“Look over your shoulder every now and then to make sure someone is following you”(Henry Gilmer). I remember listening to Lou Holtz speak at a national conference about twenty-five years ago. He told the story about being named the head football coach at Notre Dame.\u00a0 He noted that the President of Notre Dame said to him, “Lou, I can make you the head football coach at Notre Dame, but I cannot make you the leader of the football program. You have to earn the right to lead.\u00a0 Only the players can\u00a0make you the leader.”<\/p>\n
I reference a book in class titled The Truth about Leadership: Ten Fundamental Truths about Leadership<\/em>\u00a0 by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Poser.\u00a0 In the book, they cite much of their research and the research of others related to leadership.\u00a0 They make the point that leadership starts with you, but continues only if you have followers.\u00a0 Leadership emerges when someone “willingly” follows you.\u00a0 Leadership is really about persuasion.<\/p>\n Kouzes and Posner have done a lot of work internationally about the traits people want in their leaders.\u00a0 Of all the traits, there are only four that 60% of people believe are important. These four traits are honesty, forward looking, inspiring and competent.\u00a0 They make the case that these four traits establish your credibility.<\/p>\n Kouzes and Posner also make the case that leaders cannot do it alone.\u00a0 They have to develop followers.\u00a0 They argue that you do that by building relationships, listening emphatically, uniting them around a shared vision and how the vision connects to each person, and by convincing them of their potential.<\/p>\n Trust is a cornerstone to leadership.\u00a0 As Holtz said in his speech more than 25 years ago, there are three things people will ask about the leader, and the answer to those three questions will determine whether or not the leader earns the right to lead: Can I trust you?\u00a0 Do you care about me as a person?\u00a0 Are you committed to excellence?<\/p>\n The research is clear that without trust, organizations under perform.\u00a0 Kouzes and Posner state that the level of trust followers have for the leader determines the amount of influence followers will accept.\u00a0 Thus, the greater the trust, the greater the ability of the leader to persuade followers to move in a particular direction.<\/p>\n The research also suggest that challenge is the crucible for greatness.\u00a0 There is a great quote by Randy Pausch in his book,\u00a0 The Last Lecture.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0 “Brick walls are there for a reason.\u00a0 They are not there to keep us out…(They are) there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.”<\/p>\n Leaders must have a deep connection with the people they lead.\u00a0 Kouzes and Posner note that the highest performing leaders are the most open and caring. They futher state that leaders do not seek the attention of others, they give it to others.\u00a0 The size of the guesture is not as important as the fact that you notice someone’s contribution.<\/p>\n There is also\u00a0some interesting work by Robert Kelly about followers.\u00a0 Leaders have to develop the capacity of others to lead.\u00a0 According to Kelly, effective leaders have the vision to set goals, interpersonal skills to reach consensus, verbal capacity to communicate enthusiasm to diverse groups, organizational talent to coordinate disparate efforts and the desire to lead.<\/p>\n Effective followers have the vision to see the forest and the trees, the social capacity to work with others, strength of character to flourish without heroic status, moral and psychological balance to pursue personal and corporate goals at no cost\u00a0to either,\u00a0 and the desire to participate in a team effort to accomplish a common purpose.<\/p>\n Kelly futher argues that leaders should not assume that everyone knows how to follow.\u00a0 This assumption is based on three faulty premises: leaders are\u00a0 more inportant than followers; that following is just doing what you are told; and that followers draw their energy and aims from the leader.\u00a0 Instead, Kelly argues that leaders should focus on helping followers to: self manage their behaviors; align personal goals and commitments; and act responsibly toward the organization, the leader, coworker, and oneself.<\/p>\n Finally, Daniel Pink has done some work around motivation.\u00a0 In his book, Drive,<\/em>\u00a0 Pink argues that people are much more motivated intrinsically than extrinsically.\u00a0 He believes that the three things that motivate people the most are autonomy, mastery and purpose.\u00a0 He states that you have to give people the opporyunity to make decisions, to be independent, and to be on their own (autonomy).\u00a0 He also states that most people want to get better at what they do so you have to give them a chance to develop mastery.\u00a0\u00a0 Finally, he argues that people are motivated by being a part of something bigger than themselves.\u00a0 They want to make a difference in an organization, a school or a team.<\/p>\n Leaders make a difference.\u00a0 They do so by being very intentional about what they do and exhibiting those qualities that help them make a difference.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" “Look over your shoulder every now and then to make sure someone is following you”(Henry Gilmer). I remember listening to Lou Holtz speak at a national conference about twenty-five years ago. He told the story about being named the head football coach at Notre Dame.\u00a0 He noted that the President of Notre Dame said to … <\/p>\n