Why has this website been devoted to Leadership?
Why this website when a plethora of information on leadership (and volunteerism)
is out there? Because it is personal! I am an avatar of leadership; this
website is an avatar, one that embodies a philosophy of leadership. A
philosophy adopted by a youth professional who found himself almost constantly
at odds with his coworkers, those who wanted to do things the old way and with
those who practiced the good old boy mentality. It is a website for sharing
philosophies of leadership (I trust) that will spark the imagination of a new
generation of youth and adults. Those who want to try innovative ideas, separate from
the rest, work or volunteer in organizations where leadership is on a horizontal plane (instead of a rigid ladder) and
not be demonized or bullied for exercising their principles.
And, so, for the next three blogs, I will be focusing on principles of leadership I have adopted and profess. They are basically codes of conduct that give me (and have given me) direction in the discipline of Leadership.
Principles of Leadership, Edition 1.
I begin a look at Leadership with principles relating to
the positional leader. If we work in
or do business with large organizations we soon or later come into contact with
the person who is a leader simply because of his or her position.
Some leadership principles, regarding the positional
leader, we all should consider are as follows:
1. A leader, by reason of his/her
position, (a positional leader) has job security based on title, not talent.
2. A positional leader may be in
control because he or she has been appointed to a position.
3. People will not follow a positional
leader beyond his or her stated authority.
4. Positional leaders have more
difficulty working with volunteers, white collar workers, and younger people.
Followers of
positional leaders are like the little boy who was asked by Billy Graham how to
find the nearest post office. When the boy told him, Dr. Graham thanked him and
said, "If you'll come to the convention center this evening you can hear
me telling everyone how to get to heaven." "I don't think I'll be
there," the boy replied. "You don't even know your way to the post
office."
- from Leadership 101, Jon C. Maxwell
