Leadership

I like what I heard today.  Being a leader means you arrive before everyone, are there though out, and leave after all have left.  It was said by someone who has been there, done that.
I like that because it does not talk about needing anything to be a leader.  To me, all someone needs is a vision they are willing to work at.  They can be uneducated but if they have vision, they can be a leader.  They can be most educated person but if they have no vision, they are not a leader.  Often it is on the job training.
A note on a resume will always look good.  Leader XYZ.  Someone reading it will often give a tick of approval.  The trouble to me is, it says nothing about what sort of leader a person is.  They may be abysmal.   Often it is “I want this to succeed, but I am not willing to do anything about it.”  But if the paper says they were a leader, that is often a foot in the door.  It then becomes a case of being wise after the event.
What I love about leadership is, I will always respond positively to someone who is giving it a go.   It does not mean they will always get it right.  Sometimes corrections are needed along the way.  But corrections are often easier than starts.  I am way more inclined to respond with a yes to someone who asks for help involved in the heat of battle, than I am to someone standing back from the heat of battle, sending others into the fray.
I will never forget in the movie Gallopoli when they were wondering whether to go over the top or not.  Someone from afar, based their decision on a report that “our flags have been sighted in the enemy trenches.”  It was a lie. He sent heaps of soldiers over the top on that basis.  Many lost their lives.  The leader was divorced from the reality.  Perhaps if they faced what the troops faced, their decision may have been different. 
It is easy to decree, it is harder to do.  There is no doubt in my mind that leadership today is harder than it has ever been.  There are a multitude of compliance decisions there have never been before.  One piece of advice I received that I have never forgotten was “it is not how close to danger you can go, but how far you can keep from it.”  If something goes wrong, I am the one crucified.  I hope nothing goes wrong, and often it does not, but that is more good luck than good management.  Sailing close to the wind is not for me.
I told an organization about a tree that I though needed to go.  Its nick name - “widow maker.”  Nothing was done.  A couple of years later in a different location a tree branch fell on people at a picnic table.  Not a good look.  Government organizations can hide or pay out with impunity.  I can face the full force of the law.  As Dylan sang “steal a little and they throw you in jail, steal a lot and they make you king.”
Brexit is an absolute shambles.  Trump is making decisions, but he is incredibly unpopular.  To have a role listed on my resume is easy. To take an organization someplace according to my vision is hard.  It is a fact of life that leadership is harder than ever, but it remains totally worth it.