Leadership … Continued Disucssion – 12/16/08

Overview: This is an ongoing discussion about leadership, built on quotes that I have assembled through the years. My intent with this blog is to grow my understanding, and yours, of this thing we call leadership.

A quote that is particularly meaningful to me is from Leadership, a book authored by James MacGregor Burns in 1978, and reads as follows, “Power wielders may treat people as things, leaders may not.” Although only a few words in length, for me this quote strikes somewhat of a critical note. True leaders are much more than the power they wield. They must also be able to assemble a following, share a vision and synergize action. And as mentioned in previous posts, people will not follow a person if they cannot believe in and trust in that individual. And it is hard as heck to believe in and trust someone who berates you or diminishes you as a matter of course.

From school to time in the military to employment, I have worked with people in leadership roles who simply do not get the essence of this quote. They have power, but because they do not understand what leadership is all about they never learn how to utilize that power to the extent they might. They do not realize that having power is only part of the equation.

And this brings me to another quote, one by Barbara Kellerman. In a January 2004 Harvard Business Review article titled Leadership – Warts and All, she stated that “to be a leader is, by definition, to be benevolent.” Benevolence is not a word that would naturally surface for me as representative of the qualities of a leader, but the more I think about it the more sense it makes to me. Leaders have to understand and care about those who would follow them if they are indeed to attract and retain them as followers. And care cannot be a superficial thing … if it is not real it will be perceived as such soon enough. If you truly care about people you will touch them in the process … and this is when leaders have the unique opportunity to command a following.

And this brings up a critical question, where does the leader draw the line between authority and benevolence? To be sure this will vary from situation to situation, but when is too much benevolence a diminishing factor in leadership effectiveness? I don’t think there are answers to these related questions, but I sure would be interested in what others think.

Author Cross-references:

James MacGregor Burns: None

Barbara Kellerman: See also posts 2/3/09

Key Word Cross-references:

Benevolent/Caring/Compassionate/Empathetic: Also see posts 1/16/09, 2/18/09, 11/11/09, 12/5/09, 1/4/10

Trust: Also see posts 12/12/08, 12/5/09, 2/18/10, 5/26/10

Leadership … Continued Discussion – 12/12/08

Overview: This is an ongoing discussion about leadership, built on quotes that I have assembled through the years. My intent with this blog is to grow my understanding, and yours, of this thing we call leadership.

Although growing and mentoring people is an important part of leading them (see previous posting), so too is creating the kind of workplace environment that is conducive to growth. And this leads me to quote Scott Geller, who is a professor at Virginia Tech. In an article in ISHN he stated that “effective leaders enrich their work culture and help workers become self-directed, self-accountable, and self-motivated.” Although more of an outcome of good leadership than a component of it, this does point to something that I think is often overlooked … creating a platform upon which effective leadership can occur and thrive.

It is one thing to grow people, it is quite another to put them in position to excel. And this goes well beyond providing the tools and resources to accomplish one’s job description … this focuses much more on the environment in the workplace. To be maximally effective, people need to feel that they are part of the process; that their contribution is sought after and valued; that they can put their thinking on the table; that they can take a chance and that they can fail with that chance-taking; that they can make a difference.

But none of that will occur unless there is trust in the workplace, which must come from the top down if it is to permeate the workplace. Leaders must demonstrate openness, honesty and fairness in everything they do. They must walk the talk. They must set the example.

And perhaps the first step in developing trust is with good communication. Communication is the foundation of any relationship … be it in a marriage or between a boss and an employee. Regular and meaningful communication is the prerequisite of empowerment and accountability. And without empowerment and accountability, I firmly believe that a leader’s agenda cannot be carried out effectively.

And this leads me to quote Bill George, who in his 2003 book Authentic Leadership stated that authentic leaders “are more interested in empowering the people they lead to make a difference … than they are in power, money or prestige for themselves.” True leaders gather the “right” people around them and then support and inspire them into making a difference. True leaders legitimize themselves through their actions. True leaders instill in those they lead the right and the willingness to make a difference. True leaders set the stage for those who follow them to realize success.

Author Cross-references:

Scott Geller: See also blogs 1/28/09, 2/18/09

Bill George: See also blog 2/18/09

Key Word Cross-references:

Accountability: Also see blog 2/19/09, 1/6/10

Chance-taking: Also see blogs 3/25/09, 7/7/09, 11/1/09, 3/12/10, 3/29/10

Communication/Effective Speaking: Also see blogs 3/4/09, 5/17/09, 6/26/09, 7/7/09, 9/9/09, 11/20/09, 12/5/09, 1/4/10, 1/29/10, 2/24/10

Empowerment: Also see posts 1/16/09, 2/18/09, 5/17/09, 9/9/09

Mentoring/Nurturing/Developing: Also see posts 12/8/08, 1/13/09, 2/6/09, 2/28/09, 6/5/09, 7/7/09, 9/9/09, 9/15/09, 10/26/09, 12/5/09, 1/6/10, 3/29/10

Inclusive/Open/Honest/Transparent: Also see  posts 4/20/09, 5/1/09, 7/7/09, 8/3/09, 10/26/09, 11/11/09, 1/29/10, 2/24/10, 5/26/10

Setting the Example: Also see posts 1/13/09, 3/16/09, 5/1/09, 5/17/09, 6/5/09, 7/7/09, 8/17/09, 2/24/10

Trust: Also see posts 12/16/08, 12/5/09, 2/18/10, 5/26/10

Workplace Environment: Also see posts 1/28/09, 2/6/09, 2/19/09, 7/7/09, 8/3/09, 9/9/09, 1/6/10, 4/19/10

Leadership … What Is It?

We have all seen leadership at one time or another and we always seem to know it when we see it, but it doesn’t always look or feel the same. And that reality has always fascinated me. Leadership really is an amorphous thing. There are lots of different qualities that go into leadership and doubtless there are some threads that are weaved through every example of leadership, but if we could distill it down, what would the bare essence of leadership look like? This is a question with which I have long wrestled and which represents what my blog is intended to be all about … a discussion of leadership.

Through the years I have collected numerous quotes on leadership that have helped me to paste together somewhat of an overarching definition of leadership that at least works for me, but I don’t want to focus this blog on my collective sense of leadership. Instead, I want to share individual quotes in individual blogs that I hope will stimulate others to provide comment on. Perhaps, we can help each other to better understand just what leadership is all about.

And to begin this process, let me start with a quote from Bill Bradley, the famed basketball player and coach of some years ago. His sense of leadership was that it revolved around “unlocking people’s potential to become better.” Pure and simple, he viewed a leader as someone who could grow and mentor others to another level … coach or drill sergeant, teacher or boss, parent or peer … giving of one’s self to help someone else to evolve. I find this exceptionally cool … and not quite what I would have immediately gravitated to when describing a leader.

At first brush my early view of leaders was that these were strong, inspirational and decisive individuals that you would surely follow to the ends of the earth if need be. But Mr. Bradley is more focused on an ability to see inside of people and to understand how to get the most out of them … how to break down an individual into their time-clock pieces and to get those clock movements working perfectly … how to entice people into growing … how to “unlock their potential.”

For me, this describes a mentor. However, not every mentor is a leader … and perhaps even very few would qualify as such. So, where does the distinction lie? What makes the mentor, the grower of people, transcend into a leader? I have thought a great deal about this and it seems to me that this boils down to “influence.”  And this is something that John C. Maxwell spoke to in his book, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, specifically the Law of Influence, wherein he states that “The true measure of leadership is influence … nothing more, nothing less.”

Influencing people to grow, to accomplish their potential, or simply to follow one’s lead surely seems to be an important part of leadership, but I would not call this the foundation of leadership. There seems to me to be much more that colors this picture. For me, influence is a vehicle … a way in which to achieve intended results (or as Mr. Maxwell stated, a “measure”), but not the true essence of leadership.

Author Cross-references:

Bill Bradley: None

John C. Maxwell: See also blogs 6/5/09, 6/26/09, 11/20/09, 3/29/10

Key Word Cross-references:

Influence: Also see blog 2/25/09, 2/18/10, 3/29/10

Mentoring/Nurturing/Developing: Also see blogs 12/12/09, 1/13/09, 2/6/09, 2/28/09, 6/5/09, 7/7/09, 9/9/09, 9/15/09, 10/26/09, 12/5/09, 1/6/10, 3/29/10