a sense of purpose. Purpose provides a commitment to stick to the right path. Knowing one’s values then supports purpose. Vision comes from a sense of purpose and values. Missions are really short-term efforts that support purpose and vision through the use of values. Short- and long-term goal setting then integrate into mission, accomplishing vision, from a sense of purpose and values.”

“My goodness,” I thought. “My daughter, at 19, wrote this? Maybe she did hear some of my spouting over the years! Every father hopes so.”

Ariel went on to say, “Leaders maintain direction with products by being clear in the way products support their purpose, values and vision. The effective direction of a company needs to be supported in an ongoing way, and is done so through the organizational skills of a leader.”

Decision-Making
The next point of Ariel’s compass is decision-making. Next to direction, she writes, decision-making is a must of leadership. “An interesting event occurs in decision-making,” she wrote. “In direction, we see that when defined, purpose, values and vision are in essence nouns. Each is named and held sacred. In decision-making, however, purpose, values and vision become verbs. Each is actively used in daily decision-making and problem-solving. Another word for using purpose and values in decision-making daily is ethics. Under the heading of decision-making comes the importance of integrity, honesty, un-selfishness and trustworthiness.”

She next pointed to one of my favorite ideas, and one leaders often miss. “The ability to admit faults in oneself encourages trust and a sense of honesty,” she writes. “An effective leader has the courage to question ideas, people and self. They are also perceptive. Decision-making may be the most active process a leader goes through. I believe effective decision-making means that strategic thinking is critical. Going deeper into strategic thinking, emotional intelligence is more effective than simply being a cognitive thinker. Emotional intelligence means that rather than shutting down one’s emotions in a decision-making process, one pays attention to the impact of emotion, to one’s feelings and then takes that awareness into making effective decisions. In decision-making, an effective leader is always in self-evaluation. Good leaders sense the difference between problems that can be solved and problems that need ongoing management. Leaders must have the courage to question in support of vision and mission. When all these steps in decision-making are taken, a leader is seen as reliable.”

Can each of us ask ourselves - can my team count on me?

Communication
Communication is the next point of Ariel’s leadership compass. Communication, she writes, is the “how” of leadership. “Effective leaders are typically sociable, and come across as authentic,” she writes. “Some leaders have social skills and eloquence, but others, still effective, may not. In either case, the appearance of a leader sends a message to those with whom they come in contact. All leaders have presence, but some may not have charisma. In either case, heart and persuasiveness need to come through for a leader to be effective.

“Being a good listener is also seen as an important ability. Reading an audience may be one of the most important skills found in effective leaders. As work or projects evolve or grow, delegation is critical to leadership. Delegation can add greatly to the versatility of a leader and how they are seen as being considerate or not.”

Team Development
The last point on her compass is team development. “Team development in management skills, communication and ultimate effectiveness is an outcome of the previous three points,” she writes. “Clear direction, effective decision-making and communication build the spirit of the team. Each and all together adds to the ability to ask for help rather than miss a deadline or fail on a project. The other three points of the compass also build and support passion, and confidence in the team. Great leaders allow time for introspection and reflection not only for their team, but for themselves. Ongoing learning and flexibility in support of team needs is a responsible approach that also builds work ethic and ultimate responsibility by honoring each and all of the team members.

“The background of my compass brings the four points together like an integrated bundle,” she concludes. “Each point stands alone and at the same time, intertwines with the others. Each point of my compass supports positive and effective leadership traits. When tied together, the four points keeps the team on course.”

Your True North
I find myself wondering about all the ways a variation of this college assignment would be a really effective leadership development exercise for your team members and mine. Imagine providing the time investment to explore with each of your team members their understanding and belief about what a leader actually brings to their team, what a leader does in “our” company. Imagine what great discussions might evolve -what great tangible outcomes could happen.  FAD

Rudy M. Miick, FCSI, president of Miick & Associates, can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text11202 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //-->\n This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or 720-641-7565.