Leaders, those worthy of being our leaders anyway, always take the responsibility and privilege of leading us seriously. They understand that well led employees will follow them willingly in whatever direction they believe the organization should go so they feel an internal responsibility to live up to our trust in them. As followers we trust them implicitly to consider our best interests when choosing a direction in which to lead us.

Business leadership management then inspires followers, not only their direct reports in the organization but those all around them who look up to them. Our belief in our leaders results in a wider and wider acceptance of their influence by the people who see us as leaders - even unwittingly, because the influence of our leaders spreads like a virus.

In good times and bad those we accept because of their persona as someone who understands leadership and business management and can bring it to us believably - gives us the confidence we need to act. Leaders inspire action. Without action there is no progress. Without progress their can be no leaders. And without leaders we are rudderless - without movement, simply waiting by the side of the road for the wind to blow us in one direction or another - it doesn't really matter.

Lewis Carroll the author of leadership and management advice masquerading as children's books said, "If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there." That was over a hundred years ago and it is still true. Those we believe in to deliver business leadership management to us - their role is to find and stay focused on the road toward our organization's objectives.

We believe they know the road that will take us collectively where we want to go - so we follow them. The problem for us, the followers, is that like a real road - during summer the ribbon of blacktop shines in the sun and we can see how it winds through the trees and around the curves.

When the road disappears over a hill we're not worried, our leaders point way up ahead where we see it cresting the next hilltop. We don't even have to take our foot off the gas. These are the good times. Leaders during good times - when everybody can see where they should be going are important but leadership and business management is even more important when things go bad. That's when we expect our leaders to be able to see around corners, through the trees, and over the horizon.

When the road is covered with snow, when wet leaves make it almost impossible to tell where the side of the road ends and the ditch begins - this is when those among us with business leadership management skills are crucial to our very survival. In these times it is vital that the company has leaders at every level. Everyone must have the skill, attributes, desire, and determination to successfully carry out their responsibilities.

There must be leaders on the shop floor who recognize that something isn't right before it breaks and stops the line for hours, days, or weeks. There must be leaders in the warehouse who make sure that inventory is stored properly so it's undamaged when you need it. There must also be leaders who account for and reorder stock properly, so you have what you need when you need it - operations are never stalled because of a missing part.

Leadership and business management also means someone talking to the bankers before the additional funds is required. It means renewing your company's fire insurance long before it's due and it means someone is responsible for making sure all the periodic maintenance is done of your trucks - every time on time without fail.

We have all seen how entire organizations grind to a halt because of some little something that broke or that's missing. The first line of a poem, "For lack of a nail, a shoe was lost; for loss of that shoe, a horse was lost..." illustrates how everything is tied together and everything leads to everything else.

Business and leadership management must be integrated throughout - everyone is a leader of someone, everyone is a manager of someone. Everyone is responsible to someone - themselves, the whole organization, and the mission.

The vast majority of leadership and business management take place closer to the road than to the Board Room. Those we follow our leader, set the tone, maps out the direction and keep us focused toward it. These leaders need "out riders" guarding their flanks looking in directions they can not see.

In business today, there must be leaders at every level watching out for any pot hole in the road between where the organization is today and where its leaders are taking it.