Best Leaders

There are good leaders and they are a delight to be with. They are not "empire builders". They love what they do and appreciate that you and your colleagues of the same mind,  are part of the team. They take up their load, and it's a big one having one's head on the block at every turn  as the saying goes, the higher you climb, the harder you fall. They help you do what you have to do to make "it" work. They foster your ideas and keep you on track. They are not the "it" but the one who leads the pack into the fray to get the job done. One of the best leaders I have worked with, was creative but he invited the ideas of everyone into the mix, so that we could make something bigger and better than if he were the only one involved. If your ideas outshone his, he was gracious and accepting. He realized that he was not the only brain in the jar! He was kind and gentle and forgiving and helpful and understanding. At the same time, he was strong and got out there and defended his team and did all within his powers for us to get front and centre with our combined efforts. He was also fun. We were a team that was close and socialized as well as worked together. We were not an exclusive group, however. If a newcomer entered the field, he saw to it that we mentored the newie, not for our own benefit, but to add to what we already had going. If someone couldn't hack it, we all helped the individual having trouble. Everyone goes there at some time and we knew what it felt like. There were seldom problems, but if there was one, we didn't whisper behind each other's backs and complain. We could go to the leader along with the person we were having a problem with and it became something to work at having had both sides working it out along with the leader's counseling.  There was no running to other people or to the "boss" with a gripe, the rule was that you both went to the leader. It was an ethical rule that worked very well. There were regular gatherings in a comfortable atmosphere, for discussion about work relationships and other gatherings for work-related problems. It was sad to see that leader leave when he was called away to higher places. And though the new leader was not the same, everyone learned something about being a leader and being a follower.  So to a former Best Leader, best wishes Sam, you were the greatest.