Be the best you can be always.
According to Chris Lowney, author of Heroic Leadership, a Google search for Leadership yields a million results. Search for online bookstores gives 10,000 titles. True enough the knowledge on leadership is more than enough.
The subject that is being taught by this author to AGSB students at Clark is comes from the Jesuits, is Ignatian in nature, and follows mos of the thoughts of Chris Lowney. I subscribe to this idea not because this is a Jesuit run GSB, but his thoughts on Leadership makes sense.
Our current trouble with understanding leadership and being one stems from a very myopic and narrow definition of leadership. How do we normally define leadership? "Enlisting the efforts of others to achieve a common goal" So it involves several factors: 1. influencing 2. other people 3. goal.
One definition I know of, and which I remember distinctly talks about a conviction being expressed forcefully to gain results. (If you cant persuade them by request, then do it bay force. "Kung di mo makuha sa santong dasalan kunin mo sa santong paspasan>" As they say in Pilipino
Hence these must be present if you are to be judged as a leader:
1. goal and results vs that goal
2. people, organization
3. persuasive efforts communication to enlist support.
Hence we have the great man, and one trait theory of leadership (to emphasize the man who can influcence move people) transformative (to emphasize the goal) and transactional. Or sitautional.. Hence a student was right that with this definition and paradigm, we cannot be all leaders.
As stated earlier Ignatian leadership explodes this paradignm (or leadership myth)
Some questions:
1. What is the limit of or the range of # of people reporting to you to be called a leader? What if you do not have followers?
2. How big or small should the goal be? What if you did not reach your goal?
3. How immediate should be result or transformation?
4. Arent parents who guided the employees of a very successful company leaders too? Is it only the CEO who is the leader?
Ignatian leadership says:
1. All of are by default leraders. by default. Everyday, our lives, our actions affect, unwittingly and unknowingly others, even if we are not the barangay leader or the fornal leader in that society.
2. All that we do, again even if we work singly in a research adventure or journey is a kind of leadership. New discoveries, innovation, new adventure to be shared to be sought by others is a form of leadership.
3. We are leaders despite our failures. Leadership involves taking risks, it is dangerous and always 50% possibility of failure is always there. Failures in leadership inevitablity lead us to the right path. May I add that as we saw in Enders games, even enemies can be considered leaders. they teach us to think deeper to defeat them and win.
Whatever we do has values for others, thus we have to be always conscientiously aware that we mind everyday acts and behavior.
Hence the need for authentic leadership and personal awareness as well spring of leadership Ordinary people in ordinary times and ordinary situation can be leaders.
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