Episode Five

Leadership is Dynamic

In Episode Four of this series on leadership entitled LEAD the WAY, I talked about Leadership Styles, Leadership Models, and the dark side of leadership. In this Episode Five, I will talk about the dynamic nature of Leadership Styles, and list out twelve leadership trajectories which shows how the passage of time had contributed to a greater clarity of leadership. Let us begin.

Leadership Trajectories

The literature on leadership, sacred or secular, is mushrooming. Some are technical and theoretical, while others are practical and helpful. From them, we can observe some leadership trajectories.

First, there is a growing shift from hierarchical, heroic, transactional, authoritative, and power models of leadership to post-hierarchical, post-heroic, transformational, influential, and authentic models. In these models, “leaders no longer have the answers, but instead create a climate where followers are empowered, collaborated with, and freed to pursue shared goals in their own way.” Contemporary leadership sees employers not lording over employees but treating them as partners and empowered employees. They lead not so much from positional power, but personal power.

Second, the call for servant-leaders is growing louder in the political, business, educational, societal, and religious arenas. Servant-leadership has become the most viable form of leadership in many sectors of society.

Third, the traditional concept that “leaders are born and not made” has been slowly giving way to “leaders are made and not born.” Everyone has leadership potentials that need to be cultivated. Positions, titles, and academic credentials do not determine effective leadership.

Fourth, leadership involves mobilization, movement, influence, persuasion, action, activity, skills, empowerment, participation, performance, aptitude, and attitude.

Fifth, leadership is about activity. “Leadership is something you exercise or not, not something that you have or not.” Therefore, if someone has exercised leadership, he or she is a leader. Conversely, the failure to apply leadership disqualifies a person from leading. It does not matter whether that person has an impressive job title or a mass of subordinates. Titles, credentials, or position do not make a person a leader. More often than not, there are people in organizations without any titles and who are not in the limelight but lead their lives quietly and exert influence in the decision-making process. The ability to lead and contribute (e.g., impacting lives, encouraging others, and motivating others) in an organization is an essential quality of a leader. What confirms a person as a leader is not his credentials but performance (e.g., Jesus, his disciples, Mother Teresa, Gandhi, parents, friends, and teachers). According to Kouzes and Posner, “Leadership is not about who you are, or where you come from. It is about what you do.”

Sixth, leadership is not about gender or education. It is about making things happen through other people that wouldn’t happen without the leader. That is fundamental to being a leader. The question to ask is, “Have I made something happen?”

Seventh, leadership is about change and not about management. Leadership involves transformation but management involves transaction. As it is often quoted, “Leadership is doing the right thing whereas management is about doing things right.” Hence, managers tend to follow status quo whereas leaders tend to challenge and change the status quo. Interestingly, leaders are not formally appointed, elected, or have any titles. Managers, on the other hand, are appointed or elected and they have titles.

Eighth, leadership requires followership. No leader can accomplish things alone. He or she needs people to come alongside. “Leadership and followership are two sides of a coin. Leadership occurs when one or more persons engage with others in such a way that leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of motivation and morality.”

Ninth, leadership is conferred by followers. You can be appointed a leader but you are not one till ratified by people. A leader’s responsibility is to lead and the people’s response is to follow. But when a leader fails to deliver, the relationship is revoked.

Tenth, leadership is about getting people excited about a compelling cause that maximizes their highest potential and makes a significant contribution. People want to believe that their effort matters and leaders need to articulate passion, vision, and mission that stoke the energy and enthusiasm of the followers. 

Eleventh, leadership is first about self-development. Leaders are learners. Only by learning can leaders discover their true self and value. To lead others, leaders must first lead themselves and this involves “working on ourselves more before we work on others.” To put it another way, we should not try to change others till we change ourselves. Warren Bennis posits, “Know yourself, so that you can be yourself. Then you can become authentic self rather than imitating others. Becoming a leader is becoming yourself.” By knowing ourselves we will know our limitations and find the right people to assist us.

Finally, leadership is all about influence. The ability to influence others is what makes a person a leader. A leader gets results by influencing others to follow his lead. To get people to do something, you need to be able to influence, persuade, or move them. Influence has much to do with emotional connection. Where influence is concerned, it can use legitimate or illegitimate sources (e.g., power and personality). Influence can either be negative (e.g., manipulation of people or the use of force) or positive (e.g., mobilizing, motivating, and moving people). How does a leader increase his or her influence? The answer is building trust. Kouzes and Posner used the acronym DWYSYWD for “Do What You Say You Would Do.” Leaders who earn the trust of their followers will have a greater influence than those who do not.

In sum, what is leadership? Anyone who intentionally influences an individual or a group of people, motivating and mobilizing them to achieve a specific and significant goal in alignment with God’s agenda, bringing glory to His name.

In this Episode Five, I talked about the dynamic nature of Leadership Styles, and list out twelve leadership trajectories which shows how the passage of time had contributed to a greater clarity of leadership. To help us review what we have heard from this podcast, I invite you to reflect on the following questions. Please join me for Episode Six, which I will talk about the biblical survey of Leadership, and the three roles and tasks of leadership.

Good-bye, and have a great day!

Discussion Questions

1. Do you agree with Kouzes and Posner, “Leadership is not about who you are, or where you come from. It is about what you do”?

2. What is the reason(s) why books on leadership is mushrooming?

3. Why is the acronym DWYSYWD  very important in leadership?