Lead Me, Follow Me, or Get Out of the Way!

"Remember the difference between a boss and a leader;

a boss says, "Go!"

a leader says, "Let's go!"

~ E.M. Kelly

There are many kinds of leaders, and many kinds of leaders who exhibit different traits.  Sometimes those traits can bring out the best in people.  Sometimes those traits can bring out the worst.  Over the past few weeks, we have looked at several traits and qualities that make great leaders.  As I have said before, there is no one-size fits all approach to leadership, nor is there a universal style that everyone will respond to.  What I have tried to do is give small samples of the different kinds of leadership along with their pros and cons and let you, the blogger, decide for yourself. Well today, we are going to look at three specific examples which are transformational leaders, authentic leaders, and servant leaders.

A transformational leader is one who can identify a need, create the vision to implement the needed change, and then carryout the change with the input from the followers in the group.  

Transformational leaders promote cooperation and harmony, possess high moral compass, emphasizes positive development of followers, appeal to the ideals of followers, and allow freedom of choice in followers (empowerment).  One such leader, Nelson Mandela, possessed many of these qualities and many more.    Before his death in 2013, Mandela was known for activism in South Africa in his quest to end apartheid.  After spending 27 years in prison, Mandela went onto to be one of the most influential community leaders in South Africa before becoming the nation's first black president in 1994.  As an elected leader, Mandela was keenly aware of the need to bridge the gap between the Black South Africans, who were the oppressed, and the White South African majority.  By exhibiting transformational leadership qualities, President Mandela was able to build a strong nation, earn the trust of the people, and bridge the racial divide that had consumed the nation for decades.

Now, I'm not trying to suggest that all great leaders have died, it's just coincidence, but Steve Jobs is the perfect example of an authentic leader. Okay, so what is an authentic leader?  Authentic leaders build their persona on interpersonal relationships in which honesty and ethics are the bedrock foundation on the interaction with the followers.  Wow, that's a mouthful!  In simpler terms, authentic leaders are truthful and open with their followers which legitimizes their position as the leader.  Got it, great!  So why Steve Jobs?  He is one person who went from phenomenal cosmic power to complete failure to regaining his phenomenal cosmic power, but only after being able to talk to people about how he got there.  When Jobs first appeared on the scene with Apple Computer in the 1970's-80's, the young Jobs had still much to learn and perhaps ego may have played a part in his first demise.  But when Jobs 2.0 :-) reappeared at Apple Computer in 1997, his leadership took Apple from the verge of collapse to the one of the leaders in technology worldwide.  What changed was Jobs was able to draw on his failures and speak openly about them, and then convince his followers to be their best and to not be afraid of failures themselves.  Jobs passed away in 2011 still revered as one of the greatest minds to have impacted the computer and technology world.

And then there is the servant leader!  Again, I apologize for the fact that my examples have all passed, but I think that truly great leaders are not easily identified until they are gone and we have something to measure their contributions to world by.  A servant leader, very simply, is one who puts the needs and goals of the followers above himself so that the followers can achieve greatness.  A servant leader is therefore kind of an oxymoronic thought because the leader is one who leads by following.  Not leading from behind, per say, but allowing the followers to flourish with the leader providing them the tools they need to succeed.  They lead by serving.  Gandhi was one such leader.  He displayed empathy, for others, he could foresee the consequences of actions, he had the power of persuasion, he was a steward of his community, and he had commitment to growth and emancipation.  In this respect, Gandhi was able to achieve the very things he sought during his many years as an activist against British rule in India during the early part of the 20th century.

But here is one important point about the three leadership styles we just examined.  All three leaders, Mandela, Jobs, and Gandhi all have similar qualities and leadership styles.  Mandela was a transformational leader, servant leader, and an authentic leader.  So was Jobs and so was Gandhi.  Therefore, I think it is important to realize that truly great leaders are not one style.  They are many of them put together in one.  The video below I think best supports that because it explains leadership but kind of intertwines each one together:

Well that's all for this week.  I hope for those of you who have read this blog have the opportunity to examine your own leadership style.  Always seek to be a better leader and don't be afraid to ask questions of your followers.  Just be the best leader you can be!  Take care of yourselves and we will continue our journey next week.