Leaders Must Have A Historical Perspective

One of the most glaring differences between effective and ineffective leaders is that effective leaders realize that there are lessons to be learned from all experiences. When a personal item from the past, or someone
elses, it is incumbent on a leader to learn a lesson from the past, in order to avoid continuously making the same error or mistake. In my three decades of working with management of organizations, I have discovered that effective leaders admit there are lessons to be learned, while many weaker and less effective ones seem unwilling to admit that they "don't know it all."

Each of us have made some mistakes or errors in judgments, or at least had certain ramifications to actions that we have or have not taken. The sign of an individual possessing leadership qualities is that a leader learns from anything that he has experienced, and these experiences help mold more effective actions in the future. I have discovered that many ineffective leaders rarely admit that they have made any errors, and generally prefer using the "blame game," blaming others instead of taking any type of personal responsibility. Effective leaders always take "ownership" of their ideas, and accept responsibilities for their actions. All too often, ineffective leaders only "take ownership," after the fact, even if the action taken was taken over their original objections. Effective leaders tend to get things done, while ineffective leaders love to talk about what they have done.

Effective leaders learn from the past, whether it was something they personally experienced, or something that occurred to someone else in a similar experience. However, these leaders also realize that things change and evolve, and that there is a lot of difference between learning from the past, and getting "hung up" by it. While effective leaders realize this important distinction, I have witnessed many weak and ineffective leaders that only use the past as an excuse when it is convenient, but rarely studying the past, and learning whatever lessons were there to be taught and learned.

The major causes of ineffective leadership are poor leadership qualification formats, and even poorer leadership training. Organizations unwilling to commit to effective and professional leadership training will rarely evolve as necessary, and will continuously be facing a dearth of effective leadership.