Leadership Formula

We truly exceptional leadership is so simple that we can be reduced to a simple formula? Could you explain every single formula the likes of Gandhi, Jack Welch and Bill Gates? Of course not.

Individual human beings are incredibly complex. The interactions between individuals and groups are much more complex. Leadership is one of the more complex forms of human interaction. In each leader-follower relationship as many things are happening simultaneously: the ego needs, security needs, needs for power, need for approval, need affiliation, need for achievement, etc., etc.

However, many authors continue to provide simple formulas for successful leadership. John Maxwell alone leadership has written books enough to fill your garage. Maxwell ideal leader would undoubtedly be effective in the church where he is the pastor. But, one could imagine a leader of Maxwell-like being taken seriously in the workplace or in the armed forces?

Jim Collins, after he wrote his extraordinary book "Good to Great", has decided to simplify the phenomenon of leadership for some combinations paradoxical humble and intentional, or so, and without fear. He calls these combinations paradoxical Executive Level Five Leadership ", a necessary requirement for transforming an organization from good to great."

Collins uses Abraham Lincoln as an example of a level five Executive Leader. While we all admire Abe Lincoln, one could imagine Lincoln as CEO of Microsoft or Amazon.com?

In my articles and books, I offer a model of leadership that is more complex than the "pop" models. It 's more complex, but also offers some practical guidance. My leadership model that considers the characteristics of the leader, characteristics of followers, and the characteristics of the task.

In any situation of leadership, of course, we want to look at the characteristics of the leader. My argument with the characteristics described in the literature of leadership "pop" is against the tendency to be overly simplistic.

We must also consider the characteristics of a follower in a leader-follower relationship. An interesting body of literature on the characteristics of followers emerged several years ago. Unfortunately, this type of study was not very popular because they do not like people looking for simplistic ideas about successful leadership.

Finally, in my work, I urged individuals and organizations to take into account the characteristics of the task at hand. The tank commander highly effective in combat situations can not be the best choice to lead the new Sunday School at your church.

Leadership will continue to be a fascinating subject. Some of the best research on leadership is conducted right here in Greensboro, North Carolina (where I live) at the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL). The search results CCL can not be found at the top of the New York Times bestseller, but the CCL is well worth reading research investment of your time.