K&P - the final chapter!
In the final chapter of “The Leadership Challenge,” Kouses and Posner posit, “Leadership is everyone’s business. No matter what your position is, you have to take responsibility for the quality of leadership your constituents get. … The only choice you really have is whether or not to be the best leader you can be.”(339) Viewed in this light, “followers” might recognize, paradoxically perhaps, that we are actually “leaders.” For many of us who work, but are not managers or leaders by title, I believe the authors have presented a framework in this book that makes leadership accessible to any of us, should we choose to take it on. K&P write, “leadership is about relationships, about credibility, and about what you do”(338) or, in put another way, it’s about teamwork, integrity, and walking the talk, all themes the authors have highlighted repeatedly throughout the book. The authors assert, “We all can and should assume leadership roles in our regular activities more often than not.”(340) I think many of us can find opportunities to be leaders in small ways which, when compiled, amounts to leadership in practice. If leaders encouraged this kind of thinking and behavior from followers, the potential for improvement in organizations could be significant.
The authors effectively debunked some of the myths about leadership, such as “leadership can’t be learned,” “leadership is about position and power,” and “only a lucky few can ever understand the intricacies of leadership.”(338) I thought the authors offered a good analogy in pointing out that no one asks, “Can management be taught?” or “Are managers born or made?” Here, K&P explain, management “is viewed as a set of skills and abilities, while leadership is typically seen as a set of innate personality characteristics.”(340) In this context, we can begin to think of leadership as attainable for everyone.
Throughout this course, I have questioned whether I am a leader or follower. I am not in a leadership position in my job, which has had me thinking more like a follower than a leader. I have tended to look at leaders as those dynamic individuals that we’ve read about, like Body Shop founder, Anita Roddick, or people like Martin Luther King, Jr., a renowned leader who was featured a lot this past week in honor of the 40th anniversary of his assassination. I was, as always, deeply moved to hear MLK’s speeches replayed on the radio this week, and awed by his unshakable vision for equality. K&P remind us again in chapter 12, “Exemplary leaders know that ”you can’t do it alone” and they act accordingly.(347) Certainly, MLK could not have made the great strides that he made without thousands of individuals across the country also taking great risks. Of course MLK had his amazing oratory gifts, which furthered his leadership talents, but there is no doubt that MLK was driven by his passion and purpose. He’s an example of what K&P mean when they write, “Learning to lead is about discovering what you care about and value” (344) and then putting that knowledge into practice.
The group working on the “values” project in class has gotten me thinking about what my true values are. I realize I value many things, but I’ve had a hard time determining which values are truly the most important to me, as we were asked to do in class last week. I’ve been asking myself, are my essential values the ones I hope for (ie. peace and justice) or are they the values I practice in my day-to-day life (ie. living simply). Perhaps we have different sets of values for different purposes. What I value in my job is a different set of values from what I value at home, though some certainly overlap. K&P revisit the idea of writing a personal credo, which was one of the action points from chapter 3. “When you clarify the principles that will govern your life and the ends that you will seek, you give purpose to your daily decisions.”(346) I hadn’t taken the time then to work on a credo, though I realized it would be a good idea. Similar to having an organizational mission statement, it could offer guidance and direction in making life choices.
K&P return to their framework of “The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership” (Model the way / Inspire a shared vision / Challenge the process / Enable others to act / Encourage the heart). These seem to be basic steps in learning about leadership that anyone can grasp, though I wonder if most people in leadership positions haven’t risen to their positions by working hard, as opposed to learning about leadership through reading and training. My point is, leaders can’t apply concepts like The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership if they don’t know about them. So, how can we encourage our leaders and managers to recognize the importance of learning about leadership and applying those principles in the workplace? I could recommend this book to people in my department, and I expect many would be receptive, but I certainly can’t force them to read it, and I also respect the fact that they have many other demands. I have personally applied some of the course concepts at my job and have had some successes. I’m on a team that’s looking into rethinking our mission, vision, and values, and have copied some of the “inspiring vision” pages to assist in our efforts and have gotten a good response. This is an example of the authors’ advice to “First lead yourself.” They write, “The instrument of leadership is the self, and the mastery of the art of leadership comes from mastery of the self.” (343). Any of us can be “walking the talk” in our jobs and in our lives. Knowledge and ideas in the workplace can certainly come from the bottom up, probably more effectively if leadership encourages it.
K&P empower readers in this chapter and offer final words advice. “If you feel strongly about anything, and it’s something that will ultimately benefit your community and your country, don’t hold back.(342) If you are to become a better leader, you must first believe that leadership applies to you and that you can be a positive force in the world.(342) Most surprising to me was the author’s revelation in the conclusion of the book, “The best-kept secret of successful leaders is love: staying in love with leading, with the people who do the work, with what their organizations produce, and with those who honor the organization by using its products and services.”(350) I thought “love” was a surprising choice by the authors. It just sounds a little flakey to me. I think “passion” for leadership is a better word than love and “respect” and “honor” for the people who do the work and use the products. As K&P pointed out in chapter 4, “Language helps to build the frame around people’s views of the world, and it’s essential for leaders to be mindful of their choice of words.”(82)
In the notes section following chapter 13, the authors direct readers to their website where they provide the research and data that supports the model “The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership.” The web site is quite extensive and lends credibility to the authors’ leadership work, as well as research from others who have tested their theories.
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The last K & P chapter was interesting to me. I like, Jackie, had been questioning this semester whether I am a leader or a follower. I have always believed prior to this year that I am much more of a leader but changing jobs has made me question this. In the last year I resigned from my teaching position at a local high school. I came to work at the Humphrey both because of the mission of the center where I work, but also because I needed a break from teaching, especially while in graduate school full time.
In making the switch, I didn't really think about it but I ended up in a very different leadership role. I went from being the leader in my classroom. I was very autonomous and always, always "in charge" whether I wanted to be or not. In my job now, I support everyone else in the office. I am the low woman on the totem pole. For most of the year, I have thought it was ironic that I was taking a leadership class while clearly no longer in a leadership position at work. I had no idea prior to now that my job would impact so much how I thought about leadership.
I was heartened by K & P, "the leaders who have the most influence on people are the ones who are the closest to them. You have to challenge the myth that leadership is about position and power,"(338). I have had a harder time envisioning the leadership K & P talk about outside the boardroom, but it is good for me to have to think of myself as a leader-- even if I don't really have very many people below me.
Instead, it is important to focus on my skills, "the truth is that leadership is an observable set of skills and abilities that are useful whether one is in the executive suite or on the front line,"(339). As I continue to notice what other people do in terms of leadership skills (it is surprising to me how many people in recognized leadership roles don't always exhibit the best skills...) and work on honing my own skills I will think of of K&P "any skill can be strengthened, honed, and enhanced, given the motivation and desire, along with practice and feedback, role models and coaching,"(340). And "by assuming that leadership is learnable, we can discover how many good leaders there really are,"(341).
Maybe developing those leadership skills while working in a job I am over-qualified for is a good thing. I need to "first lead myself"-It will keep me learning and challenging myself even when I don't feel challenged by my work. When I do return to a job that I am 'in love with' I will do so with enhanced skills and more understanding of what leadership really is.
Posted by: Kristin Farrell | April 7, 2008 09:48 PM