Exposing Leadership: What You Thought You Knew

Between books, articles and other media there is more information on leadership available to the average person than could ever be accessed by one person in their lifetime. There have been pointers, styles, rules and biographies of inspiring readers written about through the centuries. However, there are specific leadership ideas that we ourselves fail to realize and recognize in the course of reading all this material that is available.

1. Every leader is a different type of leader. The fact is that you will probably encounter leaders of all different types throughout your lifetime.

There are formal leaders like the ones we elect to political office, and informal leaders like the ones we look up to because they have a lot of wisdom and experience. Both informal and formal leaders practice a mixture of leadership styles.

A few examples of different leadership styles are:

a. Lewin's three basic leadership styles. Participative, authoritative, and delegative.

b. Goleman's six emotional leadership styles. Coaching, visionary, affiliative, pacesetting, commanding and democratic.

c. Likert's four leadership styles. Benevolent authoritative, consultative, participative, and exploitive authoritative.

2. No one is born a leader, leadership is a process.

Althought some people seem to be born with leadership qualities that are innate, without the correct environment and exposure, it is possible they will not develop their full potential. It's kind of like learning how to drive a car, you can also learn how to be a good leader, and hone your abilities. Also, you can gain knowledge and leadership skills by enrolling in leadership seminars, conferences, and workshops. In addition the interactions that you have daily with people can provide opportunities to practice and observe different leadership styles. Put together formal and informal training can help you to gain leadership attitudes, insights, and further your cycle of learning. It is not possible to become a leader in one day and then just stop. Being a leader is about lifelong learning, and each day brings new experiences and opportunities to put your skills, knowledge, and attitude to the test.

3. Being a good leader starts with you.

By far the best way to develop leadership qualities in yourself is to apply these qualiities to your own life. As the old saying goes, "actions speak louder than words." Good leaders are always at the forefront of what is going on. One thing to keep in mind is that your credibility as a leader depends on your actions; your interaction with your friends, family, and co-workers. The way that you manage your personal and organizational responsibilites, and even the way in which you talk with an acquaintance. When you repeat good leadership actions, they become good habits. These kinds of leadership habits form your character.

4. You share leadership.

Even though there are some who feel that leadership is a one person thing, this is not true. Leadership isn't the sole responsbility of one individual, but instead a shared responsibility among members of your emerging team. Leaders belong to groups, and good leaders know this. Each and every member has their own set of responsibilities to complete. Every formal leadership position is merely someone with some added responsibility aside from their normal responsibilities as members of their team. Effective leadership means that all members do their share of the work. Starting out as a group of individuals, both the members and leaders work together to have an effective team. Leaders that understand this, also understand that social interaction plays a huge role in leadership. Learning how to work well together with other team members as a team requires a lot of trust between and among the leaders and team members of any emerging team. Trust is built on the actions of team members, and not only on words. When there is mutual respect between team members and leaders then trust is created and confidence is built.

5. Leadership styles are dependent on the situation.

There is no single rule that states only one style of leadership is the best and is the only one that should be used. In most cases leaders use a mixture of styles to get the job done depending upon whatever the situation is. When staffs are very motivated and competent, then a mixture of high delegative and moderate participative styles of leadership are best. However, if staffs have low commitment and low competence, sometimes a mixture of high coaching, supporting, and high directing types of behavior work better.

Now that you understand the different leadership styles and what makes a good and effective leader, keep in mind that there are always going to be things that we think we have down pat. However, there are concepts we take for granted, or we don't really think much about, and it is often these that are the most insightful.