The Four Powers of Leadership: Presence, Intention, Wisdom, Compassion

David’s experience working with executives in private and nonprofit organizations, large and small companies, government agencies and religious organizations has demonstrated that a big difference exists between leading and managing. Managing is a learned set of skills. Leading means fundamentally integrating personal power with one’s positional power. This does not mean that leaders are born with no skills to learn. Leaders aren’t born and there are a lot of leadership skills that need to be practiced every day.

Developing leadership requires understanding and integrating into one’s life, day after day, the fundamental “powers” that leaders must learn to access, cultivate, and balance in their personal and professional lives. Being a leader is not about acting out a role but rather about living out the challenge of developing the power of one’s individual capacities and potentials.