Blog about Leadership

I am honestly surprised the number of times “defining leadership” or “the difference between leadership and management” are terms used to bring people to this blog. In the past, I have written a couple of articles about defining leadership with a quote by Dr. Myles Monroe or Arthur Carmazzai. I have also used quotes from Peter Drucker to paint the picture in a reader’s mind of what leadership is or key points of leadership.

Well, here is another…

Defining leadership with a quote by Leroy Eimes:
“A leader is one who sees more than others see, who sees farther than others see, and who sees before others see.”

A leader is the visionary of the organization. He is able to define for people where the organization has come, where the organization is now, and where the organization is going. He cannot rely upon a board or committee for this is a core competency for a leader. Outside of the organization, the same is true for the marketplace and competition. Fail to be able define any of these nine points and you have found a critical failure in leadership.

Perhaps, Stephen Covey defined it in one the best manners when he wrote, “Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.” (The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People)  As leader, you have to see if the organization is on the right wall.

Enjoy this article? Subscribe to my RSS feed.

Each leader tends to define leadership in their “own” words. It’s not that the definitions are different, but that the words are personalized to each leader. Leaders take the time to dwell on “what it means” and “what it takes” to lead.

Some may be placed in leadership positions overnight, but the ability to lead is developed over a long period of time. Great leaders continue to develop their leadership ability over their entire lives and never stop leading.

Defining leadership with a quote from Arthur F Carmazzi:
“To lead is not to influence others to do something they are not committed to, but rather to nurture a culture that motivates and even excites individuals to do what is required for the benefit of all.”

The main idea I like from this quote is the idea “to nurture a culture” for environmental factors are pertinent for successful leadership. Some corporate cultures are great for developing and supporting leaders; while other cultures are rigidly focused on a hierarchy to the extent that some leaders are stifled and stunted.

Position in a rigid hierarchy becomes the main factor for leadership, but position is only a factor for one facet of leadership – authority. The practice of leadership is not dependent on position. For example, many leaders in communities do not hold positions of leadership, but rather practice leadership socially to better their communities.

More on Defining Leadership:

Peter Drucker was great at defining things in business and wrote many books during his lifetime to do so. He also wrote about leadership: See Beyond the Limits of Experience to the Horizon of Potential and Lead the Journey.

Back in October, I wrote about the need for leadership when the US was starting an economic decline significantly: Now is the Time for Leadership.

Inspired by Michael E. Gerber’s book ‘The E-Myth, I wrote about Three Different Leaders of the Technician the Manager and the Entrepreneur.

Dr. Myles Monroe has a great quote to define leadership: Defining Leadership with a Quote from Dr Myles Monroe.

A quote about leadership from John Quincy Adams was noted in To Lead is to Dream Learn Do and Become More.

At the beginning of the year, I started to look at leadership as a mathematic formula: Formula for Successful Leadership.

Enjoy this article? Subscribe to my RSS feed.

Formula for Successful Leadership

I want to share an idea that I have been dwelling on. It’s a simple formula or model for effective and successful leadership.

Successful Leadership = (Effective Communication + Articulate Vision + Influence + Action) (Ethics)

Effective Communication

3 Dynamics of Leadership

Articulate Vision

The Leaders Vision

Influence

Dr. Myles Monroe on Leadership and Influence

Action

Leadership and Action
Influence and Action

Ethics

Ethics is the multiplier for a very critical reason – anything multiplied by zero equals zero. Without ethics, nothing else amounts to much of anything.

The Relationship of Ethics and Leadership

Enjoy this article? Subscribe to my RSS feed.