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Table of ContentsLeadership

Leadership - 5 / 19 / 2002

confusing leaders with the leadership process
theory / practice - thought / action
one / many - unity / diversity
true / real - abstract / concrete
divergent thinking - exploring the new & different
convergent thinking - synthesis of ideas
what's really going on?
    if we can't control reality, we invent unrealities to maintain the illusion of control
to know and to do
    leadership needs both
Traditional Western Mainstream Authentic
Born:
Every person is born with different capacities for leadership
Made:
Leadership is learned
Individual:
One leader
Relational:
Shared or collaborative leadership
Positional:
Authority derives from position
Everywhere:
Authority derives from behavior
Getting Results:
Leaders get things done
A Process of Engagement:
Leadership is a process of interaction that occurs between leaders and followers to determine goals
Coercive & Noncoercive:
Leadership may entail the exercise of force
Only Noncoercive:
It is not leadership if you have to use force
Vision:
Leaders see possibilities where others do not
Framing:
Leaders reframe, or look at things from different perspectives
Ethical & Unethical:
Leadership may be unethical
Only Ethical:
It is not leadership if it is not ethical
Secular:
Spirituality has no place in leadership
Spiritual:
Spirituality is integral to leadership
traditional views of leadership
    personal - existence
        exclusive
            charisma
        inclusive
            MBTI  
        the trap of determinism
            transcending limitations
    team - resources
        structured
            directing, coaching, supporting, delegating
            situational sensitivity
        unstructured
            leadership shifts by task
    positional / functional - structure
        positional
            communications, human relations, counselling, supervision, technical assistance
            management science, decision manking, planning, and ethics
        functional
            leadership as a function of a system
                changes as the system changes
            adaptability
                what "works"
            the trap of relativism
provocative views for leadership
    political - power
        power over
            willing followers
            imposes a simplified interpretation on reality
            ethically neutal at best
        power with
            empowers followers
                to define and secure their own agendas
            suspicious of formal authority
        power without vision wastes energy
    visionary - mission
        content
            leader as follower
                change arises from the people
            crafting scenarios
        process
            assist in paradigm shifts
        not inherently ethical
            nighmare visions
    ethical - meaning
        [see Value Systems]
        intrinsic
            any action that focuses resources towards a beneficial end
            leaders and followers help raise each other up to a higher ethical level
            Maslow's hierarchy of needs  
        extrinsic
            1) force: inspires fear
            2) seduction & deals: inspires dependency
            3) personal persuasion: inspires winning attitude
            4) models integrity: inspires hope
            5) empowers others: inspires love & service
            6) wisdom: inspires inner peace
        changing ethics in America
            1) Protestant - contribution
            2) craft - quality
            3) entrepreneurial - risk
            4) career - self-fulfillment
        open to relativism
leadership as a subset of action
    appreciate richness & diversity
    remain open
    self-correcting
    grounded in action
authenticity
    showing up
    engaging
objective vs subjective
    real world properties vs experience
    "both and" solution
        1) there is the existence of a real world
        2) that real wold embodies constraints
        3) there is truth beyond internal coherence
        4) there can be a stable knowledge of the world
    George Lakoff
        experiential realism
human action
    1) fulfillment - embodiment
        that into which action moves us
        what will we have at completion?
    2) meaning - significance
        that for which action moves us
        what's our justification? / what's at stake?
            use of metaphors, parables, morality tales, art, humor, and values
    3) mission - direction
        that toward which action moves us
        what's our vision / what's our goal?
    4) power - energy
        that by which action moves us
        what's the level of commitment?
            energy expended over time
    5) structure - organizing
        that through which action moves us
        what plans & processes will we need?
    6) resources - material
        that with which action moves us
        what are the available resources?
    7) existence - limitations & possibilities
        from which action moves us
        what's the setting? / what's its history?
spirituality is at the intersection of meaning and exitence
    it transcends both and leads to fulfillment
mentoring
    [see Elders]
 
Authentic Leadership: Courage in Action - Dr. Robert Terry  
Seven Zones for Leadership: Acting Authentically in Stability and Chaos - ibid
Jungian Psychological Type - Michael Daniels Ph.D.
Life Types - Sandra K. Hirsh, Jean M.Kummerow
Please Understand Me II - David Keirsey
Women, Fires, and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal about the Mind
    - George Lakoff

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