The Leader's Tool Belt

  The skills a leader portrays are as varied as the type of people who embody leadership.  Even if skills could be narrowed down to general categories, the manifestation of those categorized skills would be incredibly varied.  This post will examine just a few aspects of leadership as explored in A Leader's Companion.  
  Warren Bennis looks at the question "How do organizations translate intention into reality and sustain it?" as a means to boil down the over 350 definitions to leadership (Wren, 1995).  Bennis construed a list of four traits that 90 exemplary CEOs displayed in varying capacities depending on their specific role.  He narrowed down these leaders' key traits to 1) vision, 2) communication and alignment, 3) persistency, consistency and focus, and 4) empowerment.  
  Hackman and Johnson continued the examination of a leader's skills and focused on the communication skills that are inherently necessary to demonstrate the four traits of leadership that Bennis described.  Hackman and Johnson detailed that leadership is communication that pushes individuals and groups forward to meet goals and needs.  Because communication can be learned and improved, Hackman and Johnson suggest that leadership can be grown and cultivated.  Leaders are essentially engaging in what they call "impression management" which reacts to the needs and desires of followers to give the appropriate impression (Wren, 1995).  
  It may be a cliche example, but I have a memory burned into my brain that embodies the clearest form of Warren Bennis' four traits as well as the focus on communication that Hackman and Johnson highlight.  In the book, Friday Night Lights (which was subsequently made into a movie and television show), the Coach Gaines gives a rousing speech at halftime of the state championship game (Bissinger 2000).  The speech can be seen portrayed in this video.  It is evident that he moves his team through the art of communication while portraying his vision for the team, his focus and his empowerment of the players to take destiny into their own hands.  
  When I sit and think on the power of communication, it necessitates that whatever the next step is in my career involves the consistent focus on improving communicative abilities.  Communication sets people apart from one another in their ability to portray feelings, emotions, directives and visions in a manner that inspires action.  Communication takes different forms in different environments and occupations but the improvement of communication will always be valuable.  

Bissinger, H (2000) Friday Night Lights: A Team, A Town, and a Dream.  Cambridge, MA: De Capo Press
Wren, J (1995) A Leader's Companion. New York: The Free Press

Leaders and Followers are People Too!

  Amongst leadership studies and the plethora of theories, it is important not to forget that both leaders and followers are individuals.  Organizations can be dissected and examined but the actual action of leadership must still happen in a person to person capacity.  This leads to the necessity of exploring the act of leading individuals.  Wren's text utilizes excerpts from Hughes, Ginnett, and Curphy's book, Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of Leadership, to discuss the importance of leading the individual. 
  The first excerpt focused on the idea of motivation of the individual.  The importance of motivation was shown by the polling of employees who believed they could give up to 20 percent less effort at work without anybody noticing and they could also give 20 percent more effort without anybody noticing (Wren 1995).  It is proposed that 40 percent gap can be bridged most easily through proper motivation of the employees.  Motivation is ascribed to be influenced by three different theories: the need theories, the cognitive theories and situational approaches.  In need theories, motivation is piqued by fulfilling basic needs of the individual.  The idea is that an employee or follower is more apt to be successfully motivated when their basic needs are being met and even some higher needs are being fulfilled.  In cognitive theories, they are concerned with satisfying the conscious thought processes followers utilize when deciding on personal motivation.  This is more of an intellectual approach to motivation.  Finally, situational approaches can be generalized as placing the emphasis of motivation specifically on the situation that the follower is found in.  The leader is flexible in their motivating tactics in order to react to the constantly changing environment.  
  Next, the examination of power, influence and influence tactics was conducted in order to discuss how to bring about change after motivation of followers.  As defined by Hughes, Ginnett and Curphy, power is described as the potential to influence another person.  Influence is the ability to change an individual or group's attitudes, values, beliefs or behaviors due to the use of influence tactics.  Influence tactics are therefore the actual actions and behavior utilized to create the change.  There are identified five sources from which a leader can influence their followers: expert power, referent power, legitimate power, reward power, and coercive power (Wren 1995).  Expert power can be held by anyone holding the power of knowledge and this is notable because knowledge is blind to class or social standing.  Referent power is found in the strength of relationships between a leader and followers that can be utilized to exact influence.  Legitimate power is solely dependent on an organizational role.  This type of power is typically given to an individual by someone in a higher level of legitimate power.  Reward power is most often exhibited by someone also holding legitimate power because reward power involves the ability for an individual to give a reward based off of performance.  Finally, coercive power is the opposite of reward power because it is the influence of a negative consequence for undesirable action.  Given these avenues of power, there is outlined methods for influence tactics.  These include rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, consultation, ingratiation, personal appeals, exchange, coalition tactics, pressure tactics and legitimizing tactics.  
  William Wilberforce has become famous for being able to forge the path to the abolition of slavery and subsequent reformation of morals in England.  In order to do this, Wilberforce exerted multiple influence tactics in order to pass the bill that he believed in (Guinness 1999).  These tactics were useful because Wilberforce displayed many of the modes of power that Hughes, Ginnett and Curphy outline.  Wilberforce is an ideal example for being able to utilize both the innate and given power by use of influence tactics in order to influence individuals who in turn influenced a nation's course of morality.  
  The office of leadership is one that requires lifelong learning.  This section of Wren's text was saturated with theory and practical outlook on the role of leading individuals.  As I move forward into positions and arenas that inherently require leadership of some form, the ability to learn about, evaluate and critique different theories and ideas about leadership is invaluable.  And, so it begins...

Guinness, O (1999) Character Counts.  Grand Rapids: Baker Books
Wren, J (1995) A Leader's Companion. New York: The Free Press

Dictation of Action by Environment

  Leadership is best exemplified by actions and these actions cannot be separated from the environment that they occur in.  In many ways, the environment dictates the appropriate action.  If a leader comes to a decision, one option could be completely detrimental given the situational, historical, and social backdrop the decision is placed within.  This post will discuss a wide-lensed view of the topic from J. Wren and M. Swatez as well as a specific example of Martin Luther King's social reform movement in the context of that day.  

  Wren and Swatez begin by acknowledging the efforts made previously to recognize all the possible environmental factors in a leadership decision.  They propose a model that is completely holistic yet ordered in the addressing of a leadership context.  The model is characterized by a set of three concentric circles that envelop two remaining linked circles. The outermost circle is the historical context of leadership that looks at long term influences and effects of social, economical and political environments.  Inside the historical context circle is the contemporary context of leadership circle.  This looks at the modern social, economical and political norms as a means to judge the current situation.  Next, the immediate context of leadership circle is concerned with the immediate situation's context of structure, culture and characteristics of the given task.  In the example of a business decision, the historical context would involve looking back in history for similar decisions and how they worked out, the contemporary context would look at the current market and social constructs to examine potential gains, and the immediate context would be within the company if a decision would be successful and received well.  Finally, within those three concentric circles, Wren and Swatez place the leader and follower within interlocking circles, signifying the importance of both agents in the leadership process (Wren, 1995).  This simplified model can be expanded upon depending on the position of a given leader but the model holds as a valuable asset in the evaluation of the context a leadership decision is made within. 

  In Carson's commentary on MLK, he first discusses the historical exaggeration of MLK.  Carson calls attention to mass media's singling out of MLK as the sole initiator and indispensable element of the southern black struggles and most importantly, mass media calls too much attention to King's exceptional leadership qualities and not enough to the impersonal, large-scale social factors that enabled King's leadership to be seen and utilized.  MLK did indeed have charisma and incredible oratory skills but the words he spoke fell on willing and open ears due to the social environment they were spoken in.  Of interesting note was Carson's discussion of MLK's use of rhetoric in the context of intellectualism disguised by the language of a evangelical African-American preacher.  In short, Carson affirms MLK's incredible leadership ability but proposes that the black struggle would have followed its course with or without MLK due to the social, political and economic environment of the time.  

  As a Biblical tie-in, the story of Moses is an incredible narrative about the utilization of the perfect environment and situation.  Moses was able to take advantage of the hardness of Pharaoh's heart (Exodus 8:12), the bitterness of the Israelite people in response to the Egyptian brutality (Exodus 1:13-14), and the increasing number of Israelite people (Exodus 15-22) to change the course of Israelite history.  

  In the context of my future application of leadership, two things are absolutely fundamental to impact: the readiness of self and the ability to recognize the appropriate situation.  This section of the Wren text highlights the importance of that second aspect of leadership ability.  Leadership is always possible and applicable but the greatest change and impact occurs when the able and willing leader recognizes and capitalizes on the perfect situation.  

The New Oxford Annotated Bible: NRSV (2010). New York: Oxford Press
Wren, J (1995) A Leader's Companion. New York: The Free Press

Leaders ---- Followers ---- Leaders ---- Followers

  After exploring both the position of leader and the position of follower in previous posts, this post will explicitly explore the relationship between the two agencies.  The dynamic between the two positions is as important as the exploration of the individual positions.  
  Situational Leadership is a theory coined by Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard used to describe the relationship between leaders and followers.  It hinges on the explanation of how a leader should respond to and behave in the readiness level of followers in a given situation.  In this model, the leader must constantly remain sensitive to the follower's readiness level (Wren, 1995).  This creates a consistent tension between the followers and leaders to assess the readiness levels of the followers and the actions of the leaders.  The follower has a readiness level that can fluctuate between varying amounts of willingness and ability while the leader's behavior can fluctuate with varying levels of task-oriented behaviors and relationship-oriented behaviors.  These levels are interdependent and vary depending on the fluctuation of the opposite positions' levels.  Hersey and Blanchard label four quadrants of relationship between the leader and follower levels and give explanation to the proper relation between the leader and follower given the quadrant the relationship is found in.  
  SuperLeadership is a concept that originated with Charles Manz and is based around the concept that great leaders are not those who inspire their followers to incredible action, but rather great leaders are those who are able to lead others to lead themselves (Wren, 1995).  True leadership is then a result of internal leadership and influences, not external leadership or influences.  This idea of self-leadership is by no means novel but is vitally important as corporations grow and independence increases in many venues within society.  
  I cannot help but connect both of these leader-follower dynamic theories back to John Wooden and the stories he tells of his years coaching basketball at UCLA.  In many instances, the way he led those young men depended on their commitment and level of readiness.  What may have been the most exceptional aspect of John Wooden was that he was able to bring his players to the highest level of readiness through his behaviors so that he maximized their potential each and every year.  John Wooden sent numerous players to the professional basketball league after college in part because he taught those men how to lead themselves and constantly improve who they were.  
  As I transition into this next phase of life, I hope that I can navigate relationships and leadership opportunities with as much skill as Coach Wooden, with the ability to bring people to the highest level of readiness to achieve greatness while still enabling them to reach a level of self-confidence in which they can proceed to lead themselves.  That really should be the goal of any relationship between two individuals.  
  
Wooden, J (2004) They Call Me Coach.  New York: McGraw-Hill Books
Wren, J (1995) A Leader's Companion. New York: The Free Press

Followership is not the antithesis of leadership

  John Gardner has served in six different presidential administrations in varying capacities and now resides as professor at the Stanford Business School.  His professional life has largely taken on the role of serving a higher authority within an organization.  While he led his subordinates, he also was a consistently active follower and these experiences have formed his opinions on followership (the act of following).  Gardner calls attention to the sociologists', Max Weber and Georg Simmel, theories of the role of the follower being of equal importance to an achieved goal to the actions of the leader (Wren, 1995, p. 185-186).  These conclusions were drawn in a very non-populist environment - pre-World War I Germany.  An important tension arises in comparing the two options a leader has in the face of responsibility to the follower; should the leader impose their will after making decisions without consultation to the followers or does the leader need to invite varying degrees of follower participation? This and other corresponding questions to the reciprocal participation between leader and follower have answers muddled by conditions and exceptions (Wren, 1995, p. 187).  Gardner boils the questions down to the ability of the leader to meet the explicit and implicit needs and expectations of the contingents who they are placed in leadership over (Wren, 1995, p. 188).  

  Joseph Rost is a leadership professor at the University of San Diego and instead of taking a relative top down viewpoint to the responsibility of a leader to their followers, he views the relationship between the follower and leader as shared agency in the work.  Rost begins by dispelling the notion that followers are innately passive and unproductive unless directed in favor for the notion that we are all leaders, albeit in differing roles.  Rost attempted to shine understanding and meaning onto the term, "follower" by using five points:

  1) Passive people are not followers for only people actively participating in a leadership process are followers

  2) Activity is a spectrum with the influence correlated to activity.

  3) Followers can become leaders and leaders can become followers in any one leadership relationship.

  4) The role an individual plays as follower or leader is not indicative for every relationship - leaders can be followers in different relationships.

  5) Followers do not do followership, they do leadership (Wren, 1995, p. 191-192).  

  In Joseph Rost's new leadership paradigm, followers and leaders both do leadership.  This brings followers into the fold as equal partners, co-creators, sharing agency.  

  There are not many majors that induce more independence of their students than biology.  There is rarely a group study session and never a group presentation or project.  This makes it difficult to hold a leader and follower role within the major because it is so individualistic.  But in a future healthcare career, there is a distinct hierarchy between physicians and their "followers" consisting of nurses, interns, social workers, and other workers that surround the healthcare process.  If Rost and Donald Miller share a common thread in theory, it is this: that co-agency was meant for the creation of something great (The Storyline Conference, 2014).  Rost would say that co-agency is utilized in leadership relationships for success at achieving objectives while Miller would suggest that humans delve into co-agency with God in the writing of their human story.  Both of these actualizations are useful for my future direction.  Bringing a team mentality into healthcare enables each person to share their expertise and strengths to provide the best form of healthcare for the patient.  And as the story of my life is continually written, co-agency with God can facilitate the making of a captivating story worth sharing.  

  

Miller, D (2014) The Storyline Conference.  San Diego. March 1, 2014.

Wren, J (1995) A Leader's Companion. New York: The Free Press

Examining the Leader

  Ralph Stogdill reflects and critiques the leadership findings of Smith and Krueger in 1933 and Jenkins in 1947 by proposing that leadership is not embodied by a person with a list of characteristics or traits.  Rather, leadership is embodied by a person who possesses certain traits that are supremely applicable for a given situation.  Stogdill looks at a variety of studies and draws upon characteristics listed within a majority of the studies as being worth looking further into.  These characteristics are: intelligence, scholarship, dependability in responsibility, social participation, and socio-economic status (Wren, 1995, pg. 128).  These characteristics are compared to the average person in the group that the supposed leader is a part of.  Yet, as important as these five characteristics are, they are on equal footing with the ability for the leader to apply these traits correctly in the given situation.  Of all the characteristics that were found in multiple studies as being important to leadership, Stogdill categorizes them into five general headings: capacity, achievement, responsibility, participation, and status (Wren, 1995, pg 129).  But Stogdill proposes a sixth, vital heading as situation.  "A person does not become a leader by virtue of the possession of some combination of traits, but the pattern of personal characteristics of the leader must bear some relevant relationship to the characteristics, activities, and goals of the followers.  Thus, leadership must be conceived in terms of the interaction of variables which are in constant flux and change" (Wren, 1995, pg 130).  While the individual characteristics of the leader and follower are relatively stable and unchanging, the situation is consistently fluctuating and so the person who uses their characteristics and traits appropriately in any given situation will be seen as the leader.  

  Kirkpatrick and Locke contend against Stogdill's assertion that it is not the traits of the leader that matter so much, but instead the ability to apply characteristics to the appropriate situation.  Kirkpatrick and Locke have brought back trait theory and supposed that while traits are not the necessary and sufficient conditions for asserting leadership, they are the precondition (Wren, 1995, pg 134).  The traits that Kirkpatrick and Locke suggest are: drive, the desire to lead, honesty/integrity, self-confidence, cognitive ability, and knowledge of the business (Wren, 1995, pg 134-135).  They continue to delve in and explain each trait as well as how it is broken down further into different aspects of the trait.  

  When I reflect on my future, there are plenty of hierarchal structures set in place within the medical field.  And often, the people in positions of authority have arrived there because of dedication to their field and immense aptitude.  Often when I meet doctors, nurses, or administrators in health care, they exhibit many of Kirkpatrick and Locke's traits.  Yet I cannot imagine a leader not possessing the ability to apply given characteristics at the appropriate juncture and in the appropriate manner.  This reaction to the given situation is the essence of leadership in my mind.  I cannot help but think of the end of East of Eden where Adam Trask is on his deathbed with his son Cal heartbroken, heavy laden under the weight of his guilt for prior actions.  In that moment, Adam understands the situation and reacts in such a perfect manner, that eternal healing is provided to his son.  This healing enables Cal to live a fuller life from that point forward.  Adam's ability to live and lead in the moment, in the given situation, was more valuable than all of the leadership characteristics he displayed (or failed to display) throughout the book.  So when I look for leadership in myself and in others, if I look for certain traits, I first look for the ability to live and succeed in different situations.  

Steinbeck, J (1952) East of Eden.  New York: The Penguin Group

Wren, J (1995) A Leader's Companion. New York: The Free Press

Modern Leadership Views

  James MacGregor Burns is a well known and respected author on the topic of leadership and has written a Pulitzer Prize winning biography on Franklin D. Roosevelt.  When he views leadership, he spurns the commonly held notions that a leader is someone who influences a follower to do what they would otherwise not choose (Wren, 1995).  Instead, he suggests that leaders help motivate followers towards certain goals that are representative of values that both the leader and the follower hold.  This creates an inseparable bond between the leader and follower and their combined goals and aspirations.  The common goal that is being strived for is representative of both parties values and aspirations and not simply the leader's.  Here, Burns suggests two different forms of leadership: transactional leadership and transforming leadership.  Transaction leadership involves the exchange of valued things with both parties recognizing the humanness of the other but not attempting to continue a pursuit of higher purpose.  Inversely, transforming leadership involves the interaction or engagement of two parties that results in the raising to higher levels of motivation and morality.  This is still possible to occur in conjunction with the practical achievement of a shared goal.
  Nadler and Tushman look at the "Charismatic Leader" who could embody characteristics of the transactional or transformational leader though by definition would be more plausibly seen as a transformational leader.  The charismatic leader is seen exhibiting a "special quality that enables the leader to mobilize and sustain activity within an organization through specific personal actions combined with perceived personal characteristics" (Wren, 1995, p. 108).  This is an interesting definition because so much of it is dependent upon public perception instead of reality.  Through the characteristics of the charismatic leader, they are more equipped to be able to bring about transformation in their followers and lead the collective to a greater level of success.  The authors then proceed to list out some of the potential pitfalls experienced by charismatic leaders and their followers.  In closing, Nadler and Tushman introduce instrumental leadership as leadership style designed to bring to reality the vision given from charismatic leaders.  They suggest that instrumental leadership is vitally important to charismatic leadership and in fact, they are interdependent for success.  
  The example I have read about that embodies the transformational leader as well as aspects of both the charismatic and instrumental leadership styles is Darwin Smith, CEO of Kimberly-Clark.  His story was detailed in Good to Great (Collins, 2001) and was a model for how to apply leadership to daily life in the here and now.  Smith embodied the ability to show personal humility while exerting fantastic professional will and this carries itself out to into my future profession.  I am immensely confident that I will not be the best in the world in whatever I choose to do with my professional life so humility in it will come easily enough.  But the ability to transform the environment I find myself will require a great deal of will in the endeavor.  As I place a final stamp on my college career, I hope that I find the will and strength to imprint my impact on the environments I have found myself in these four years.  

Collins, J (2001) Good to Great. New York: Harper Collins Publishers
Wren, J (1995) A Leader's Companion. New York: The Free Press

Plato vs. Aristotle on Leadership

  If one had the ability to write a blog post and title it "Plato vs. Aristotle on Leadership", who would not take that opportunity?  Given that exact opportunity, this post examines the third section of Wren's Leader's Companion which focuses on the historical views of leadership (1995).  Within the pages of that section are excerpts from Tolstoy, Plato, Aristotle, Bernard Bass, Machiavelli, and Gandhi.  There are too many incredible comparisons to be drawn between these giant thinkers to give adequate weight to all the thoughts and theories presented within these few pages.   Instead I focused on the ancient philosophers with perhaps the greatest name recognition of any two thinkers in the history of the world.  
  Plato grew up in ancient Athens and was a pupil of the thinker Socrates.  He suggests that the falsehood of freedom that is claimed by those enjoying a democracy is overthrown by a demand for tyranny (Wren 1995 p. 61).  In his made-up conversation with Glaucon, he points out the necessity for power and authority within society, such as the relationship between teacher and scholar, using those examples as proof for the obligatory tyranny (Wren 1995 p. 61).  Plato continues to discuss the causality of war and tyranny from the simple democratic state in which a champion emerges to nurse the nation into greatness.  Instead of this perpetual cycle of tyranny and war followed by a call for democracy that only further perpetuates tyranny and war, Plato suggests the alternative of philosopher-kings (Wren 1995 p. 63).  The requirements Plato suggests for these philosopher-kings would supposedly keep evilness at bay all while requiring those not fit for leadership (or the study of knowledge) would be relegated to followership (Wren 1995 p. 64).  
  Aristotle was Plato's greatest pupil as well as critic.  Aristotle pushes back on Plato's notion that there are set leaders and followers and the followers will never exceed expectations to reach the level of philosophy as the leaders.  Aristotle suggests that the examples of power relationships Plato discussed are so because Nature has provided distinction between people (Wren 1995 p. 66).  Despite the differences in idealogy between the two great thinkers, they do both agree that the purpose of leadership should be the pursuit of the perfect life (Wren 1995).
     I love basketball and always have loved seeing the fact that basketball seems to be one of the team sports where a true team effort has the opportunity to overcome talent.  One of the most incredible coaches to ever live was John Wooden and one of his books They Call Me Coach detailed his coaching days and life (2004).  Within the book, he continually details how he does not think highly of himself as some great man, but only a normal man attempting to do great things.  This would come into conflict with Plato's theory and as I read the two opposing leadership theories, remembering Coach Wooden's words helped me resonate with Aristotle's theory.  The application of this theory is similar in both my professional or academic and personal life.  If I treat others as if they have the potential for leadership, regardless of the capacity, then they may be able to lead through followership.  I do not necessarily have specifics for how this will look because I do not yet know the specifics of what my life will look like.  But I am positive that everybody can benefit from giving each other the space and ability to be the best they can be in whatever leadership capacity they hold.  

Wooden, J (2004) They Call Me Coach.  New York: McGraw-Hill Books
Wren, J (1995) A Leader's Companion. New York: The Free Press

What is this thing called leadership?

  In this section of The Leader's Companion, different authors tackled what the definition of leadership is.  As a whole, the results were inconclusive.  Different wording or terminology separated the various definitions and there was alternative opinions on the foundations of this word "leadership" that has come about only in the past 300 years.  
  Bernard Bass takes a very succinct approach in defining the meaning of leadership.  I appreciate that he acknowledges the multitude of definitions without polluting his section with different definitions and jargon (Wren 1995).  He simply postulates that leadership's meaning is somewhat contingent on the setting that it is being defined in and then launches into his definition:

"Leadership has been conceived as the focus of group processes, as a matter of personality, as a matter of inducing compliance, as the exercise of influence, as particular behavior, as a form of persuasion, as a power relation, as an instrument to achieve goals, as an effect of interaction, as a differentiated role, as initiation of structure, and as many combinations of these definitions" (Wren 1995 p. 38).

  On the other hand, Richard Hughes, Robert Ginnett and Gordan Curphy use a narrative to introduce their answer to the question, "what is leadership?"  A synopsis of the novel, Alive, begins their section, telling of the plane that crashed in the Andes mountains and how the survivors of the crash were saved from the equally dangerous mountain environment (Wren 1995 p. 40).  They then introduce the multiplicity of leadership ideas and theories using a number of popular definitions.  They then highlight the differences and suggest a moral relativist-like answer that they are all correct definitions in their own regard.  The take home message of the essay becomes that we are all a part of the leadership process because we are all striving towards a goal of some kind.  
  Amongst all this discussion of leadership, the quote that Hughes, Ginnett and Curphy end with concerning striving towards a common goal resonates most soundly but in both chapters very little lip-service was given to followership.  The Art of Followership, is just one book that gives adequate  weight to the importance of the follower (2008).  I wish that these chapters had made a greater deal of the impact that a follower has as a leader and the examination of that paradigm.  
  I personally hold that while leadership is incredibly complex and cannot be narrowed down to any sort of succinct definition, it is intellectually lazy to state that there is no correct definition of leadership.  Narrowing down leadership would also require us to disagree with someone about leadership which would entail conflict of some kind which can be perceived as more work than it is worth.  For this reason, I appreciate Bass' definition as being firm.  While I would prefer it to be more succinct and direct, at least he makes a good faith effort.  This relates to science and biology more specifically because while the sciences are fundamentally more tangible and measurable, it is still difficult to define and stick to definitions within science much less the ethics of science.  I want to spend the time, energy and effort to truly know what I believe and how it applies to my life, both in leadership and in biology and the corresponding ethics of both. 
  As for now, Young Life can at times take a relatively ambiguous and free spirited approach to how to present the Christian faith.  We can at times beat around the bush so much that students do not even know we are Christians.  As we come together as a group striving for a common goal, it takes leadership to ensure that we are making every effort to achieve the common goal and avoid taking a laizze faire approach as soon as it is convenient.  

Riggio, R; Chaleff, I; Lipman-Blumen, J (2008) The Art of Followership.  San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
Wren, J (1995) A Leader's Companion. New York: The Free Press

Intro and Part One

"Leadership is the most observed and least understood phenomena on earth." ~ James MacGregor Burns

  Through reading various books and articles, there will be an attempt to demystify leadership.  In the process of learning and introspection, real-world and real life applications will hopefully be drawn in the betterment of self.  The Leader's Companion, a compilation of essays on leadership, was edited by J. Thomas Wren and will be the primary text for leadership learnings.  The presuppositions stated within the book's preface are as follows:

1) Leadership is essential to the human condition and is not a fad but a current and timeless concept. 

2) Leadership is the province of all, not just the privileged or elite few.  As such, it involves multiple elements of process and not simply actions of the leader. 

3) It is vitally important to understand leadership. With this understanding, mutual goals can be more easily achieved (Wren, 1995).

Part One - The Crisis of Leadership

  John Gardner opens the first essay of The Leader's Companion by debunking the common cry for more and better leadership (1995).  He suggests that the cry for leadership are the only words that one can muster against the growing concerns of social disintegration, moral disorientation and the spinning compass needle of our time.  As we lower our standards and expectations of leaders to a shallow shadow of what they should be, we become susceptible to manipulation by the leaders we appoint.  Even the simple conversation concerning leadership is shallow because it ignores the greater topic of the accomplishment of group purpose.  For that goal is what necessitates leadership in any form.  

  As we face monumental issues, we are immobilized and unable to react.  Gardner suggests that this is due to our suppression of awareness because we have failed to maintain the conviction that we are able to make an impact (Wren, 1995).  In our dispersed leadership positions, we fail to see the power of our own positions.  Gardner suggests that "vitality at middle and lower levels of leadership can produce greater vitality in the higher levels of leadership" (Wren, 1995 p. 6).  In our dispersed leadership positions, Gardner leaves us on a note of hope for we have so much untapped potential for the ability to achieve group purposes.  

  Robert Greenleaf brings the idea of servant leadership to the table as a solution to our perceived problem of leadership (Wren, 1995).  He references the novel Journey to the East in which the character Leo is a servant to a band of traveling men.  He sustains them physically and in other ways through his service, so much that when he suddenly leaves, the group of men disband due to disarray.  It is only later in the novel that the narrator discovers that Leo was actually the head leader of the Order that sponsored the band of men.  This imagery and narrative proclaim the value of servitude in leadership.  By taking a stance of humility and service, a leader is able to better tap into innovation and improvement.  Greenleaf supports Gardner in proclaiming that leaders are made, not born yet suggests that servitude is an even more difficult trait to learn.  Yet to the degree at which it is more difficult to attain, it is exponentially more valuable.  

  I meet these ideas and words amidst the uncertainty of my own personal future.  Yet as I focus on my own future, there is room for enabling those around me in my current leadership positions.  My Young Life team contains 5 freshman leaders who barely know the ropes of the ministry and I have the ability to come and show them what our group purpose is so they may continue the journey of striving for achieving our purpose.  It is simple for me to dismiss my own leadership in the void of positions I was appointed to yet my service in various areas can be influential in shaping those leaders that surround me.  

  As for the studying of biology that I have undertaken in my undergraduate education, the servant leadership theory is much more applicable.  For the major is inherently competitive amongst the students.  This competition is equally borne out of the personality of the average biology student and the fact that often the degree is followed by education at a graduate school or medical school that are competitive to get into.  I have the ability and opportunity to give of my time and knowledge of the program to students who are just beginning the journey.  

Wren, J (1995) A Leader's Companion. New York: The Free Press