What is this thing called Leadership?

Would it surprise you to know that, despite considerable effort over the past couple of decades, the concept of leadership remains largely undefined in our world today? When coaches of sports teams tell their players to go out and be leaders, they typically are advocating that their players give 100% effort, play the sport unselfishly (if it’s a team sport) and find a way to win. When members of the clergy teach their protégés about leadership, often it is in the context of how to perform specific ministry functions, such as performing weddings and funerals. When corporate executives speak of leadership, they also bring a wealth of different meanings to whatever represents the contexts of their organizations.

A dozen years ago, a team of top leadership scholars from across a variety of fields agreed to meet regularly over a three-year period in an attempt to develop a universally agreed upon definition of leadership. Their work, detailed in the book entitled The Quest for a General Theory of Leadership, led them through an exploration of various important aspects of leadership, such as power, group dynamics, the leader-follower relationship, ethics, and much more. In the end, the team failed to come to an agreement on how to define leadership. With the very nature of leadership steeped in all manner of different situations, what passed for a definition in one instance did not in another. In fact, leadership is multidisciplinary. It draws from a wide variety of other fields of study and social sciences. In order to account for every nuance of leadership, one might very well need to be a scholar in more than a dozen different academic disciplines. Even then, the complexities of leadership might well undermine any meaningful attempt at universality.

So, what are we practitioners to do about leadership…if we can’t even define it? While we may struggle to precisely define good leadership, we all certainly recognize bad leadership when we see it. Am I right? Identifying bad leadership when we see it fuels our motivation to find better ways to lead. From toxic leaders who foster no trust or exhibit harshness in dealing with their followers, to those who simply couldn’t care less about the people who work for them, the world seems to be filled with leaders who have no clue how to lead. Far less common is the inspirational leader whose followers benefit from high levels of authenticity, trust, and empowerment. The characteristics of a good leader may even vary from culture to culture. If the goals of the organization are being met, however, while the leader and followers are working collaboratively to accomplish them, then the case can be made that sound leadership is being practiced.

That takes us to the practical application of leadership. The popular leadership literature would have you believe that acquiring a set of specific skills is all that one needs in order to lead well. That’s simply untrue. Personality, which is not considered a skill or competency, is an important factor that often significantly influences leader behaviors. But that’s for another posting in the future! While skills and competencies are (very) important, leadership begins with leading oneself. What do I mean by that? Well, take a look in the mirror. Are you someone that you would wish to follow? Do you lead with integrity? Are you ethical in your dealings with others? Do you have a temperament that makes you approachable by your followers, or are they afraid to deal with you? Who you are as a person significantly shapes who you are as a leader? And followers notice. Count on it.

So, what is leadership? In this space, we will explore that question from many different perspectives. We will consider the many complexities that influence and equip leaders to lead well. And I’ll be asking questions of you to consider…like, what are the most important elements of becoming a great leader. My goal is to be a thinking partner with you, to challenge your assumptions about leaders and leadership…so that you can become the leader you desire to be. The questions we discuss, as well as the answers to these ideas, matter…because they represent the driving force behind our leadership practices. Bringing these important ideas to the forefront of our thinking will help us better understand what makes our own approaches to leadership work effectively. I hope you will join me in this journey.

~ Dr. Mike