May 16 2008
The Nature Of Dynamic Leadership
People have been debating the nature of leadership for as long as records have been kept – certainly as far back as Homer and his peers. The topic continues to fascinate and enthral us today, but the way in which we assess leadership roles is changing.
Where once we looked to military and political leaders for inspiration and insight, now it is increasingly business leaders who hold our attention and provide role models.
Ask someone to name a leader whom they have admired and they are just as likely to name Richard Branson as Tony Blair, Anita Roddick as Margaret Thatcher. This focus is reflected in the growing number of books and articles about business and the main players.
Most writing on good management and what it takes to get to the top focus on leadership. It is regarded as one of the most important areas of personal development. This also explains the growing interest in leadership courses.
Defining just what makes a leader effective, however, remains as difficult today as it ever was. But that does not prevent us from seeking to distil their secrets – quite the reverse.
Of course, there must be almost as many theories on leadership as there are leaders themselves and models for the best kind of leadership change with the times.
In the 15th century, Niccolo Machiavelli advocated a combination of cunning and intimidation as a way to more effective leadership. His philosophy, if not his practices, became unfashionable some time ago.
“Great Man” theories, popular in the 19th century and early this century, are based on the notion of the ‘born leader’ who has innate talents that cannot be taught. An alternative approach that is still in vogue is based on trying to identify the key traits of effective leaders. Behaviourist theory prefers to see leadership in terms of what leaders do rather than their individual characteristics, and it tries to identify the different roles they fulfil. More recently, attention has moved away from the individual in the leadership role to embrace a more holistic view and investing less in what some commentators refer to as the ‘myth of the heroic leader’.
Requirements of a Leader:
It is my view that an effective leader needs to be:
• A good diagnostician, who can sense and appreciate differences in people and situations.
• Adaptable, in the ability to adapt the leadership style to circumstances.
A leader must realise there is no one best way to influence people.
In summary, to those who would suggest that great leaders are born not made, I would say this: We can examine all of the great leaders in history and identify some common characteristics but we cannot say they were “Born Leaders.” They all developed into their leadership roles over a period of time, learning the skills along the way. I do believe that leaders can be developed – I have to believe that because currently we have far too few of them in the world.
Today’s News: This week, the Elves have been working on a facelift for Top Sales Experts and adding a number of highly distinguished new members. They have also added a ticker box, to make it easier for visitors to locate upcoming Business Expert Webinars that will be delivered by TSE team members. In fact they have placed one on Top 10 Sales Articles too, prior to giving that site a makeover.
As I mentioned earlier in the week, BEW kicks off next week and I will be highlighting it often because it is a great initiative and fully deserves my support and your investigation - if you haven’t already done so, you can check it out by clicking the box in the left-hand column.
Tomorrow: I’ll be catching up with outstanding mail, watching the English soccer Cup Final and hoping that the rain eases up :-( Next week, on The JF Guest Author Spot, we have a couple of “big-hitters” so be sure to join me. As always, wherever you are, have a great w/e. Best - JF
