Flummoxed

For my Leadership 325 class we get 2 extra points for reposting our blog assignment (where the class can see) to an outside source (where the world can see).  Existing blogs count - so here it is, for all the world to see and savor!

What Leaders Really Do

Good question, what do leaders really do?  From my vantage point of having many, many leaders/supervisor/bosses over the years, it seems to me that they do a whole lot of organizing, staffing, planning, budgeting and dealing with all the inevitable problems that come along.  According to the article, "What Leaders Really Do" by John P. Kotter, that definition would fit a manager.  But not a leader.  I had no idea there was a difference. As it turns out, there is quite a difference.  One is not more important than the other and a person could have both skill sets but not necessarily, and not usually.

I have to say that this article has given me great hope.  I am drawn to the leadership role in some vague, natural way.  Ironically, I don't even know how to define leadership, or better said, I don't know how the world would define it.  But I am interested enough in leadership that I am pursuing it as a minor to my university degree.  So imagine my delighted shock as I read Mr. Kotter's definition of a leader and found that in many ways he was describing me.  Not the  - organized, get the job done with the least amount of ruffled feathers part of me (which is true).  But the - let's come together for a common good while we lift each other up, part of me (which is also true).  Who knew I'd stubble on this kind of touchy-feely-humanistic ideal while sitting in an intellectual, get the degree so I can go out and make a lot of money kind of place like an university.  I'm flummoxed.

While Mr. Kotter is making the point, that "controlling and problem solving" is management, vs "motivating people" which is leadership, he has the audacity to say such things as, "Good leaders ...articulate the organization's vision in a manner that stresses the values of the audience they are addressing" (employees).  He goes on to say that, "This makes the work important to those individuals...it gives them a sense of control."  Is he for real?  I mean who does that?  In all the movies I've seen on corporate America it all looks pretty cut throat to me.  And get this gem, "Achieving grand visions always requires a burst of energy.  Motivation and inspiration energize people, not by pushing them in the right direction as control mechanisms do but by satisfying basic human needs for achievement, a sense of belonging, recognition, self-esteem, a feeling of control over one's life, and the ability to live up to one's ideals.  Such feelings touch us deeply and elicit a powerful response".  Wow.  I had no idea this line of reasoning existed in the realm of leadership.  

I can see myself in this picture.  As I was marking the paper while reading it I kept writing the word, "Me" in the margin.  He used words and ideas that I would use to describe myself such as, "gather a broad range of data, looking for patterns, emphasis on relationships, seeing linkages that help explain things, create vision and strategies, willing to take risks, grow beyond the narrow base, and a history of lateral career moves and difficult job experiences."  And don't forget my personal favorite, that leadership skills can be perceived as "mystical".  Well, if that's not a sign I'm in the right place, I don't know what is.