Leadership Icons: Mother Theresa and – Lady Gaga?

When it comes to leadership icons, most people would not put Mother Theresa and Lady Gaga in the same category.  But there was a great article in my new favorite magazine, The Economist, by Schumpeter, which quotes two recent publications that point out the similarities between these two women.

Aside from the name changes (and obvious differences), they share the ability to answer three common questions causing that mysterious quality of leadership called “charisma,” and the ability to build emotional commitment in those each woman leads.  We need to tell these three universal stories as well, to lead our teams:

• First, the personal story of your journey to take a leadership role and/or create your company:  Who am I?
• Second, a group narrative:  Who are we?  What are the values we hold dear, and what you can expect from us each day?
• Third, a collective mission:  Where are we going?  What is the mission of your company, the goals, and how do we make the world a better place?

My personal mission has always been “to assist people to realize and achieve their full human potential,” and it propelled me to speak, create a speaking business, and write books.  My whole story is in Chapter 2 of my book, Necessary Roughness, and for a limited time I’ll be selling autographed copies!

So today I’d like to know, in the spirit of leadership icons: What’s your mission?  You will have a much greater chance of achieving your goals when you articulate what they are!  Leave a comment below letting me and the world know what you’re mission is!