Simple Subscribe
“Leadership is in the eyes of other people; it is they who proclaim you as a leader.” (Carrie Gilstrap, Hewlett-Packard)
Leaders don’t get extraordinary things done all by themselves. What leaders say they do is one thing, what the people they are leading say they want and how well a leader meets those expectations is another. Leadership is a reciprocal process between the leader and those they lead. This relationship is critical to the success of the leader.
What do people want from someone whose direction they would be willing to follow? In order to better answer that question let’s look at the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership and the behaviours that form the Ten Commitments of Leadership outlined by Kouzes and Posner in “The Leadership Challenge – 4th Edition”:
| Practice: | Commitment: |
| Model the Way | 1. Clarify values by finding your voice and affirming shared values
2. Set the example by aligning actions with shared values. |
| Inspire a Shared Vision | 3. Envision the future by imaging exciting and ennobling possibilities.
4. Enlist others in a common vision by appealing to shared aspirations. |
| Challenge the Process | 5. Search for opportunities by seizing the initiative and by looking outward for innovative ways to improve.
6. Experiment and take risks by constantly generating small wins and learning from experience. |
| Enable Others to Act | 7. Foster collaboration by building trust and facilitating relationships.
8. Strengthen others by increasing self-determination and developing competence. |
| Encourage the Heart | 9. Recognize contributions by showing appreciation for individual excellence.
10. Celebrate the values and victories by creating a spirit of community. |
The Leadership Challenge, 4th Edition; Kouzes and Posner
As I look at all of those that have inspired me to be who I am today, I see a variety of leadership styles that have their positives and even some negatives. What you need to be able to do is take the best of the best and add that to whom you wish to become. I can remember being told when I was very young and just started out, “You are going to work with a number of different bosses over the course of your career. Learn to pick out their strengths and then add those strengths to your personal tool kit to be the best that you can be.”
Kouzes and Posner have done a great job at identifying the attributes that we need to have as part of that personal tool kit.