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.