Although Tim posted under the heading of an intro, his message was devoted
to the subject of leadership, hence I've posted my response under that
heading...
Tim is looking for some help in clarifying three basic ideas related to
his study of leadership. In the third of these ideas, Tim comments:
>Based on no more than a hunch, at
>this stage, I would like to take the hypothesis that openness to learning
>is the single most important attribute in the development of good leaders,
>and that this implies being prepared to take risks and be resilient
>against the 'received wisdom' of more experienced managerial colleagues.
I would support Tim's hunch, and I would elaborate upon it as follows.
Openness to learning clearly implies curiosity and it often implies some
dissatisfaction with the status quo. This argues in favor of Tim's
assertion that good leaders are required to "take risks and be resilient
against the received wisdom" of one's colleagues (who might or might not
be more experienced). Further implied is that such a person is also an
articulate advocate of change. Such a person becomes a magnet, a rallying
point for others, especially those who are disaffected and disempowered.
Depending on the person, the setting, and the issues, such a person might
be viewed by established authorities as a savior or as a threat.
Of equal importance, I believe, is being open to influence by others. If
I have learned anything in my years in the workplace, it is that the only
sure way of being able to influence others is to be influenced by them.
This means listening when counsel is being offered, it means seeking
counsel when it is not being offered and, most of all, it means acting on
the counsel you are given. (Few things are more debilitating in
collective human effort than having the person in charge feign interest in
the opinions of his or her associates.) In short, good leaders are not
only articulate advocates of change, they are also extremely effective
agents of change; they make things happen.
If I had to pick a "single most important" aspect of a good leader, it
would probably be "congruence," consistency between words and deeds. Good
leaders do not send mixed signals. They send simple, clear messages and
then act in ways that confirm these messages. What I am here calling
congruency is also known as "personal integrity." I believe it is what
Shakespeare had in mind when he penned these familiar words in Hamlet:
"This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man."
Regards,
Fred Nickols
The Distance Consulting Company
nickols@worldnet.att.net
http://home.att.net/~nickols/distance.htm
"The Internet offers the best graduate-level education
to be found anywhere."
--Fred Nickols <nickols@worldnet.att.net>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>