What else is left to say about this year, 2020? Regardless of who you talk to, everyone endured something during the past 10 months.
2020 was going to be such an interesting year. It was the start of a new decade and an easy catch phrase for business planners and institutional thinkers. I can recall dozens of programs starting more than 10 years ago that had a title something like “Vision 2020”, an obvious play on words.
Yet once the calendar page flipped, we all encountered weirdness like never before. I actually don’t want to list any examples. You each have your own list. We all do.
The Season
Yet I do feel compelled to do some sort of wrap-up article to begin the process to close out this craziness we called 2020. Because it is Christmas, I want to fold in my seasonal message too.
First, as I often have, let me say “Happy Holidays” to all my readers and followers who do not observe the Christmas event. I respect your beliefs and practices. Whatever I may say here is not intended to insult nor sway you from your faith, beliefs and values.
However, I do want to use the traditional meaning of the Christmas story to relay some thoughts about leadership going forward; advancing into a fresh, new year.
The story I am referring to is that one. Yes, the Babe in the manger. A young husband and his pregnant wife. They each had received special messages from heavenly couriers. They followed the law of the land at that time and the instruction from above which they didn’t understand but knew to be important.
If you follow the whole story, there are odd similarities to the challenges we face today. Governmental authorities were managing peoples’ lives, directing a census. Unrest between tribes of citizens roiled into occasional demonstrations in the streets. There was uncertainty all around.
At the center of the story is a message of hope. A promise. A gift.
More conventional tradition over the decades has turned that giving spirit into a practice of giving physical gifts, wrapped in beautiful paper and bows. Much like the scene in the manger, those who expect to receive the gifts wait with great anticipation. They wait until the perfect time for the present, the gift to be revealed.
Now We Wait
We are waiting. Waiting for 2020 to be gone. Waiting for long-promised vaccines to ease our fears of the disease. Waiting for things to get back to normal, whatever that was.
We wait simply perhaps for things to be different. Here in the U.S., the recent election has shifted the tide and created a kind of change. A slight majority are happy. A big minority are not. All of us still wait.
Besides the need for cures, fixes and new direction, I believe we are waiting for hope. We are hungry for hope. We new something new to hope for.
However, hope doesn’t simply appear. Hope comes from having a vision. A vision gives direction. It crystallizes a story about the way forward.
Vision that provides hope to a group of people comes from LEADERSHIP.
While hope may be the thing we need, leadership is the action we need. My friends, the world is in dire need of solid, practical leadership. Not a leader with an agenda, propped up by some special interest, but a leader with the good of the people at heart.
We need leadership that does not buckle to political persuasion or popular ideologies. We need leaders who can get things done.
The need for Leadership is everywhere
The leadership gap I see is not just at the political level. It is in homes, in neighborhoods, in communities, churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples. We need leadership in our schools and colleges. It’s also needed in businesses of all sizes.
You might say, but I know people in those areas who are great leaders. Sure, but are there successors? Is there someone available to keep things going?
You must also be very careful about pointing to a person in a seat of authority and confusing that with leadership.
The power of the position does not define leadership.
Just because someone has been promoted into a position, it doesn’t make them a leader. Leadership comes from intentional effort to grow and learn the skills and principles of solid leadership.
Also, to the small business owners out there, you need to build your leadership tool kit if you want your companies to grow beyond where they are now. Your great idea is not enough to become a big success. You have to build teams and grow the business.
Back to Hope and Leadership
How do we get past 2020? At the center of this whole theme is the need for hope. Leaders need to cast new visions. Clearly we may never return to the old normal. There will be a new normal. Leaders have to create the vision for what those opportunities can be.
Where there is no vision, the people perish
Proverbs 29:18
It’s been written about for centuries. Without a vision, we lose our way. Organizations crumble. Communities suffer. Whole populations struggle.
Real leaders can fix that.
Just as I write this closing, a voice in my head from a mentor friend is saying “but leaders have to execute too.” Yes, they do. Once a vision is established, then the heavy lifting of making that hope become reality is the final test of good leadership.
To my original point…. we need that. We need hope for a brighter tomorrow. Just like the gift given to mankind in the manger over 2,000 years ago. We need true leaders who can help make it happen.
Will you consider being a leader, right where you are? Can you stand up and be counted for guiding and directing your home, your church, your community? Your business?
#HopeFest360
There is a big event happening January 1st. The team of authors at Bizcatalyst360 has joined forces with over 6 dozen voices from around the world to lift you up with their positive messages of hope and healing for the new year. This Epic (free) virtual Event will be broadcast from sunrise to sunset on New Year’s Day 2021. Here’s your opportunity to join our global community as together,  we imagine the possibilities. I am honored to have been invited to be one of the speakers.
Dennis J. Pitocco, BC360° Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, said, “The future holds the promise of a new beginning. Together as a force for good, we are here to make a positive impact as we begin to mold a new earth. We hold the magic — the magic-fairy sparkle-dust — that is so desperately needed right now to move out of transition into transformation. It is time for us all to shine so that others may draw hope, strength, and courage from our light, and learn to let their own light shine as a beacon of hope and healing”
About HOPEFEST 360°
Reserve your free ticket(s) now to join our ultimate wave across the universe as we broadcast on YouTube across all time zones from sunrise to sunset on New Years Day.
VISIT https://www.bizcatalyst360.com/hopefest-360/
For now, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
