...And The Leader Is...

Greetings and Salutations,

So for the past nine weeks, we have been on a journey together in hopes of discovering the key ingredients to making a great leader.  But before I show what the result was, I want to take a brief moment to show what I have learned in this blogging experience.  First, I have a better understanding of what a great leader.  Second, I understand the importance of great leadership.  Thirdly, I want to encourage others to be great leaders themselves.  You see, what I took away from leadership is it is not about me; never was.  It IS about the people who will follow me.  It is about understanding their needs and aspirations and being a positive influence to them so they achieve greatness!  That is what learned about leadership.

You see, in the picture above, this is the mindset of some leaders and they tend to react in a cover my ass manner.  Well when you think about it like that, leadership is self-serving, self-centered, and quite honestly, completely ineffective.  There is a difference between understanding that a leader takes responsibility (a positive response) and it's the leaders fault (a negative response).  A responsible leader gives the necessary tools and work to the followers to achieve the goal.  A fault leader does just enough to not get fired!  

Maya Angelou's quote above, probably explains leadership's affect on followers in the most eloquent way.  When you think back to your favorite leader, manager, supervisor, teacher, etc., the first thing you remember is how you felt because of that person's positive influence on you.  I have never heard anyone say, "Man, he/she is great leader whom I have great respect for even though they make me feel like absolute garbage!"  Who says that?  When you deal with an influential leader, you will feel better and more confident about your task than before the time you first met them.  If a leader is supposedly so great, but they make people feel inadequate or unlikely to achieve the task at hand and the task is not done, it was not the follower who failed, it was the leader!  See the impact of leaders on followers on the short video below:

So there you have it.  And now without any further adieu, let's see what our final leader looks like!  Heck, we've waited nine weeks for this moment!  So, we took a dash of integrity, a sprinkle of intelligence, a hint of motivation, a pinch of sociability, and a cup of self-confidence.  We add that to a pre-mixture of experience, problem-solving skills, and social judgement and let that marinate overnight.  Next we mix transformational leadership, authentic leadership, adaptive leadership, and servant leadership and then pour in the pre-mixture.  We bake it at 350 degrees for an hour and serve it with an understanding of cultural and gender bias in leadership and what do you get?

Cue trumpet fanfare.....

We get YOU!

This is a mirror, by the way ;-)

You are the next greatest leader!  Leaders don't wait for someone else to take the lead!  Remember what we talked about this entire blog.  Leadership is not a position, it is an action.  YOU need to take that action by applying the concepts we discussed in this blog.  Cue the light bulb floating above your head!

I certainly hope you have enjoyed reading this blog and that I have at least wet your appetite to learn more.  There are a ton of books on leadership and how to apply them in your current professional and social life.  Always keep learning, always keep aspiring to new heights, and never let anyone get you down.  Remember, we can all be great leaders as long as we understand the idea that many times, we have to be the follower.  When you understand the intricate balance between the two, you will truly understand leadership.  Thank you so much for reading my blog, but sadly, it has come to an end as I have completed the nine week leadership course.  I have other blogs which I encourage you to take a look at.  Until we meet again, take care of yourself!

This blog series was completed for course PA-6665 Leadership in Public Administration in the Master of Public Administration program at Troy University.  For more information about the MPA or other degree programs at Troy University, visit www.troy.edu.

  

  

Breaking the Glass Ceiling

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

~ Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt

Greetings and Salutations Fellow Bloggers,

Today, I want to talk about a very important piece of the leadership ladder by addressing the fact that we often miss a few rungs.  We have firmly stated and restated and restated that leaders are not necessarily born.  We have addressed the fact that many personality types can make great leaders.  Then why do we exclude 52% of the population by holding them back from achieving leadership positions just because they were born with two "X" chromosomes?  Hey I'm a guy, so I get it!  Woman are more "emotional," women "take care" while us men "take charge!"  Yadda yadda yadda!  The fact is, not necessarily, and even if that were true, so what!? Leadership is not a one style fits all, nor is it a one sex fits all.  Women help make the rungs of that leadership ladder that much stronger.

From Cleopatra to Oprah Winfrey, women have been a quintessential part of developing human history.  Women have helped explorers find their way, created the Red Cross, paved the way in aviation, have been Pulitzer Prize winning authors, prime ministers of nations, helped free slaves, educated our society, and have even explored space!  This is not to mention all of the teachers, doctors, engineers, pilots, lawyers, politicians, judges, military personnel, scientists, CEO's, filmmakers, musicians, actresses, and inventors that have helped to shape our world as we know it.  So women can lead, and quite frankly, they do not need our permission!

However, something is not quite right with the world in the way we determine leaders in both the private and public sectors.  Women make up the majority, but receive only a scant amount of leadership roles in reality.  In fact, the higher the management position, the less of them there are. One idea behind this phenomena is that we as men are just outright prejudiced towards our female counterparts.  Another factor is that women sacrifice more to help raise families, and then are rewarded by missing out on the chance to show just how great they can be.

The problem is that women face the proverbial, but very real "glass ceiling" or have to negotiate the "leadership labyrinth."  What the heck is that, you might be saying to yourself.  It's best explained with an example.  If you are a woman reading this, and you decide to say have a child, and you take advantage of your absolute right to parental leave, you face the very real possibility of losing your job, coming back at lower/lesser position, or having to "reestablish" yourself within your place of work.  As men, we don't face that problem.  In the comic above, women who take advantage of leave also suffer a wage gap difference as compared to their male counterparts.
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Eleanor Tabi Haller-Jordan delves further into gender bias in her TedTalks video below:

So how do we solve the issue?  I don't have the magic wand to solve this issue, but I do have some ideas.  The very first thing we can do, especially as men, is understand that we have biases.  In order to do so, we need to challenge ourselves by role playing, asking tough questions of our beliefs, and to test ourselves.  One such test, the Gender-Leader Implicit Association helps one to identify their gender biases.  Another thing we could do is to go out and find potential female leaders.  Think about this.  Companies and public organizations make concerted efforts to go out and recruit minorities, but we often do not make the same concerted effort to find females to fit leadership positions.  Thirdly, we as men need to have an open mind and stop trying to compartmentalize what role in society women play.

What can women do to help solve this issue?  Again, no magic wand, but the first and most important thing is to know that you can be a leader.  It is not a man's role to tell a women that she can or cannot be a leader.  Like Eleanor Roosevelt said in the quote at the top, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."  Do not consent!  Another thing is to speak up!  Never sit there and "take it" out of fear of reprisal.  Susan B. Anthony did not "play along to get along," nor should you.  Truth be told, to really bring about the end of gender leadership discrimination, it's going to take both men and women working together to close that gap.  So let's you and I close it!

Well folks, this is the last topic related blog for my postings under "Building a Leader."  Next week will be my final post in this blog and I will sum it up and speak about what I learned and took away from it.  Also, we will finalize our leader and say what he/she would probably be like.  You might be surprised at the answer!

Until next week, take care of yourself!

Practice What You Preach

"Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself.

When you become a leader, success is all about growing others!"

~ Jack Welch

Greetings Fellow Bloggers,

Today, I want to briefly touch on a few definitions about leadership and ethics, because I want to address two real life examples of leadership; one very good, and one very bad.  It's time for us to start putting the finishing touches on our theoretical leader and identifying the characteristics he/she would have.  I have spent the last several weeks addressing the qualities that make up a great leader, but this one characteristic is probably the most important building block, because without it, you don't have anything!  I am talking about Ethics and the concept of Ethical Leadership.

Ethics is the moral principles, as of an individual.  It is the branch of philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions and most importantly, how these impact others.

Ethical Leadership, therefore,  is leadership that is directed by respect for ethical beliefs and values and for the dignity and rights of others.  Apple CEO Tim Cook explains further:

In ethical leadership, there are essentially three kinds of leaders who display egoism, utilitarianism, or altruism.  In its simplest explanation, egoism is self-centered and self-interested (ego).  Utilitarianism is somewhat self-centered, but also has concerns for others in that they create the greatest good for the greatest number of people.  Altruism is selfless and is putting the needs of others before your own.  These are important terms to understand as we look at two leaders who are complete opposites of one another in the scenarios I am about to present.

Pictured to the left is Coach James White (ret.) of McFarland High School (CA).  You may recall that he inspired the 2015 Disney film, McFarland, USA, based on his experiences as the  coach of the school's cross country running team from 1987 to 2003.  Now that may not seem like anything to "wow" about, but once you understand Coach White's story, you'd understand.  McFarland High School is located in a predominantly migrant community that was quite poor.  Cross country running, you could say, was not one of their primary concerns at the time.  Enter Jim White.  He created the school's running team by watching and identifying seven students that would become great athletes.  Coach White opened his heart and mind to these student athletes always putting their needs above his own.  This included understanding their needs of their families and understanding the needs of the community.  He built up the student's attitude about their own lives and got these young men to attend various colleges throughout the state; an idea that was unheard of in a migrant community.  Once Coach White treated his players with dignity and respect, earned their trust, and put their needs above his own, McFarland High School went on to win California's very first state cross country championship and then for a total of 9 times in 14 years!  McFarland High School is now the benchmark by which cross country schools train and measure their players.  Years after Coach White left the program, he is still revered by the athletes and community he helped build to be the juggernaut of cross country teams!  He demonstrated altruistic traits in leadership! 

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Pictured to the left is Assistant Coach Mack Breed of John Jay High School's football team.  You might know Coach Breed as he finds himself embroiled in a controversy surrounding his decision to have two of his players intentionally target an official on field as retribution for alleged racial slurs and questionable calls.  I am not going to delve into whether or not something happened on field, that's not the purpose of this blog.  I am delving into how the leader, Coach Breed, handled adversity.  One of the first qualities to being a leader is ethics, which as we stated earlier is how we conduct ourselves and determine right from wrong.  Another facet in leadership is understanding our followers.  Remember, Coach Breed leads young student athletes who want and need structure, and look to their parents, teachers, clergy, etc. for guidance.  Coach Breed fits that mold.  It is up to him to lead in a manner that embodies trust, respect, understanding, and managing distress when it arises.  Leaders are influential over their followers.  Currently, investigators want to know if and why Coach Breed ordered two of his players to intentionally target an official as "pay back" for  an on-field disagreement.  Now, Coach Breed and the two players find themselves facing possible criminal charges and Coach Breed has since resigned in lieu of the investigation.  Many believe that it was just a reaction to the alleged racial slurs.  In leadership, it DOES NOT MATTER!!!  Adversity comes in many forms, and your task as a leader is to accomplish the mission in an ethical manner while respecting the needs of your followers.  In this case, Coach Breed's response would have been better served by accomplishing the mission (i.e. winning the game), and then addressing the matter with appropriate athletic authorities.  That would have shown professionalism, restraint, and demonstrated the proper manner in resolving disputes.  Instead, he had his players tap into their anger, and he used them for his personal gain of revenge.  Not a good combination which ultimately cost him his job.  Coach Breed failed in his leadership position.  He demonstrated egoistic traits in leadership.  Let's here CBS Sports Doug Gottlieb's take on this:

So that's this week's leadership blog that I wanted to touch upon.  Ethics is key to success in leadership, and these two coaches show two different paths about how to be leaders.  Now ask yourself, what kind of leader are you?  That is all for this week.  We are in the home stretch and this blog will soon come to an end by which time, you will be a leadership expert!  Thank you for reading. Until next time.

Leader 2.0!!!

"If your actions inspire others to dream more,

learn more, do more, and become more,

you are a leader!"

~ John Quincy Adams

Greetings and Salutations Fellow Bloggers,

For the past six weeks, we have been examining the good and the bad, the do's and the don'ts, and the positives and negatives associated with leadership.  This is in effort for us to assemble our "perfect" leader, if such a thing actually exists.  Alas, we are nearing the leadership style that I believe embodies that near perfect style.  This week, I want to introduce and expound upon the concept of the Adaptive Leader.

The adaptive leader is the unicorn of leaders.  It sits in that "goldie locks" zone of leadership styles that can truly be the style ALL leaders should strive for.  It's not too overbearing, not too under bearing.  Not too controlling, not too passive.  Very supportive, but not too nurturing.  Adaptive leaders are more follower centered, not to the extent of say a servant leader, but adaptive leaders certainly put the needs of the followers on a very high pedestal.  Adaptive leadership starts to take us in the direction of the team leader, which we will discuss in an upcoming blog.  The key to adaptive leadership is that it is follower sensitive, allows for growth, allows for change, and focuses on how the leader adapts to those changes when circumstances morph from one to another!

Like any other leader behavior, adaptive leaders have their "rules and regs" if you will.  They face challenges in which they must overcome.  Essentially, there are two.  A situation needs to be identified as a technical challenge which are ones that are clearly defined and have known solutions.  Unlike our friend here to the left, a technical challenge does not allow for the "hammer fixes everything" solution.  Adaptive leaders have to take the technical situation, assess it, and determine the best course of action based on organizational rules and procedures.  They must be level headed and very knowledgeable about organizational theory and process.

The second behavior centers on the adaptive challenge.  These are not so easy to identify because it requires leaders to encourage others to define challenging situations and implement solutions.  Moreover, they are difficult because it requires leaders to change people's assumptions, perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes.  Unlike our lawyers here to the right, this is not accomplished through coercive suggestion, as in a law suit, but rather through mutual encouragement and understanding.  In truth, there is a third behavior which is a hybrid of both of these.  that happens when the situation has a bit of both.  The best example of this I can think of is working in an office where new software is implemented to make your job "easier."  Of course, no one consulted you, but now it is up to you to learn the new software and it is up to the company leaders to convince you that what they have done is in the best interest of everyone.  In that situation, you have a technical and adaptive problem in which to overcome.

Okay, so you are saying to yourself, I got the adaptive leader is great and all, but why?  Well, there are six traits these leaders must exude, or they cannot reach the zen of leadership.  The six qualities are:

1) Get on the balcony….and look out to see the big picture.

2) Identify adaptive challenges….and determine if you have a technical problem, adaptive problem, or both.  Most of the time why organizations fail is they have no clue what the real problem is.

3) Regulate distress….by not freaking out when things don't go exactly as planned.  Things happen, but don't lose composure.

4) Maintain disciplined attention….by getting everyone, including yourself, to focus on the task that needs to be accomplished.

5) Give work back to the people….and live in the wise words of Frozen's Queen Elsa, "Let it go!"  You have to allow people to do their jobs and not be a control freak.  Put another way, if you need to do everything, then why have followers?

6) Protect leadership voices from below….by listening to minority input.  Sometimes the leader's way is not the only way (worse when surrounded by "yes" people).  Allow counter arguments to be heard or fringe ideas.  Sometimes the best ideas come from the voices below.  Plus, it shows you trust in your people which is always a good thing!

Here is a 21:00 minute Ted Talks video by Harvard Adjunct Lecturer Marty Linsky for your viewing pleasure about adaptive challenges for leaders:

So there you have it!  Adaptive leadership in a nutshell.  I want to stress an important point, you as the blog reader still needs to go out and find your leadership you.  My blog is just a broad overview and brief exposure to a very complex topic.  But I hope the exposure is at least enough to get you interested.  I know I am!  Thank you for reading, and until next week, take care of yourselves.

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.

Follow Me! I Know the Way!

"Leaders become great, not because of their power,

but because of their ability to empower others"

~ John Maxwell

In all of this talk about leadership and the countless theories to becoming a "master leader," I think it is important to examine the impact on followers.  In the picture above, there lie a path headed in two different directions.  One is full of sunshine, probably with unicorns, rainbows, and tweeting birds.  The other is dark, probably with death eaters, evil little trolls, and spiders.  If you were a follower, and your leader picked either of the paths, would you follow them?  Would you feel empowered to make a decision about the path on your own?  The answer might be, it depends.  Depends on what, you ask?  Perhaps if the leader inspires, motivates, and empowers you, only then will you trust on which path to go.

Greetings fellow bloggers, this week, we are going to look at how leaders can motivate and inspire followers to achieve their maximum potential.  Empowering your followers increases your influence as a leader.  I like to look at it in this manner.  The leader is the tip of the spear!  If the tip of the spear is dull, the ENTIRE spear is a useless tool.  However, if that tip is sharp and refined, that spear becomes a lethal weapon.  

Back in the 1970's, sociologists and researchers understood that theories about leadership were lacking a true understanding of the impact on the followers.  We could talk about influence, power, and motivation all we want, but if the followers aren't "drinking that Kool-Aid," the research did no good.  The result was Path-Goal Theory which   is about how leaders motivate followers to accomplish designated goals.  

The biggest difference between Path-Goal Theory and situational leadership is Path-Goal Theory emphasizes the relationship between the leader's style and the followers characteristics and that leader uses a style that best meets the followers needs.  Basically, Path-Goal tries to explain how leaders help followers attain their goals where the behavior is individually tailored to each follower.  You see, in the past few weeks, we looked at the one-size fits all approach that addresses the influence of the leader.  So if, for example, the leader uses an authority-compliant approach which may work well in a military type setting, Path-Goal Theory says that not every single person in that setting will respond well to that style.  I am not suggesting that the military adopt a style for each recruit.  That would not work.  I am just illustrating that not every recruit will respond well to that style, even though overall it is effective for the needs of the military.  So, it appears that Path-Goal Theory is saying, hey, if you lead a group of five people, maybe two respond well to directive leadership, one responds well to supportive leadership, and the other likes a participative leadership style even though the leader generally shows an achievement-oriented style.  So let's take a quick look at the leadership styles described in the Path-Goal Theory:

Directive Leadership - leader gives instructions about the task

Supportive Leadership - friendly and approachable leader who makes things pleasant for the followers

Participative Leadership - sharing the decision making with followers

Achievement-Oriented Leadership - challenges followers to be their best and work at the highest level  

What about those followers?  Surely they have characteristics too?  Yep, they do!

Followers have a need for affiliation, and those who possess a strong need for this, prefer a supportive leader.  Those with less, prefer a directive leader.

Followers have preferences for structure.  The stronger the preference, the more towards directive leadership they will fall, and those who prefer less, may want a supportive leader.

Followers have desires for control.  You guessed it.  The more control, the more towards directive leadership, and the less control, the more toward supportive.  But overall, as the perceptions of a follower's ability to perform a task increases, their desire for direction and control goes down!  You see, you're getting it!  :-)

One thing I personally believe is very important is for the leaders to always examine their leadership qualities and to always want to improve.  Don't just say, "I'm a leader," and then rest on your laurels.  After a situation presents itself, take the opportunity to ask if there was another way to do it, or think about how you might do it differently next time.   The video below perfectly describes the idea behind empowerment.  Take a look:

That's all for this week as we near the middle of our nine week journey!  Take care of yourselves until then and I look forward to our blog next Sunday!

Walking the Walk, Talking the Talk

Greetings and Salutations Everyone,

Remember this classic line:

Like him or not, Leonidas is one tough leader who led by example and was not afraid to tell it like it was. He is also an example to start off this week's discussion about what behaviors do leaders exhibit  and in what situations do great leaders emerge?  Leaders may be effective in one situation and completely ineffective in another.  And then there's….well……just watch……

One of the two above leaders would likely inspire you to do something great, and the other would make you want to run away!  Leaders have behaviors that influence followers to be better at their tasks, or behaviors that make them worse.  Back in the mid-1900's, around the 1940's to 1960's, the Ohio State University, Michigan State University, and researchers Blake & Mouton tried to examine those behaviors and explain how certain behaviors were more effective than others.  What came out of that period was the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ) from the Ohio State research which looked at whether or not leaders provided structure for followers or nurtured them.  The Michigan State researchers focused on the employee and production orientation, or in other words, task focus versus interpersonal/human focus.  Blake & Mouton (1964) ultimately developed the Managerial (Leadership) Grid which visually displayed leadership styles, see below:

The Blake & Mouton Managerial (Leadership) Grid showed that when the concern for people and concern for production is low, things don't go so well.  We call these (1,1) leaders.  When the manager has high people concern and high production concern, things can go very well, and we call these (9,9) leaders.  Of course, a leader that has some concern for people and some concern for production, we get the middle-of-the-road leader who scores out at (5,5).  These behavioral analyses still do not address the why's of leadership.  For example, why do some leadership styles work well in some cases and not in others?  Imagine King Leonidas in charge of a monastery?  Imagine Michael Scott in charge of a Navy S.E.A.L. team?  You get my point! :-)

Around the same time, in the late 1960's through the 1980's, a bunch of sociologists realized that simply examining the behavior of leaders was not enough, because one size does not fit all.  What if the situation or task at hand determined the necessary action of the leader and how he/she needs to influence the followers?  What if leadership is situational?  Situational leadership looked at two primary factors; directive behaviors (telling others what needs to be done) and supportive behaviors (making followers feel comfortable about themselves and situation).  In the graphic below, we can see the different styles of leadership that adapt to a situation:

Seems to make sense, right?  Match the behavior and style to the task.  One of the main drawbacks to situational approach theory is there is not a lot of research on it that has been done.  A second one that is true of many leadership theories is they focus on the leaders and their actions, but none seem to focus on the affect or the impact on the followers.  For example, in my career, I had a supervisor who was a micromanager, and was only task-oriented with little concern for me as an individual, my family, or my goals and aspirations.  I did not like her leadership style and it was ineffective for me, yet, the higher level managers above her thought she was a great leader and kept promoting her.  Of course, the higher up she promoted, the low morale in the unit spread to others because she thought her style was great never realizing that it was negatively impacting the followers where ever she went.  This is where leadership questionnaires can help a leader, who really wants to learn and improve, do a better job.  Listen to Tennessee Vols Cuonzo Martin put it plain English:

Look, there is no silver bullet for leadership.  All of these theories are not right and they are all certainly not wrong either.  I believe it is more important to understand what it is you are trying to accomplish and how you can motivate your followers to do an awesome job.  If you have followers who are go-getters and don't need a lot of direction, don't micromanage them!  Don't be a high directive/low supportive leader. Likewise, if you have people who look to you to help them get from point A to point B, but aren't looking for a back patter, then be the high directive/low supportive leader.  Learn to read people and then act accordingly.  Most importantly, DO NOT BE AFRAID TO LEARN AND IMPROVE UPON BEING A GREAT LEADER!!!!!  A true leader always wants to improve and has no problem with feedback.  What kind of leader are you?  Thank you for reading, and until next week, take care of yourself.

The Right Stuff….Maybe…Maybe Not!

Greetings and Salutations,

Last week when I began this blog on leadership, I presented an overview of some of the traits and definitions used to described leaders.  In week number two, I want to delve further into building our leader from the ground up.  Yes we are going to construct "leaders," good and bad, and talk about the trails and tribulations associated with the manufacturing process.  First, I would like to go back in time and reflect on movies that depict leadership from a Hollywood standpoint.  This will kind of lay our groundwork on which we build our leaders.

In 1983, Philip Kaufman wrote the screenplay and directed the classic film, The Right Stuff, which was a non-fictional retelling of NASA's experiences pursuing manned space travel and the dangers and advancements that resulted from those experiences.  What the film depicted was Leadership Theory 101, albeit not the actual intent of the story, but it stumbles across this subplot as the story of man versus machine, and man versus science takes place.  Think about this for a moment, you have test pilots yearning to break various speed records and fly higher and faster than any person before in the history of the world.  In order to accomplish this, you have to have people who are not only intelligent, but brave, self-confident, knowledgeable, possess varying degrees of interpersonal skills, and subject to taking risks.  Hmmmm, that sounds a lot like trait leadership theory.  In the film, for example, Project Mercury could not have produced the national heroes we have today if these men did not possess the leadership traits needed to defy the odds and help the United States surge past its cold war rival, The Soviet Union, and eventually make it to the moon.

In 1987, Stanley Kubrick embraced us with the dehumanizing affects of war in his classic film, Full Metal Jacket.  The film centers on Private J.T. Davis played by Matthew Modine, known more affectionately as "Private Joker."  It follows the development of this young Marine from boot camp through the end of his service during the Vietnam War.  Here again, this film accidentally explores Leadership Theory 201 as the many characters in the film display varying degrees of leadership; and in some cases situational leadership.  Private Joker takes on the role as an emergent leader as he helps struggling Private Lawrence played by Vincent D'Onofrio.  R. Lee Ermey, the repressive Gunnery Sargent Hartman, displays assigned leadership using coercive power as he physically punishes the recruits during boot camp.  Arliss Howard who played the character, Private Cowboy, displays assigned leadership with legitimate power as he leads his troops (later in the movie) to take on a sniper who was killing his platoon of Marines during an ambush.  I have probably seen this movie a dozen times and never thought of it from a leadership standpoint, but at every turn, each character at some point is assigned a leadership position, takes a leadership position, or emerges as a leader when the time presents itself.  Let's take a look at a perfect example of assigned leadership and the use of coercive power in the famous "jelly doughnut" scene featuring R. Lee Ermey and Vincent D'Onofrio (language warning):
 

In each of these films, the leaders display something we often call the "right stuff."  They either have it or they don't.  But do all leaders really have the right stuff naturally, or can they develop it over time; can they learn it?  Let's step away from R. Lee Ermey's abusive Gunnery Sergeant character for a second and consider other things a leader can possess or lack.  Can a leader be empathetic for example?  Can a leader be short in stature?  Can a leader be a "C" student, or one who dropped out of school altogether?  Can a leader not be extroverted, or break out in sweats when addressing large crowds?  Sure, maybe, maybe not?!  Two prevailing schools of thought, trait leadership theory and skill leadership theory, make attempts to explain what makes a leader, but they may be two sides of the same coin.

If for example, all leadership was developed as a trait, meaning someone was born with it, that would mean that every single person in the world who lacked leadership skills at birth could NEVER be leaders.  Tell that to Bill Gates who dropped out of college.  But if Bill Gates crawled into a corner and hid every time he faced others, Microsoft would not be the business juggernaut it is today.  You see, he still has to possess some traits that make him an effective leader that he may have been born with, and it is very likely he learned the others.  However, Bill Gates has always had one special thing that made him a de facto great leader.  He possesses information power meaning he has information that others want or need!  That, my friends, is going to be the leadership and power grab of the future.  Those who have information over those who don't, but need it.  I even addressed this phenomenon in another blog during my e-Governance course at Troy University known as the digital divide.  The most powerful part of any organization is arguably its information technology department.  With one key stroke, the organization can be brought to its knees.  Now THAT is power, but not necessarily leadership!  Think about THAT for a moment.   Before I close though, I believe it is important that we understand that leadership and power are closely related, but they are not the same thing.  Next week for my third installment, we want to start addressing behavioral approaches to leadership.  That'll be interesting!  Until next week, take care of yourselves.

What Makes A Leader?

Greetings,

My name is Gary, and I would like to thank you for reading my blog on Leadership.  I would also like to welcome you to this blog as we will embark on a nine week journey on studying and looking at the qualities that make a great leader.  Let me introduce myself to you in case this is the first time you are reading one of my many blogs.  This blog is part of a course for Troy University in the Master of Public Administration program, more specifically, Leadership in Public Administration (Course #PA-6665).  This blog itself is a choice, not a requirement of the class, which means that I feel personally connected to it, and I have a genuine passion for sharing it with you.  Do not think that the subject of leadership for me is only academic, however.  I currently own a business in which I am the director and financial officer requiring leadership skills and have done so for the past seven years.  Also, I am a public safety employee where leadership in moments of crisis is required, and I have done that line of work for the past 17 years.  I am also a dad of two wonderful boys, which for anyone with children can attest, that is the ultimate leadership position!  So what I hope to accomplish by the end of this series is to do some introspection on myself and also share knowledge with you so that we all takeaway something from this!  If that sounds like a fair enough proposition, let's begin!

One of the first questions asked of me this week was, "Are leaders born or made?"  Now before you answer this question in your head (not out loud in front of the computer or people will think you are crazy), who was the first person that came to mind?  You might think of the late Steve Jobs at Apple Computer.  Perhaps you might think of government leader like a President Obama or the  British Prime Minister David Cameron.  Some may think more close to home of a teacher, doctor, lawyer, police officer, or firefighter.  Nonetheless, when you thought of that person, did you think they were born that way, predestined to lead?  Or did you think they acquired those skills to become the leader they are today?  I argue that the answer is, yes!  Yes to both!  Leaders can be born, and leaders can be made.  Truth be told, leaders can be anyone and come from anywhere!  You, yes you reading this blog right now, can also be the next great leader.  Peter G. Northouse, author of the text, Leadership: Theory and Practice 7th ed, defines leadership as a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal.  So in essence, a leader can be born with the traits to influence others, or a leader can learn the traits to influence others.  The key is influence!  Below are the kinds of leadership:

Trait leadership infers that people have special innate or inborn characteristics of leadership.  These can include physical characteristics like height and size, or personality characteristics such as extraversion or forward thinking.  This thinking supposes that people who lack the trait cannot be leaders.  Hmmmm?

Process leadership infers that people learn the trait and the trait is available to everyone.

Assigned leadership is leadership gained through occupying a position or rank within an organization.

Emergent leadership is not a position of assignment, but rather emerges over time as people learn to trust and accept the individual's behavior.  These individuals are usually verbally involved, well-informed, seeks out opinions, initiate new ideas, and are firm but not rigid.

In the video below, Roselinde Torres talks about even more traits that make a great leader (approx. 9mins):


Ms. Torres' TEDtalks video shows where we hope to go in our journey about making great leaders.  One thing you may have noted in her talk, which I think is crucial, is we have to get away from the great leader of yesteryear who stands tall among men and has the "knight in shining armor" look.  However, we also cannot address leadership without addressing the role of power.  Power relates closely to leadership because it affects influence.

We've all probably worked for a "leader" who rules with an iron fist, or one that makes our job easier to make their job easier.  So before we close, I want to address the six kinds of power as they relate to leadership.

Referent power is power through adoration.

Expert power is power through knowledge and competence.

Legitimate power is power through formal authority.

Reward power is power through the ability to give gifts

Coercive power is power through punishment.

Information power is power through having knowledge that others want or need.

And there you have it.  We've established a baseline of our exploration of leadership and we will examine the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to analyzing leadership.  I hope you will join me next week for the second part of this series.  Thank you for your time.