Ladies & Gentlemen,

I would like to express my appreciation to you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to hear me talk today on the subject of leadership.  This is my second speech on this important topic.

As I discussed in my previous speech on the 21 Indispensible Qualities of a Leader, leadership is a collective activity that requires mutual inquiry, learning and a capacity to work with complex challenges. 

For me personally – I believe that everything rises and falls based on leadership.  It's so very important for a corporation to have highly effective leaders. Leaders who not just talk the talk but walk the walk. Leaders who also understand the technical level and what is required of technical people so they are able to lead their people well. For how can a HPC technical professional truly respect a HPC leader who has no knowledge or technical ability in HPC systems?

Today I would like to summarise the book “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” by John C Maxwell and talk briefly about each of the leadership laws.

The first Leadership Law is The Law of the Lid.  Leadership is like a lid or a ceiling on a team. A team will not rise beyond the level that a manager’s leadership allows. That’s why when a team needs to be fixed, higher level management will often fire the teams leader.

The second Leadership Law is The Law of Influence.  Leadership is simply about influencing people. Nothing more, nothing less. The true test of a leader is to ask him or her to create positive change in a team or in an organisation. If the leader cannot create change, then they cannot lead. Being a leader is not about being first, or being an entrepreneur, or being the most knowledgeable, or being a manager. Being a leader is not just holding a leadership position.  It’s not the position that makes a leader, but the leader who makes a position.  Positional leadership especially does not work in volunteer organisations. The very essence of all power to influence lies in getting the other person to participate. He who thinks he leads, but has no followers, is only taking a walk.

The Law of Process.  Leadership is learned over time. And it can be learned. People skills, emotional strength, vision, momentum, and timing are all areas that can and should be learned. Leaders are always learners.

The Law of Navigation.  Anyone can steer the ship, but it takes a leader to chart the course. Vision is defined as the ability to see the whole trip before leaving the dock. A leader will also see obstacles before others do. A leader sees more, sees farther, and sees before others. A navigator (leader) listens – he or she finds out about grassroots level reactions. Navigators balance optimism with realism. Preparation is the key to good navigation. It’s not the size of the project; it’s the size of the leader that counts.

The Law of E.F. Hutton.  Hutton was America’s most influential stock market analyst. When he spoke, everyone listened. When real leaders speak, people automatically listen. Conversely, in any group or church, you can identify the real leaders by looking for those who people listen to. According to Margaret Thatcher, “being in power is like being a lady – if you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.”  Some tips for a Positional leader – like a newly appointed minister – who wants to become a REAL leader - look for the existing real leaders and work to have influence there. Factors involved in being accepted as a new real leader include character, building key relationships, information, intuition, experience, past success and ability.

The Law of Solid Ground.  Trust is the foundation for all effective leadership. When it comes to leadership, there are no shortcuts. Building trust requires competence, connection and character.

The Law of Respect.  People naturally follow people stronger than themselves. Even natural leaders tend to fall in behind those who they sense have a higher “leadership quotient” than themselves.

The Law of Intuition.  Leaders evaluate everything with a Leadership bias. Leaders see trends, resources and problems, and can read people.

The Law of Magnetism.  Leaders attract people like themselves. Who you are is who you attract. A leader needs to “Staff” their weaknesses. If our future leader only attracts followers, then a team will be weak. A leader needs to work to attract or grow and create leaders from within a team if they truly want to make the team great.

The Law of Connection.  This is a law I have personally learned the hard way in life. In the past I have tried to implement change without first establishing strong relationships and built trust in the people I am asking to implement that change. A leader must touch the heart before they ask people to follow. A leader can touch the heart by communicating on the level of emotion first to make a personal connection.

The Law of the Inner Circle.  A leader’s potential is determined by those closest to him. The leader finds greatness in the group, and helps the members find it in themselves. 

The Law of Empowerment.  Only secure leaders give power to others. Mark Twain said, “Great things can happen when you don’t care who gets the credit.”  Another point to ponder… “Great leaders gain authority by giving it away.” 

The Law of Reproduction.  It takes a leader to raise up a leader. Followers can’t do it, and neither can institutional programs.  It takes one to know one, to show one, to grow one. The potential of INTJ as a whole depends on the growth of its leadership.

The Law of Buy-In.  People buy in to the leader first, then the vision. If they don’t like the leader but like the vision, they get a new leader. If they don’t like the leader or the vision, they get a new leader. If they don’t like the vision but like the leader, they get a new vision.

The Law of Victory.  Leaders find a way for the team to win. You can’t win WITHOUT good HPC Professionals, but you CAN lose with them.  Unity of vision, diversity of skills plus effective leadership are needed for us to win.

The Law of Momentum.  You can’t steer a ship that isn’t moving forward. It takes a leader to create forward motion.

The Law of Priorities.  Activity is not necessarily accomplishment. We all need to know the difference. “A leader is the one who climbs the tallest tree, surveys the entire situation, and yells “Wrong Jungle!”. 

A leader must learn the three “R’s”:

a) What’s Required.

b) What gives the greatest Return.

c) What brings the greatest Reward.

The Law of Sacrifice.  A leader must give up to go up. Successful leaders must maintain an attitude of sacrifice to turn around a team or an organisation. One sacrifice seldom brings success. As he worked to turn around the Chrysler Corporation, Lee Iacocca slashed his own salary to $1 per year.  In many ways - when a person becomes a leader, they lose the right to think about themselves.

The Law of Timing.  When to lead is as important as what to do and where to go. Only the right action at the right time will bring success.

The Law of Explosive Growth.  To add growth, lead followers. To multiply growth, lead leaders.  It is my job to build up each member of INTJ's leadership ability – for ultimately it is you – INTJ candidates who will be responsible for providing excellent HPC services to my valued clients.”

The Law of Legacy.  A leader’s lasting value is measured by succession. Leadership is the one thing you can’t delegate. You either exercise it – or abdicate it.

In conclusion – leadership is a skill that can be learned.  There are leadership laws that need to be internalised for a person to be an effective leader.  I am working to internalise the leadership laws I have discussed in my speech today and then live them out.  My role here is to be an effective leader who will get the best out of each of us individually and as a team collectively.

It is my hope that you will reflect on the leadership laws that I have discussed today.

Once again - I would like to express my appreciation to you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to hear me talk today on the The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.

Clarke Towson