New: "A good Self-control ability is to keep personal behavioral and emotional intelligence all the time. To put the intentional effort to improve my self-control ability is the most important and imperative mission I must do priority."

Until yesterday, I realized how terrible my self-control is. Without my parents' supervision, there is no any regulation with my personal behaviors. I must improve the self-control ability in the direction with intentional effort:
Behavior control:
1. Must not play video game from Mon.-Fri.
2. Quit smoking and drinking
3. Must finish daily assignment

Emotion control
1. Choose the right time and the right place to relieve negative feelings. Like exercise or conversation.
2. Keep the positive attitude in daily life.

Center for Creative Leadership (2003). " Leadership skills and Emotional intelligence" Retrieved from: http://www.ccl.org/leadership/pdf/assessments/skills_intelligence.pdf

New: "The only difference between followers and leaders is that leaders are able to build new behavior and neural pathway after imitative learning process."

As Boyatzis's theory of self-directed learning model, everyone can do the first five steps by following the instruction. However, people cannot be a qualified leader without personal characters creating and building. Learning is the process of imitation; it is the skill to copy other's successes. After all, we must have personal leadership style to be the successful leader we desired. Thus, what I am trying to do is making a difference with intentional effort. The last, change, and learn in desired ways with intentional effort is the best way to make progress in one direction.

Boyatzis, R. E. (2006). "An Overview of Intentional Change from a Leadership Perspective." Journal of Management Development, 25(7), 607-623. doi:10.1108/02621710610678445

New: "No matter who made the final decision (either positional leader or group members), it is the right one as far as it is going to maximize the group benefits."

The positional leader cannot always make the decision on behalf of the group. In the reading material of "Interacting in Teams and Groups", there are several methods of decision-making, however, each one is only appropriate for specific situation. From my understanding of group decision-making, if the final group decision is going to maximize the group benefits, it will be always the right one. As Lee also illustrated in his books, if all group members share the same value to maximize group benefits, then group will make the right decision to push the group move forward to the same direction.

Komives, S. R., Lucas, N., & McMahon, T. R. (1998). "Interacting in Teams and Groups." Exploring Leadership: For college students who want to make a difference (pp. 165 - 194). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Lee, R. J., & King, S. N. (2001). "Ground your leadership vision in a personal vision." Discovering the Leader in You: A guide to realizing your personal leadership potential (pp. 31 - 54). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Inc.

New: A good understanding of the self-position is the first step to be a successful leader.

We must have an honest understanding of who we are, what we know, and what we can do. Therefore, we can understand our position and the mission on duty. "Nothing is wrong with having a leadership position. Everything is wrong with using position to get people to follow (John)." A successful leader must use both leader's proper authority and excellent leadership skills to convince followers, to prove we are worthy of being followed

Maxwell, John (2011). "Five levels of Leadership" Retrieved from: http://johnmaxwellonleadership.com/2011/08/22/what-are-the-5-levels-of-leadership/

Compared to get on the balcony, join in the group is a good way to have a better understanding of environment around you, also have a clear sense of your position.

Heifetz, R. A., & Linsky, M. (2002). "Get on the balcony." Leadership on the Line: Staying alive through the dangers of leading (pp. 51 - 74). Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

From my understanding, to listen from employees, you will know how does your command work; to listen from customers, you will know how is the quality of your products or services. Moreover, if we can change our position, or the circumstance we are, we can look back the position we are to re-evaluate works did before. No matter in the balcony or in the group, the most important point is that we should always change our position to approach any problem.

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.

There is a word in China said: If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle. As a leader, we are not only in competition with others, but also ourselves. Self-awareness can make us understand the position we are, the authority we own, and the way we are going to make a difference. Knowledge of others, needless to say, it is basic requirement for a leader to figure out who are you face to. Thus, when managing people, we can make the best use of their advantages and bypass their disadvantages.

"Taking care of yourself both physically and emotionally will be crucial to your success. You can achieve none of your leadership aims if you sacrifice yourself to the cause."(Oct. 20, 2012)

As a little complement to authoritative leadership, leaders have to know how to protect themselves, not only because of own safety, but also for team's benefit. A team is easy to be crushed without a leader. Moreover, physical and emotional control is also a necessary leadership skill a leader should own. Never let anyone know what are you thinking from your action and emotional expression.

Heifetz, R., Grashow, A., & Linsky, M. (2009). "Leadership in a (permanent) crisis." Harvard Business Review, 87(7), 62-69. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=keh&AN=41997981&site=ehost-live

"Making a choice is the question for opportunity cost. As long as we make any choice, we will lose some while we are thinking about to win some. As a qualified leader, to maximize team total utility either from short term or long term is the basic principle for any choice is made." (Oct. 13 2012)

Decision-making is an essential leadership skill. From Kidder's essay for the ethic of right vs. right, I realized that there is always opportunity cost to make any choice. In the case of right vs. right, even though both of the choices are correct, we have to choose one and give up another one. As a qualified leader, I think leaders should always try to maximize whole team benefits either from short term or long term. Once again, for the alternative choice of short term or long term to maximize benefits, leaders have to choose from right vs. right model.

Kidder, R. M. (2003). "Overview: The ethics of right vs. right." How Good People Make Tough Choices (pp. 13 - 29). New York: Simon & Schuster.

Based on the acknowledge of authoritative style leadership, the leader must know how to do everything correctly and that leaders should know what their followers' jobs are. Moreover,from Terry's thoery, I believed that the leadership is positional.
Goleman, Daniel (2000). "Leadership that Gets Results." Retrieved from Harvard Business Review, 78(2), and p78-90.
Terry, R. (2001). "Deciding what you believe." Retrieved from Seven zones for leadership: Acting authentically in stability and chaos (pp. 20 - 40). Mountain View, CA: Davies-Black Publishing, Inc.

It is not necessary for a leader to do everything, but the leader must know how to do everything correctly, at least, leader must know how is everything going on. Also, based on the understating of Terry's theory of leadership and my personal experience, I stronger believe the leadership is positional instead of everywhere. Only at certain level, or position, leadership can get authority and power to give order to followers.

Green, Dennis. R (1999). "Leadership as a function of power" Retrieved from http://www.uthscsa.edu/gme/documents/LspasaFunctionofPower.pdf
Terry, R. (2001). "Deciding what you believe." Retrieved from Seven zones for leadership: Acting authentically in stability and chaos (pp. 20 - 40). Mountain View, CA: Davies-Black Publishing, Inc.