JAN 2015
Generally, leaders convey five basic leadership personality
styles; destructor, procrastinator, caretaker, preparer or
accomplisher as they are challenged on a daily basis by
four major factors in leadership; personal leadership savvy,
the individuality of the followers, the situation and inherent
communication networks throughout the organization. This
is the case no matter if the organization is corporate, nonprofit or faith-based.
Leadership perspectives commonly reflect a structural,
human resource, political or symbolic framework.
Structural framework leaders rely heavily on structure,
strategy, environment, implementation, experimentation
and adaptation; typically focused on positions and duties as
detailed on the organizational chart. Human Resource
framework leaders focus on engaging staff, being
accessible and visible, sharing information, increasing
participation, and spiraling communication and decisionmaking throughout the organization. Political framework
leaders use persuasion, negotiation and ultimately coercion
to lead, based upon what they want, what they believe they
can get, the political lay of the land, as well as interests;
while symbolic framework leaders use compelling
language and imagery to convey a vision, and as a means
to marshal support.
It is said that competitiveness has been lost by countless
organizations as a result of more emphasis being placed on
structural, political and symbolic frameworks, instead of
human resources. You see, no matter how significant the
financial, product and services, technological or facility
resources of an organization; in the end, the social systems,
which are the people that comprise any entity, and
certainly a truism in the world of organization
development, are the key inputs of creativity, innovation,
effort and ultimately results.
To lead, one must have a destination in mind, and a path
to get there. I believe there is a pathway to leadership, and
for those leaders who have the courage to discover and
honor their gifts and talents, choose to work with a spiritual
of excellence laced with personal values, while refusing to
play organizational games or allow naysayers and
detractors to derail them, achieving their leadership
potential is possible. From my work, and shared
experien 6W2