Polly Gifford shared the following quote with me:

The presidential scholar James MacGregor Burns has said that transformational leaders are always “relentlessly optimistic.” Even when circumstances seem grim and the hurdles for achieving progress appear insurmountable, a leader retains his faith that change for the better is not only possible but inevitable.

This does not mean that leaders must be starry-eyed idealists. Just the opposite is the case; few followers are willing to hitch their fate to someone who is not grounded in their current reality.

So leadership must always start from a clear-eyed few of how things really are. Only then can we begin to address how we can get from where we are to where we need to be.
Source: The Edge of Disaster, Stephen Flynn, 2007.

I felt a bit of a reproof when she shared this quote with me in conversation. She had no idea that it hit me between the eyes, but it was just what I needed to hear…and I think all of us need to hear this as well. Polly shared some key advice for leaders, and helped folks understand the process. The highpoints of the process included 1) Strategic alignment; 2) Goal-based budgets; 3) Track impact and being tangible on the value of your initiatives.

Polly can be reached via her web site at http://www.eps4.com/

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