Incorrect Definitions Of Leadership

Incorrect Definitions of Leadership

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-makes-leader-dr-travis-bradberry

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Summary Points of the article:

Leadership has nothing to do with seniority or one’s position in the hierarchy of a company. 

Leadership has nothing to do with titles. 

Leadership has nothing to do with personal attributes. 

Leadership isn’t management.  

So, again, what makes a leader?

Peter Drucker: “The only definition of a leader is someone who has followers.”

Warren Bennis: “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.”

Bill Gates: “As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.”

John Maxwell: “Leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less.”

So what is leadership?

DEFINITION: Leadership is a process of social influence which maximizes the efforts of others toward the achievement of a greater good.

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Definitions should be simple and elegant, to which you definition is not, and my research contradicts your definition.  

1st - Any definition of leadership must account for both the Light side and Dark side of Leadership - from Gandolf the White through Emperor Palpatine.

2nd - Leadership does not require followers. There is self leadership.  

3rd - The "Greater Good" is of no consequence to the definition of leadership, as pointed out in point #1.  Leaders can and do use the "Greater Good" to mis-guide followers.

The definition of leadership is, "Guiding Intent with Integrity".

Guidance, like coaching, depends on what the goal is, and how all parties wish to achieve it.  What you call, "Social Influence". Psychologist determined that teams follow a coach's instructions directly - tell them what not to do and they do it; tell them what to do and they do it.

Intentions are the a mix of: interests, problems, expectations, values, motivations, feelings, wants, desires, goals, rules, beliefs, education, psychological, physiological, fears, cravings, obligations, experiences, needs, strategies, issues, habits, expressions, ... to describe these visually, think of intentions as the wax in a lava lamp flowing up and down.

Integrity is maintained or broken based on the social contract between the leader and the followers. There are many cultural issue to take into account when looking into the social contract between leader and followers.

There is a lot more, for example there are 3 classes of followers, and observers.

The Truth About Leadership - Part 8

Challenge is the Crucible of Greatness

Leaders are no stranger to challenges – all you have to do is reflect on leaders through history. When people think of business leaders they admire, they think about people who have turned around failing companies, started entrepreneurial venture, developed breakthrough products and services or transformed industries. You don’t have to study historical leaders to learn this lesson. [..] What immediately struck us was that people always chose situations in which they were challenged in very significant ways. […] They are all about challenge and change. (pgs 91 - 93)

Buddha is quoted as saying, “The only constant is change”.

The change formula, discovered by Richard Beckhard and David Gleicher, is D x V x F > R.

Three factors must be present for meaningful organizational change to take place. These factors are:

D = Dissatisfaction with how things are now;

V = Vision of what is possible;

F = First, concrete steps that can be taken towards the vision;

If the product of these three factors is greater than

R = Resistance,

then change is possible. Because D, V, and F are multiplied, if any one is absent or low, then the product will be low and therefore not capable of overcoming the resistance.

To ensure a successful change it is necessary to use influence and strategic thinking in order to create vision and identify those crucial, early steps towards it. In addition, the organization must recognize and accept the dissatisfaction that exists by communicating industry trends, leadership ideas, best practice and competitive analysis to identify the necessity for change.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_for_Change)

Change is not so much about a personal challenge as it is a dissatisfaction with the status quo. But in order to change, one has to over come the phrase, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, by building an imagined future that is better than the present. In this instance the challenge is convincing others that change is needed, or showing them a path through change that improves their lives.

Another version of challenge illustrated through wars is where one group oppresses another group, and others come to their aid. “People of good conscious do not sit idly by while others are hurt and oppressed”, or phrased differently, "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke).

These challenges point to the same problem though, the “Human Condition.” The human condition concerns the plurality of culture and personal values, the standards of evaluation, the satisfaction of basic needs, the maintenance of cultural identity, and reasonable conceptions of well being, and when values and evaluation conflict in particular situation, as they often do, the reasonable course of action is to opt for one that are more important for our well-being in that situation at that time. Although reasonable conflict resolutions vary with situation, there is usually one that is objectively the best and most reasonable in any particular situation. “The Human Condition”, by John Kekes, ISBN 978-0-19-958888-6 (Location 3223).

The authors claim that “Leadership and challenge are inseparable” (pg 94). The human condition suggests that this is technically correct. When culture, personal values, and the concept of well being collide, these pose a challenge. The change formula suggests when these elements force change to occur. The resistance to change must be overcome by a dissatisfaction with how things are now, a vision of what is possible, and an ability to take the first, concrete step, towards the vision.

“Challenges cause you to come face to face with your self.” (page 94) While this is true, based on the reflections of the human condition, another assertion is false. “Leaders seize the opportunities that hide inside adversities. Leaders see open doors while others see brick walls. They take the initiative to move things forward.” This assertion is false, as it states that leaders and non-leaders are distinguishable only by their ability to take steps forward. The definition of leadership doesn’t support this supposition, nor does the change formula. More importantly, individuals who cannot see a step how to take an actionable step forward may not be leaders, but may be limited by imagination, ability to act, stamina, confidence, courage, or another other number of psychological conditions that afflict humans.

“Finally, engage in some positive self-talk. Acknowledge the challenges and difficulties, but then tell yourself, and others, that these challenges can be overcome with hard work and determination.” (page 101). This comment is laughable in the face of the change formula. First is diverts from the vision, by saying, “Well get there if we just keep drudging along!” Yes, that’s what everyone wants to hear, “There is a better future out there, if we just keep working harder.” What happened to, “Work smarter, not harder”? Secondly a leader guides intent. Therefore the thoughts and phrases a leader holds concern the vision, the future, and the goal. How are we going to get there, and how it will be better once we’ve arrived. A positive future is one to strive for. This is supported by “The 48 Law of Power”, chapter 13, “When asking for help appeal to people’s self-interest, never their mercy or their gratitude”.

“Failing is learning” (page 102). Buddhist learned a long time ago, that in order to be come a master, one had to try. And, “If at first you don’t succeed, try try try again”. With practice comes experience. With experience comes mastery. The master knows almost every intimate detail of the subject they studied. As a leader, if your goal is to achieve your vision, then by accepting that fact that with each attempt to achieve your vision you may fail, and you’ll learn something new. “When you are experimenting with new ideas and trying out new methods and techniques, you have to accept failure as part of the process. And when mistakes and failures happen, you have to ask, ‘What can be learned from this experience?’” (page 103)

Leadership Questions

So, I've been reading a lot of books on leadership and collecting questions on leadership.  Here are some of them:

How do leaders build relationships?

How do leaders coach followers to become leaders?

What methods are there when describing a vision to followers?

How do leaders ferret out the beliefs of their followers?

How do leaders empower their followers to make decisions?

Why do leaders praise their followers when they have succeeded at achieving a milestone and/or a goal?

How do leaders control the conversation? And why is this [ controlling the conversation ] important?

How do leaders respond to an observers comment a out their execution of a vision?

How does a leader respond when a follower's limiting beliefs affect their [ the followers] motivation and initiative?

How and Who should leaders solicit input from followers about their vision?

Does a leader need to be a planner or a do'er?

Does a leader need planners or do'ers as followers?

How should a leader respond when a mistake is discovered?

How should a leader discuss goals in order to come into alignment with their followers?

When should a leader step into a team dispute?

What sources should a leader take into account when building a vision?

Should a leader organize his followers based on guiding principles or the rule of law?

What should a leader keep from his followers?

When should a leader interact with other groups?

What habits should a highly effective leader have?

Should leaders reflect on their past leadership roles?

How does a leader determine who to reward when the vision is achieved?

How does Ego affect a leaders ability to lead followers?

How do leaders check in with followers on their progress, resources, and/or journey?

How does a leader think about his followers?

How does a leader build respect?

How does a leader delegate responsibility?

How does a leader take two opposing view points and create a third unifying view point?

Why does a leader face what he fears most?

How does a leader manage expectations?

How do leaders manage uncertainty?

How does a leader challenge the norm, and set the pace of change that followers can absorb?

How does a leader uncover deep seated and held beliefs by followers, non-followers, outsiders and observers?

How does a leader bring his followers to understand the benefits and trade offs associated with their desired outcome?

How does a leader start a conversation about a difficult subject?

How does a leader keep a conversation going until all the perspectives have been examined?

How does a leader deal with resistance to change from followers, non-followers and outsiders?

How does a leader deal with distractions from the vision?

How does a leader represent the followers issues to peers, non-followers, outsiders and observers?

What happens to a leader when he becomes the message, and no longer the messenger?

How can a leader help two groups change - his followers primarily, and the non-followers and observers. While, Outsiders are not affected by the issue initially, they may become affected through the proposed changes.

What questions should a leader ask his followers to determine how willing and able they are to change vs how much they require others to change?

How should a leader represent his followers issues to peers, followers, non-followers, outsiders and observers?

When should a leader step out of the drama he's playing in, and look at the play from an audience's perspective as well as a critics?

What should a leader do to monitor factions within his followers?

Should a leader monitor the factions in non-followers?

Should a leader build coalitions in peers, followers, non-followers, outsiders, and observers?

Should a leader empathize with the pain of change peers, followers, non-followers, outsiders and observers will feel as they strive for a goal?

What are followers willing sacrifice during periods of change?

Why, when and how do followers push back when they refuse to change?

What happens when a leader presents an issue before the followers are ready to deal with it?

Why is change necessary?

A leader is faced with two warring factions, usually over the separation of duties, he can side with one faction or the other, why would he choose not to?

Why would a leader choose to act like a facilitator and allow those working on a cultural problem to work it out among themselves?

Subordinates vs Followers, what's the difference?

What's the difference between Subordinates vs Followers?  Are supervisors leaders?

Using the definition of leadership, "Guiding Intent with Integrity" towards a goal, the answers provided help distinguish the difference between the two individuals, or an individual in the position of subordinate vs follower. Supervisors follow ISO documents, performing time and performance measurements against those documents. Subordinates are not allowed nor expected to make decisions informed or otherwise. When something goes right a supervisor takes the praise. When something goes wrong a supervisor blames the subordinates. And, usually does so based on not following the ISO documents. Leaders on the other hand, know about the ISO documents, and expect the followers to be able to follow them with little or no guidance. Thus, the followers, are making decisions based on informed decisions. When things goes right, leaders praise their followers for working together to achieve the goal. When something goes wrong, leaders accept blame due to the consideration that the decisions made may have been made without the leaders guidance. This is the short answer. This answer affects more than just followers. It also affects the non-followers, outsiders and observers.

Information

What is the shortest distance between two information points?

Bad Leaders Fail 75% of the time

One of the points I made earlier in this conversation was the Bad Leaders make bad choices 75% of the time. Two (2) of those choices are not building coalitions and not looking at how the change will playout like a stage play. Leaders that neglect to build alliances in various the groups - peers, followers, non-followers, outsiders and observers - make the of becoming the issue, instead of leading the change. Organizational members can then ignore the need for change by getting rid of the leader that represents the issue. However, if there are several people trumpeting the same message for change, it is harder to marginalize and get rid of them. The message is usually about what change is needed to the organizational structure in order to accommodate the new world order being brought about by other elements and forces outside the organization. An organization that does not adapt to these changes will eventually die out. However, leaders face a tougher challenge when changing organizational elements because people like certainty. They know where their next meal is coming from now. If you change the rules, they don't know if they will get fed. Change can also affect many other aspects of the organizations psychie, but that discussion is too broad to cover in one paragraph. To summarize, an organization has a history, culture, rituals, pride, and many other facets that need to be accounted for in order to instigate change. If a leader neglects any portion of this, they may be unwittingly building a coalition against them. To understand this last point, leaders need to look at the change process as a play being produced. There is the author who wrote a message into the story, the actors portraying characters in the story, there is the director who is adding and deleting scenes to help focus a message in the story, and then there is the audience who is watching the play. Add scenery, lighting and music to spice up the drama, and you have a play. A leader that can step into all these roles as well as step out and watch how all these roles affect each other, can more accurately tailor their corrective actions. Stories are adapted all the time to summarize longer stories. For example, ReBoot ends with a rendition of "I'm a modern major general".