EPTWhen the idea of the best leadership experience comes across my desk, my opinion is that it leaves so many choices open. Each leadership experience that I have endured has been borne out of convenience or as an unfortunate subject of the group who received the title manager or supervisor for a project. It is a tough job to lead in a place that is not already driven by a passion. Luckily, my co-workers in our teams tended to perform well. Sometimes it was as simple a passion as, "Deadline in T-minus.". I authentically supervised a team for two straight 18 hour days on the excitement of a chant, "We're running out of time! We're running out of time!" Although I may have used different words before, I believe an authentic leader is conscientious and intelligent.
I lead through a certain absolute faith in there being some things out there that humanity does not have conscious experience of yet. It seems a good note to hit on the way that it is sure good to know stuff. If I happen to lead through my actions or circumstance, it is only natural that I follow through..
Training is very important. People don't all agree about the findings of any one branch of psychology. Traits are of interest to me. There is perhaps a single trait which truly matters: effectiveness. I do not know precisely what I am trying to express. I heard Steve Jobs may have been called a real blowhard by some people he worked with. Is his conscientiousness trait penalized? Was he a leader or just a man with all of the ideas? Our opinions on traits are subjective. I believe the best leaders have dignity.
Out in the field I observe social phenomena relatable to complexity leadership theory. When one person in the group is particularly small, they will be elected as the leader if everything now relies on one of their group members fitting through the smallest hole. There is little ambiguity as to how the one who starts moving and shaking without getting diverted and/or caught in the day-to-day dangers of life ends up being the one who collects the most influence and leaderliness, especially if their character is moral and ethical. One can also collect influence by being particularly excellent in a certain and visible way. Morals and ethics prevent a possible leader from becoming caught in any undesireable mental state, from being emotionally dragged down, and especially from foolishly harming his own followers. The experiences I detail differ from traditional views of leadership by the accounting for the part of many agent-leaders who are delivering "unconscious" leadership that complexity theory comes closer to providing for than other ideas of leadership.
Leadership is a very complex field of academic research. There are many viewpoints available. It seems that more people have the opportunity to express leadership today that in days past. At least here in America where we enjoy a vigorous economy. The two-way street is an excellent metaphor. Is leadership an imagined thing that we only see in hindsight? This is impossible, of course, because it implies that leadership is not done "on purpose", and we all know the names of great people who testified that they were clearly humans, not automatons.
A perspective from the Great Scientist Nikola Tesla as written in his autobiography,
" In the course of time it became perfectly evident to me that I was
merely an automaton endowed with power of movement, responding to the stimuli of the sense
organs and thinking and acting accordingly."
A very logical guy with an interesting perspective on many things, he was!
Best Regards,
RG
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