Leadership Perspectives that Make a Positive Difference

Leadership is a subject that takes center stage in discussions on societal development. Leadership and reticent generation of local ideas and resources are perennial development enemies. This reflective essay is about leadership perspectives from four books. In the essay I have sought to dwell on perspectives regarding what leadership is, leadership relevance to the times, leadership development and leadership assessment.

1. What is good leadership?

The questions of what good leadership is and how to develop it have been widely debated and a plethora of literature on the subject is on the market. Hughes et al (2006, 6) posits that people who do research on leadership disagree about what leadership really is. He reaches the conclusion that there is no one correct definition for leadership for every person in every situation. The many definitions reflect the many perspectives from which to view leadership. He, however, finds some of them to be more comprehensive than others.

Barna (1997, 22) after reaching the same conclusion that there is no one fit all definition for leadership settled for Garry Wills’ one, which says that ‘leadership is mobilizing others towards a goal shared by the leader and followers.’ Hughes adopted a closely phrased one by Roach and Behling. It says that leadership is the process of influencing an organized group toward accomplishing its goals. Clawson (2006, 44) gives a definition that builds on these condensed versions by including the aspect of willingness on the part of the follower as well as the leader. He defines leadership as the ability and willingness to influence others so that they respond voluntarily. Clawson’s primary argument is that voluntary acquiescence is impossible unless leadership influence is for change at the level of a target person’s values, assumptions, beliefs and expectations.

The ability to influence and guide others to accomplish goals even if they are challenging proves leadership. Challenges that Africa faces are therefore not an excuse for failure but an opportunity to prove leadership. The various contributors in Barna (1997) show that clarity and passion of vision (that is dream and strategy) founded on solid character and competency distinguish good leaders and make them unstoppable. They, particularly J. R. Clinton, also show that achievement and finishing well is the ultimate test of good leadership. Further, Clawson (2006, 4) argues that effective leadership depends on a point of view not on a title or status. It is the point of view of seeing what needs to be done, understanding the underlying forces in the situation and having the courage to initiate action and a process to make things better. Having leaders does therefore not guarantee leadership.

Leadership is distinct from management. Leadership does involve some management but leans more towards long-term development than administrative maintenance. It comes from   complex interaction of a leader and followers in a situation to result in something mutually desirable happening (Hughes 2006, 9 and 24). Therefore, to understand it one needs to understand the key variables mentioned - the leader, the follower and the situation. Clawson’ diamond model (2006, 35) is very similar. He also incorporates leadership theories that exist into a single broad structure made up of the leader, others, the task and the organization. The leader’s role however is overriding because it involves finding ways around challenges related to the other two variables.

A leader wields power that affects people. He therefore needs to understand how to properly acquire and use the power. Such understanding includes adopting the view that leadership is shared (teamwork) and is not only exercised on the followers but also derived from them. Hughes and Clawson strongly put the case for leaders to internalize a strong set of ethics and moral values so as not to cause harm to themselves and others. Such personal governance often comes short, and leaders therefore need to be under the governance of other people.

2. Understanding the times for effective leadership

The challenge any entity (family, organization, church, etc) faces is to develop, appropriately place and objectively appraise leaders. To do this effectively it must be born in mind that leadership paradigms and practices in the 21^st century have greatly changed from what they were in the larger part of the 20th century. Postmodern times require leaders with adaptive capacity. Advanced technological developments in areas such as commerce, communication, transportation and information processing are driving globalization forces that are making the world increasingly smaller. Effective leaders must therefore, be able to manage change and to lead across cultures. Further, they must be able to adapt to the growing diversity, complexity and dynamism of markets and market environments.

Change is not the only challenge leaders have to grapple with but they also have to face the fact that the change is happening in an uneven and non-uniform manner. Not all places have experienced the change in the same way and to the same extent. This poses a marked challenge to leadership in developing regions where apparently the primitive, modern and postmodern coexist. The full dynamics of this situation and its impact on leadership needs further study.

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Leaders also have to face the 21^st Century reality of people who are more conscious and ready to stand to their rights and democratic values. Merely getting things done is therefore no longer enough without considering the methods by which the leader uses. It matters how the process and the outcomes of leaders affect people in the long term. Readily available information on global leadership practices puts local leadership under the test of leadership standards that go beyond the local. In other words, followers in a local situation being aware of leadership processes in other places around the world begin to question their local experience.

An understanding of the situation prevailing in postmodern times therefore demands the aligning of leadership development, organizational structures and systems such as for rewarding, education and information to the unfolding current realities. This is not an easy task as Hughes (2006, 328) observes:

Because of the complex and dynamic nature of situations and the substantial role perceptions play in the interpretation of situations, no one has been able to develop a comprehensive taxonomy describing all the situational variables affecting a person’s behavior.

3. The value of developing leaders

The fact of life is that babies are born and some become leaders. In Barna (1997, 33) Kenneth O. Gangel says, ‘make no mistake about it – leadership is learned behavior.’ The four books read are all written on the assumption that leaders can and must be developed deliberately. Clawson (2006) points out the need to identify memetic and genetic qualities in the development of leaders. Memetic qualities are adopted and genetic qualities or personality traits are inborn. The people with either of the qualities need training and the right conditions for leadership qualities to manifest or develop. Hugh and Clawson also raise a warning about bias in favor of people with intellectual intelligence for leadership roles. They highlight the need to also value and sharpen emotional intelligence in developing leaders. Emotional intelligence is a term attributed to Goleman who used it to refer to ability and skill in handling emotions and interpersonal relationships. This is indispensable in effective leadership.

Leadership is developed through a variety of ways in a protracted process of action, observation and reflection. Action, observation and reflection make up Hughes (2006, 47) AOR model. Clinton in Barna (1997, 156-160) suggests a life long leadership formation model that involves the leader’s response choices to contextual factors he has no choice over. Leadership development and training that will match the challenges in Africa and the 21^st century best practices must therefore begin very early in the development of young people and sustained in a lifetime process.

Leighton Ford in Barna (1997,131) takes a classical view and makes reference to how Jesus Christ raised his team to highlight that leadership development is not a lock step program but a sharing between a leader and his trainee leaders. It is a coaching and mentoring process involving a sharing of life and goals, a sharing of partnership and learning, a sharing of time and risks and power.

This kind of sharing happens through mentorship, which has become topical on how to raise leaders. Stanley and Clinton (1992, 17) asserts that through out human history, mentoring was the primary means of inspiring attitudes and passing on knowledge and skills in every field. A lot of value is lost when knowledge acquisition is divorced from experience. They define mentoring as a relational experience through which one person empowers another by sharing their God-given resources (1992, 12). He proposes a constellation model where a leader benefits from both horizontal and vertical mentoring relationships for different areas of life. The horizontal relationships are with peers and the vertical are with one’s mentor and mentorees. This relational network is not an option for a serious leader. It provides meaningful relationships that inspire, challenge, develop and provide accountability.

4. Assessing leadership effectiveness

In the end, leadership is inexorably a function proven by the quality of its process and the results it produces. This means leaders such as in Africa cannot escape responsibility for the results of their leadership. They cannot shift blame to historical or prevailing drawbacks. Leaders who assume responsibility accept result oriented and performance based leadership metrics. Assessing leadership potential, process and effects is therefore necessary to promote effectiveness and develop leaders. Leadership guru Peter Drucker cautioned that if you cannot measure it, then you cannot manage it (Hughes (2006, 91). The various available models that intersect and match the leader, the followers, the stakeholders, and the task/situation are a good framework to determine the leadership style and process that is effective.

The leadership variables provide possible measurable indicators for effective leadership.

• The leader as a variable brings in factors such as the leadership match to character and ethics of the leader, the experience of the leader, the vision of the leader, the cost-benefit of the leader (ROI), and the accountability of the leader, the culture of the leader, and the personality and people-task orientation of the leader. The key to becoming an effective leader begins with being able to recognize what can or cannot change in the leader him/herself before changing others or the situation.
• The follower as a variable brings factors such as the leadership match to personality of the follower, the feedback from the follower, the vision and motivation of the followers, the culture of the follower, and the followers’ level of understanding of issues at hand.
• The stakeholder as a variable brings factors such as the level of cooperation from stakeholder, the impact on stakeholders and the stakeholder satisfaction.
• The situation variable brings factors such as the leadership match to the task goals, complexity of the task, the context of the task, the urgency of the task, the risks of the task, and the expected norms for the task.

Leadership performance qualitative indicators and quantitative metrics are therefore situational. When effectiveness is determined, bold remedial action and reinforcements are necessary. Monitoring and reviewing leadership ensures its continuous improvement.

Conclusion

If necessity and struggle mothered all invention, vision was the father. Given that leaders are vision bearers it can be said that nothing is more important than leadership (Barna 1997). Where a society or organization is and the direction it is heading, are an accurate reflection of the leadership it has. Many societies are in dire need of leaders who are accountable for the quality of the effects of their leadership on the dream of peaceful and prosperous existence. In the 21^st Century there is need to revisit the concept of leadership and conform it to the demands of changing times and to deliberately develop leaders for now and the future.

BOOKS CITED

Barna, George. Leaders on Leadership: Wisdom Advise and encouragement on the art of leading God’s People. Ventura, California: Regal Books, 1997.

Clawson, James G. Level Three Leadership: Getting Below the Surface. 3^rd ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006.

Hughes, Richard L. Ginnet, Robert C and Curphy, Gordon J. Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of Experience. 5^th edition. Boston: Mcgraw-Hill Irwin, 2006.

Stanley, Paul D. and Clinton, J. Robert. Connecting: The Mentoring Relationships You Need to Succeed in Life. Colorado Springs: Navpress, 1992.

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