Second, while strategy and tactics change all the time, the fundamentals of leadership do not. We spend most of our lives mastering how to do things, but in the end it is the quality and character of the individual that distinguishes the great leaders. Leaders succeed through the efforts of their people. The basic task of the leader is to build a highly motivated, highly productive workforce. That means moving across the boundaries both within and outside the organization, investing in people and resources, and exemplifying personal commitment to the common task.
Leaders build bridges.
The boundaries between sectors, between organizations, between employees, and between customers and other stakeholders are blurring. The challenge for leaders is to build a cohesive community within and outside the organization, to invest in relationships, and to communicate a vision that speaks to a richly diverse workforce and marketplace. Leaders today have to be healers and unifiers. They accept responsibility for what lies outside the walls as well as within. They understand, too, that in a world where no individual can possibly have all the answers, it is the inclusive organization that excels.