Why study leadership?
Everyone has their own ideas about
leadership. Ask anyone, and they'll list off what it means to be a leader. It's
often a list of traits- sometimes it's things a person can cultivate, other
times it's something inborn and innate.
So if everyone can describe a leader, why
study it? Because if you ask 30 people about what makes a leader and you'll get
30 answers.
We have preconceived notions about leaders
and leadership, but that doesn’t mean we’re right. By studying leadership we
can challenge our assumptions about what it means to be a leader.
Business News Daily explored just this topic in a recent article, 30 Ways
to Define Leadership. We should study leadership because no situation is
alike. And sometimes, we can't even put a finger on what makes the
difference.
There was a story on NPR's Fresh Air this
week about the new book, Intangiball:
The Subtle Things That Win Baseball Games. Lonnie Wheeler makes the
argument that sometimes real leadership isn't about the specific statistics one
player has, but how a player can be invaluable by how they make the other
players on the team better. It’s not necessarily something that you can point
to, but it makes a big difference.
Why am I studying leadership?
I am currently the GA for the Virginia
Tech Union. I enjoy the position because I enjoy working with the executive
board of the organization. I see my position as empowering others. With changes
in our leadership, I became the quasi-supervisor. For me, this position
is about developing students, helping them reach their full potential. It is
important that I work with the students, it’s not about doing
something to or for the students. I’m here to support
the students, allowing them to be leaders within the organization.
I’m there to talk through problems or issues, but it isn’t about
giving them answers. It doesn't matter if I
see what went wrong, what matters is helping the student see what went wrong, guiding them to the answer, not
giving it to them.
Okay, so what?
To me, leadership isn’t about a title or the position, and it isn’t
about power. Leadership is about what a person accomplishes. Since what makes a
good leader is elusive, it requires attention and thought. Leadership studies is an interdisciplinary field
and there are lots of minds coming together to debate this topic. So much emphasis
is being put on students to become effective leaders, how can I help them?
How can I help my executive board to become leaders? How can I
help foster the traits that we seek and desire in our leaders? Confidence,
integrity, connection, resilience, and aspiration? Strong leadership is essential
for an organization to prosper, to become effective and effective.
And encouraging these “leadership” traits isn’t enough. How can I
help them cultivate followers?
Now what?
Brad Jackson and Ken Parry suggest several ways to study
leadership in
their book. We can talk, read and write about leadership. You can observe
others leading and you can try to lead yourself. It is my goal through my class
on leadership to do more talking, reading, writing, and observing. I want to know how I can inspire others and
help develop others as leaders. I want to be knowledgeable about leadership
theory so I can pass those tools onto my students. Different situations will
require different type of leadership, not every problem can be solved the same
way. How can I help empower the students I work with?
Leadership might be intangible, but we know it when we see it. And
I want to see it in my students.
