Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.
Warren G. Bennis
How are going to build meet your organizational goals? Are you looking for a magical solution? Your organization wont be successful without good leadership. You can purchase better equipment or introduce a new process. However, your situation wont improve until you have effective leadership. What is leadership? There are a variety of leadership definitions. The following actions describe a very bad leader:
· Taking advantage of employees
· Guiding others in an unethical way
· Talking down to employees
· Failing to communicate to others
· Maintaining an uncaring and unsympathetic attitude
Does this description fit your manager? Is it you? Well, many of these behaviors assist in employees quitting and provide the right climate for running a company out of business. Definitions abound on management techniques to fit this problem but it starts with good leadership. For this article, leadership is defined as the ability to influence people to support a specific goal. Leadership is not about being the boss or manipulating people for personal gain. Draft, the author of Organization Theory and Design, argues that the right leadership can have a substantial impact on an organization, however.
Leaders are takers in the secular world while leaders are servants in Gods heavenly plan. In Calvin Millers book, The Empowered Leader, the servant leader is seen through the life of King David. Miller explains, Servant leaders are task-centered Because they feel inadequate, they seek to look beyond themselves for answers.
Servant leadership is not a new idea. Jesus said, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves… According to Dr. Bruce Winston, author of Be A Leader for Gods Sake, good leaders are accountable to their followers. I have seen great managers during my professional career, but few great leaders. Dynamic leadership is difficult to measure for most organizations. However, organizations cant afford to not have them. Organizations should be concerned. Its their business.
References:
Daft, R. (1995). Organization Theory and Design. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Company.
Miller, C. (1995). The Empowered Leader. United States of America: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
Winston, B. (2002). Be A Leader for God’s Sake. Virginia Beach, VA. Regent University.
(c) 2006 by Daryl D. Green