Leadership Exposed: Things You Thought You Knew About Leadership

Much has been written about leadership: rules, pointers, styles, and biographies of inspiring leaders throughout world history. But there are certain leadership ideas that we ourselves fail to recognize and realize in the course of reading books. Here is a short list of things you thought you knew about leadership.

1. Leaders come in different flavors.

There are different types of leaders and you will probably encounter more than one type in your lifetime. Formal leaders are those we elect into positions or offices such as the senators, congressmen, and presidents of the local clubs. Informal leaders or those we look up to by virtue of their wisdom and experience such as in the case of the elders of a tribe, or our grandparents; or by virtue of their expertise and contribution on a given field such as Albert Einstein in the field of Theoretical Physics and Leonardo da Vinci in the field of the Arts. Both formal and informal leaders practice a combination of leadership styles.
· Lewin’s three basic leadership styles – authoritative, participative, and delegative
· Likert’s four leadership styles – exploitive authoritative, benevolent authoritative, consultative, and participative
· Goleman’s six emotional leadership styles - visionary, coaching, affiliative, democratic, pacesetting, and commanding.

2. Leadership is a process of becoming.

Although certain people seem to be born with innate leadership qualities, without the right environment and exposure, they may fail to develop their full potential. So like learning how to ride a bicycle, you can also learn how to become a leader and hone your leadership abilities. Knowledge on leadership theories and skills may be formally gained by enrolling in leadership seminars, workshops, and conferences. Daily interactions with people provide the opportunity to observe and practice leadership theories. Together, formal and informal learning will help you gain leadership attitudes, gain leadership insights, and thus furthering the cycle of learning. You do not become a leader in one day and just stop. Life-long learning is important in becoming a good leader for each day brings new experiences that put your knowledge, skills, and attitude to a test.

3. Leadership starts with you.

The best way to develop leadership qualities is to apply it to your own life. As an adage goes “action speaks louder than words.” Leaders are always in the limelight. Keep in mind that your credibility as a leader depends much on your actions: your interaction with your family, friends, and co-workers; your way of managing your personal and organizational responsibilities; and even the way you talk with the newspaper vendor across the street. Repeated actions become habits. Habits in turn form a person’s character. Steven Covey’s book entitled 7 Habits of Highly Effective People provides good insights on how you can achieve personal leadership.

4. Leadership is shared.

Leadership is not the sole responsibility of one person, but rather a shared responsibility among members of an emerging team. A leader belongs to a group. Each member has responsibilities to fulfill. Formal leadership positions are merely added responsibilities aside from their responsibilities as members of the team. Effective leadership requires members to do their share of work. Starting as a mere group of individuals, members and leaders work towards the formation of an effective team. In this light, social interaction plays a major role in leadership. To learn how to work together requires a great deal of trust between and among leaders and members of an emerging team. Trust is built upon actions and not merely on words. When mutual respect exists, trust is fostered and confidence is built.

5. Leadership styles depend on the situation.

How come dictatorship works for Singapore but not in the United States of America? Aside from culture, beliefs, value system, and form of government, the current situation of a nation also affects the leadership styles used by its formal leaders. There is no rule that only one style can be used. Most of the time, leaders employ a combination of leadership styles depending on the situation. In emergency situations such as periods of war and calamity, decision-making is a matter of life and death. Thus, a nation’s leader cannot afford to consult with all departments to arrive at crucial decisions. The case is of course different in times of peace and order---different sectors and other branches of government can freely interact and participate in governance. Another case in point is in leading organizations. When the staffs are highly motivated and competent, a combination of high delegative and moderate participative styles of leadership is most appropriate. But if the staffs have low competence and low commitment, a combination of high coaching, high supporting, and high directing behavior from organizational leaders is required.

Now that you are reminded of these things, keep in mind that there are always ideas that we think we already know; concepts we take for granted, but are actually the most useful insights on leadership.

Other Articles:

"life With Woody" 10 Inspirational Quotes Than Can Improve Yourself
"what Really Makes You Tick?" 10 Questions You Should Ask To Yourself: A Preparation To Self-improvement
"a Piece Of Blarney Stone" 10 Ways To Empower Your Communication
"who's The Boss?" 10 Ways To Start Taking Control (time Management, Goal Setting, Record Tracking)
Put Some Additional Self Improvement Link To Your Site
Happy As You Want To Be
What Innovation Can Do To Your Life
Build Your Self Esteem, A Starter Guide To Self Improvement
Why Coaching Is The Way To Go In Team Management
Helping Your Consumers To Gain More Profits
The Road To Intuition
Why Pay For Home Improvement When You Can Do It Yourself?
Impossible Is Just A Word
Focus On Your Mental And Emotional Side To Gain Self Improvement
Energy Healing 101: Pranic, Tantric, And Reiki
Enjoy Your Life: Change Your Point Of View
Self Improvement Advice Free Of Charge.
Spiritual Growth: The Spiritual Challenge Of Modern Times
Does A Law On Human Attraction Exist?
To Go Or Not To Go Herbal, That Is The Question…
5000 Year-old Medical Secret Unearthed!
Genuine Happiness Comes From Within
Self-hypnosis Towards Self Improvement
Links To Try Out And Be On Your Way To Self-improvement
How To Motivate Yourself Forever
What Are Some Of The Self Improvement Products Available Nowadays?
Women Workshops – What You Want To See What’s Inside And How It Works
"the Way To Wellness" It's Time To Start A Healthy Life: Your 7 Days Program
How To Become An Ideal Leader
Do Yoda Proud: Meditation 101
Motivation, The Heart Of Self Improvement
Your Recommended Daily Allowance For Relaxation
The Powers Of A Positive Attitude
Psychological Self-improvement: Ways To Overcome Fear
Self Esteem Improvement; Start Now Before It Is Too Late
Self Improvement Advice: Meditation
The Essential Keys To Self Improvement And Motivation
What Have You Got To Lose By Reading One More Self Improvement Article?
Highly Recommended Self Improvement Books
How To Maintain Your Self Improvement Course
Self Improvement Guide Worth Reading
How Self-improvement Program Works
Self-improvement Seminar For Good Leaders
Eliminating Your Addiction With Self-help Tapes
Why You Should Get Your Own Self Improvement Video?
Following Your Self Improvement Worksheets By Heart
Self Improvement And Success Go Hand In Hand
Power Through The People
Self Improvement And Success
"the Game Of Life" Start Your Own Coaching: 7 Days Program
Self-improvement Statistics Guide In Decision-making.
Life Is About Choices And The Decisions We Make
Setting Your Goals - Easier Said, Easily Done
Creating Effective And Efficient Relationships
Creative Notions
Unlock Your Self Improvement Power
The Key To A Better Life
Leadership Exposed: Things You Thought You Knew About Leadership
Why Is It Important To Improve Your Self?
"relaxing With A Mental Pda" Your 5 Minutes Daily Program To Stress Management
"enlightenment" Your 7 Days Program To Positive Thinking
"a Better You" Your 7 Days Program To Self-improvement
"have One Week, Will Relax" Your 7 Days Program To Stress Management