In his blog recently, Mike Myers talks about the value of bold authentic leadership.

http://www.n2growth.com/blog/do-you-have-an-edge/

I often like what Mike has to say and this blog is no exception. He offers, that to be a great authentic leader and to be a great executive coach, one needs to be bold and have the capacity to never pull their punches. I agree with Mike and feel there are not enough authoritative visionary leaders in the world. In my latest book, The Golden Flame, I devote a whole chapter talking about the value and importance of authoritative leadership and how it has been given short shrift of late as participatory leadership, dialogue, and inclusiveness has been touted as crucial to effective leadership. And it is.

Thank you, Mike, for raising the bar. Let’s raise it even further. Mike is right, that we need bold authentic leadership. The problem is that we need more inclusiveness as well. The goal of conscious leadership is not to be one form or another. The goal is to make the right choice at the appropriate moment. If being bold is not in your quiver, you will never become a great leader. Nor will you, if being open is also not in your quiver. One without the other is limiting. I find the best and most authentic leaders are ones who are able to bring the right kind of leadership to the moment. They sense what is needed and have the inner flexibility to bring it. That is the message we learned from Hershey and Blanchard’s Situation Leadership 30 years ago and it remains powerfully true today.

What is even less considered, however, is the sine qua non of conscious leadership—that ability to bring all capacities to the same moment. When we bring bold truth without compassion, we operate with a blunt sword. When we bring openness without the ability to speak our truth, we bring impotence. When we bring truth without a deft touch in its expression, we run roughshod over people. When we explore creatively, without the ability to take bold action, we become dreamers.

In my way of seeing, all leadership capacities are crucial. It is their blending that gives a leader authenticity and makes him extraordinary.