Leadership is a necessity“Language is the only homeland.”
Czeslaw Milosz
L
eadership is no longer a choice in organizations—it is a
necessity. To choose to follow others is to put your
business at risk. Only those businesses that cut a new
groove and present a unique product in a unique way, but a
way that is true to who they are, stand any chance of capturing
a share of the market.
Our ability to lead depends on our willingness to tolerate
ambiguity, take risks, and assume responsibility for our own
destiny. And it requires the capacity to inspire others to do
the same. When we think of leadership we often think of the
process of leading others, yet true leadership starts with the
ability to lead oneself. NLP, specifically the questioning skills
developed by John Grinder and Richard Bandler, provides a
way to lead both yourself and others.
One day on holiday in Dorset we were joined by another little
boy. He and my son Alex decided to build a sandcastle. When
they were doing this I overheard them talking about school.
Alex asked him what he liked doing best at school. “I don’t
know,” he replied. “I’m not very clever.” He was six years old
and his words reflected a choice he had made or had learned
already that would affect his potential for the future.
Linguist Noam Chomsky distinguished two levels of language: