Looking forward is what most leaders do instinctively. It's the reason that many of them are leaders - they are looking ahead at where they want to be, not satisfied with where they currently are at. Often they look forward into what appears a fog to others, but they are fixated on a point on the horizon that they are aiming for. In their mind's eye, they have a picture of what their company looks like 2 years, 5 years and even 10 years off. Without a forward looking perspective, it's tough to really lead.

Leaders also have to look to their left and their right with regularity. Looking to one side, they see their competitors, alliance partners, customers and suppliers. It's important to know who your competitors are, not to copy them or follow them, but to make sure you always understand what differentiates them from you in the marketplace. And it's important to know where your alliance partners and suppliers are too. You need to be on the same page with them.

Looking to the other side, many leaders find their primary resource network: other leaders. No one really knows the challenges and understands the true motivations of leadership more than other leaders. Over the 30 year course of my career, I have often sought the advice and counsel of other company leaders, and others have sought mine. Things are often not as black and white as others believe them to be. The motivation for most leaders is more than simply profit or the success of their companies - they want to make a difference, either in business, in other people's lives, or in the world. It's why their lives have always gravitated towards leadership. The challenges are often deeper than the symptoms that are evident on the surface, and these are the things that keep them awake. Driven by unique motivations, and pondering the challenges at deeper levels, often leaves a leader needing the understanding company of other leaders.

The leader also needs to look behind as well. If no one is following, then you are not really leading. It's easy to go forward full speed ahead when you are fixated on a goal you believe in, but do those that are following believe it too? The leader has to be able to gage the level of buy-in by his or her team, and then perhaps adjust the scope of the vision in order to achieve the necessary buy-in. The leader's long term vision doesn't have to change, but the scope of what is shared has to be adjusted according to the team's ability to embrace and digest it. Marketing and vision-casting are not just out-of-building and forward looking activities; they are just as important internally to keep your team in lock-step behind you.

That covers the four basic directions - forwards, backwards, and to each side. But there's more than that. Leaders also need to look upward, and also inward.

When I look at all the good leadership models I have watched and tried to learn from, I see that all of them have motives beyond just their success, and even beyond their company's success. They believe that the role they have is not one they earned or were entitled to, but rather one they were entrusted with and privileged to have. Someone once told me that all leaders have ulterior motives, and upon reflection I guess that's true. The great leaders though have good ulterior motives, while others have selfish or self serving motives. One of my role models told me that "profit is a natural by-product of doing the right things well". Another said it more succinctly: "do good, and do well". I think the bottom line is that many can lead a company to make a profit in a given year, but not everyone can lead to make a lasting difference.

The leaders I have admired the most understand that "leading" also means "serving". This differentiating understanding comes from looking upward, and inward.

Two weeks into a six month sabbatical, and these are the thoughts on my mind. Leading requires looking forwards, backwards, to each side, upwards and inwards. And before looking forward, it's best to look backwards, inwards, and upwards.

Just my opinion anyway.