Unit 2. Leadership: What Others are Saying

The leadership journey continues; in this unit you are going to put your own leadership experience and ideas alongside others from many walks of life. This is not a reading session, but a workshop to ponder and shape your own definition ofleadership. Here’s how it works (and works, and works).

Activity 2:

• Read thoughtfully through the list, then work. Open My Notes. 
• Read each definition and select key ideas that may become a part of your leadership definition.
• Prepare your own working draft of leadership. Take your time; be thorough but sharpen it later.
• Select at least five elements of leadership for your continued work.

Here is what others are saying:

1) Anderson and Jones–The Management of Ministry

Broadly speaking, leadership can be regarded as the capacity to bring people together in the accomplishment of common goals (p. 78).

2) John W. Gardner–On Leadership

Leadership is the process of persuasion or example by which an individual (or leadership team) induces a group to pursue objectives held by the leader or shared by the leader and his or her followers (p. 1).

3) Jay Conger, Harvard Business School–as quoted in Robert Cooper’s Executive EQ

Leaders who garner the greatest future support will increase their capacity for emotional expressiveness [emotional intelligence], a key ingredient in purpose, persuasion, and inspiration (p. 68).

4) Steven R. Covey–Principle-Centered Leadership

Principle-centered leaders of character work with competence on the basis of natural principles built into the center of every part of their lives (see p. 25). Principle-centered leadership is practiced from the inside out on four master principle levels:

• Trustworthiness at the personal level based on character and competence (p. 31)\
• Trust at the interpersonal level (p. 31)
• Empowerment at the managerial level (p. 155)
• Alignment at the organizational level (p. 155)

5) Daniel Goleman–Working with Emotional Intelligence

Leadership: Inspiring and Guiding Individuals and Groups (p. 183)

• Articulate and arouse enthusiasm for a shared vision and mission
• Step forward to lead as needed, regardless of position
• Guide the performance of others while holding them accountable
• Lead by example

6) Hersey and Blanchard–Management of Organizational Behavior

Leadership is the process of influencing the activities of an individual or group in efforts toward goal achievement in a given situation … in essence, leadership involves accomplishing goals with and through people (p. 83).

7) John Maxwell–Developing the Leader Within You

Leadership is influence. That’s it. Nothing more; nothing less …. Leadership is the ability to obtain followers …. Management is the process of assuring that the program and objectives of the organization are implemented. Leadership, on the other hand, has to do with casting vision and motivating people (see pp. 1, xii).

8) Phil Quigley, CEO of Pacific Bell–as quoted in Robert K. Coopers’s Executive EQ

I don’t think of leadership as a position,. …I don’t think of leadership as a skill. I think of leadership as a relationship….of taking responsibility for emotional connections, listening to and respecting feelings [of others] (see pp. 51-52).

9) Peter Senge– The Dance of Change

Leadership [is] the capacity of a human community to shape its future, and specifically to sustain the significant processes of change required to do so … the capacity to hold creative tension, the energy generated when people articulate a vision and tell the truth about current reality …. By this definition, any organization has many leaders … consequently, we will focus on leadership communities rather than hero-leaders (p. 16).

Back to Unit 1/Next to Unit 3/Back to Principles: Exploring the Journey