This week's definition
A leader needs emotional intelligence to see what leadership style best fits the situation. A leader will have some strengths in their toolbox and ability to see which tool is best for the situation. Ideally leadership will keep progress moving while keeping the morale of the team up. A leader will make ethical choices and be able to reason out a good decision when two ethical choices conflict. Leaders ideally should realize when they are panicking or about to choke, then step back and collect themselves to minimize potential missteps. I think leaders should know how much to push their followers to obtain optimal performance without burning them out. This should utilize the strengths of their followers and get them to the tipping point of optimal performance. Leaders need to set realistic goals for self improvement that resonate with their interests. Leaders must attempt to avoid bias based on personal prejudice or those from society. Caution must be made in making snap judgments based on little information to form incorrect assumptions about the people they are leading. Careful use of thin-slicing could help leaders adapt to changes in personnel or locales they must work in (Gladwell, 2005, pp 70-79).

Gladwell, M. (2005). "The Warren Harding Error: Why we fall for tall, dark, and handsome men." Blink: The power of thinking without thinking (pp. 72 - 98). New York: Pushkin Enterprises.
Kezar, A. (2000). "Pluralistic Leadership: Incorporating Diverse Voices." The Journal of Higher Education, 71(6), Nov. - Dec., 2000, pp. 722-743.
Tatum, B. D. (1997). "Defining Racism: Can we talk?" Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? (pp. 3 - 17). New York: Basic Books.

This week's definition
A leader needs emotional intelligence to see what leadership style best fits the situation. A leader will have some strengths in their toolbox and ability to see which tool is best for the situation. Ideally leadership will keep progress moving while keeping the morale of the team up. A leader will make ethical choices and be able to reason out a good decision when two ethical choices conflict. Leaders ideally should realize when they are panicking or about to choke, then step back and collect themselves to minimize potential missteps. I think leaders should know how much to push their followers to obtain optimal performance without burning them out. This should utilize the strengths of their followers and get them to the tipping point of optimal performance. Leaders need to set realistic goals for self improvement that resonate with their interests (Goleman, 2002).

I didn't really find much interest in Kegan & Lahey's one big thing concept. My group and I discussed this earlier this week and thought it was not very convincing. It read like self aggrandizement of their system without really getting into why it was so great. Goleman, Boyatzis & McKee was a continuation of their existing philosophy of leadership. This week's reading discussed how leaders can improve themselves and their followers.

Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2002). "Metamorphosis: Sustaining leadership change." Primal Leadership: Learning to lead with emotional intelligence (pp. 139 - 168). Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Kegan, R., & Lahey, L. L. (2009). "We Never Had a Language for It" Immunity to Change: How to overcome it and unlock the potential in yourself and your organization (pp. 61 - 84). Boston: Harvard Business Press.

This week's definition
A leader needs emotional intelligence to see what leadership style best fits the situation. A leader will have some strengths in their toolbox and ability to see which tool is best for the situation. Ideally leadership will keep progress moving while keeping the morale of the team up. A leader will make ethical choices and be able to reason out a good decision when two ethical choices conflict. Leaders ideally should realize when they are panicking or about to choke, then step back and collect themselves to minimize potential missteps. Using Goleman's ideas, I think leaders should know how much to push their followers to obtain optimal performance without burning them out.

I partially agree with Barbuto's Servant Leader. Some elements like listening and being empathetic I think are important. I don't necessarily agree with the assertion that a leader either has it or doesn't. That makes it sound like some people will never be a leader through some sort of genetic disposition. I think it is more likely that some people shouldn't be leaders because they have character flaws that they refuse to address.
I think there is a sweet spot for achievement when it comes to stress levels. There seems to be a point, as Goleman points out, where stress becomes overwhelming and paralyzes any forward movement on a project. I think the stress can be from any number of things such as health, being bugged by the boss or even financial worries.

Goleman, D. (2006). "The Sweet Spot for Achievement." Social Intelligence: The new science of human relationships (pp. 267 - 284). New York: Bantam Books.

Barbuto, J. E., & Wheeler, D. W. (2007). "Becoming a Servant Leader: Do you have what it takes?" Astin, H. S., & Astin, A. W. (1996). A social change model of leadership development: Guidebook (version III) (pp. 4 - 27). Los Angeles: University of California Los Angeles Higher Education Research Institute.

This week's definition
A leader needs emotional intelligence to see what leadership style best fits the situation. A leader will have some strengths in their toolbox and ability to see which tool is best for the situation. Ideally leadership will keep progress moving while keeping the morale of the team up. A leader will make ethical choices and be able to reason out a good decision when two ethical choices conflict. Leaders ideally should realize when they are panicking or about to choke, then step back and collect themselves to minimize potential missteps.

This week I added something that appeared in one of this week's reading The Art of Failure. In it the authors describe the difference between panic and choking. Choking is when one thinks things through too much and begins to second guess themselves (Gladwell, 2000). Panic is the opposite occurs and instinct wins out and rational thought goes out the window. Panic is one of those things I need to work on under high stress situations so I can relate to the author's message.

Gladwell, M. (2000). "The Art of Failure: Why some people choke and others panic." The New Yorker, 84 - 92.

This week's definition of leadership
A leader needs emotional intelligence to see what leadership style best fits the situation. A leader will have some strengths in their toolbox and ability to see which tool is best for the situation. Ideally leadership will keep progress moving while keeping the morale of the team up. A leader will make ethical choices and be able to reason out a good decision when two ethical choices conflict.

After reading The Ethics of Right vs. Right, I am adding that that a good leader sticks with their values and makes ethically sound decisions. Leaders sometimes have to make tough decisions between two ethically correct choices. A good leader will use principles of ethics to decide which of these choices is best for the situation. It won't necessarily make the decision any easier, just that it will be well reasoned. I think this is necessary so we have businesses, politics and other leaders help move society forward in a positive direction. Too often we have leaders that put selfish interests before what is right for the company or society.

Kidder, R. M. (2003). "Overview: The ethics of right vs. right." How Good People Make Tough Choices (pp. 13 - 29). New York: Simon & Schuster.
Heifetz, R., Grashow, A., & Linsky, M. (2009). "Leadership in a (permanent) crisis." Harvard Business Review, 87(7), 62-69.

I read The Social Intelligence and the Biology of leadership by Kyle as well as The Sovereign: The Power of Presence by Goleman. I only partially agree with Kyle's claims. I think there may be some people that need coaching due to a weaker sense of social intelligence. I don't necessarily agree with the idea that you are born in a condition that predisposes you to better leadership. There are leaders that are quieter that are still good because they pull strings behind the scenes. The social intelligence side of things is not necessarily a response to biology either. There are people that start out very social but end up less social due to environmental reasons.
I got the feeling that Goleman was speaking about Sovereigns being a central figure in a corporation. I think a Sovereign can be anyone in any group. Companies often have people that participate in more than one group. Someone that is a Sovereign in one group may defer to another Sovereign in another group. There may well be a central figure in a company, but that person probably isn't the only one with a Sovereign presence.

Goleman, D., & Boyatzis, R. (2008). "Social intelligence and the biology of leadership." Harvard Business Review, 86(9), 74-81.
Kyle, D. T. (1998). "The sovereign: The power of presence." The Four Powers of Leadership: Presence, intention, wisdom, compassion (pp. 159 - 191). Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications Inc

Rath, T. and Conchie, B. (2009). Strengths-based Leadership: Great teams, leaders, and why people follow. Gallup Press: Washington, D.C.

Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2002). "The dissonant styles." Primal leadership: Learning to lead with emotional intelligence (pp. 53-88). Boston: Harvard Business School Press.