LEADERSHIP

Important Factors in Leadership: Self-discipline - By Tyrome Garrison

My good friend Tyrome Garrison is pursuing a Master's degree in servant leadership at Gonzaga University. Here is what he has to say about self-discipline in leadership and more.

The greatest challenge for any leader is to have self-discipline. Nowhere is self-discipline more important than in the area of the leader’s temperament. Learning to exercise self-disciple is like a general on a battlefield taking an enemy stronghold. It is hard work. Not every leader has done the work in this area required to be effective.

Many followers have had the experience of following a rude or ill-tempered leader. Being rude or ill-tempered shows the need for personal  growth and self-discipline. Kouzes and Posner (2003) state, “leaders demonstrate how individual interests are ultimately served by reaching an accord on shared purposes and values” such leaders are credible in leading others.

Leadership credibility is not created in environments where attitudes such as fear, anger, resentment and unforgiveness abound.  As a leader it is important to discover the places within the leader’s personality or way of relating that will hinder their ability to connect others. 

Servant-leadership practitioners, M.L. Carey and J.H Horsman (2007) commenting on the Benedictine rule suggest several practices which can help followers move past their mistakes or  feelings being offended.

·          Invite dialogue. This helps individuals to refuse isolation and not to abandon each other or the organization.

·          Champion an environment of forgiveness. Mistakes are not without redemption.

·          Make problem and dispute resolution becomes a prime value.

These are the best practices  for maintaining open relationships of trust to between any leader and follower.  Good leaders personally model a pathway of reconciliation; which, acts to restore harmony to the community leader and follower, in the pursuit of peace. 

 

Kouzes, J. & Posner, B. (2003). Credibility. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Carey, M.L & Horsman, J.H (2007). Journeying on the Path of Leadership: Law of Service: School of Professional Studies. Gonzaga University

Leadership Capacity

I just made a comment on another leadership blog about leadership capacity.  Here is the link to the blog:

http://www.leadershiptrainingdevelopment.com

Some are good to lead a small group, some excel in leading large organizations, whereas some excel in leading as an entrepreneur. Different characteristics are needed for different leadership roles. Based on the dominant characteristics of individuals they can lead effectively in different situations. Winston Churchill was a great war-time leader but lost the elections after winning the war.
The leaders who are flexible in their leadership styles and understand how to lead based on situations are better equipped to move from one leadership role to the other. For example from leading as an entrepreneur to leading a large corporation. Micheal Dell and Bill Gates come to mind

Servant Leader

The servant leader serves the people and the vision.

Controlling other people’s lives
Is not a godly leader’s trait;
But serving other people’s needs
Is what the Lord considers great. —Sper

“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the two, the leader must become a servant and a debtor.  - Max De Pree

Are you serving as a leader or are you the boss?

Leadership in the family

Men should take leadership in the family as head of the household. In every leadership role its about Moving from Vision to Reality. Moving from vision to reality is the title of my book. You can pick it up at Amazon on the following link:

http://tinyurl.com/29st8w

This is true in the family also. We should lead with a clear vision for our family. A big picture that you would like to accomplish. Also individually we should recognize the potential in each of our children and our spouse and allow them to accomplish their purpose based on the potential.

Everything rises and falls on leadership. Our leadership will make the difference in ensuring the accomplishment of the family vision.

Time Management for future leaders

My good friend Jason Womack's mission also includes providing key time management principles to teens, school counselors and families. This will help train future leaders who will be effective with time management.

In partnership with the Los Angeles County Office of Education, Jason wil be providing 10 presentations on Time Management for teens.
http://www.schoolguides.org/timemanagementforteens.html

I have not heard anyone teach time management to teens. Way to go Jason! I really believe we need to take the leadership principles to the youth also.  I will take that up as time permits. I will be speaking to the Bethany University students on November 1st on leadership and purpose.

Leadership Lessons from Meg Whitman

I had the privilege of hearing Meg Whitman, CEO of ebay at the TiECON conference recently. Here are the leadership lessons that she has learned and is invaluable for each one of us

• Have the right person in the right job at the right time with the right values
• Reorganize early and often
• Hire ahead of the curve
• Focus focus focus ( know what not to do)
• Mission motivates
• Get out and about enough
• Never ever compromise your integrity

Another quote from her which was interesting is "The price of inaction is more than taking a bad decision".