The mark of a great leader is in the followers that he or she has behind them. I have had my fair share of following great, powerful leaders as well as following questionably weak ones. Although my experiences were memorable with both, I did learn a lot from each one. Even while I was forming my own brand of leadership for myself, I was able to glean usable qualities from each one. Like Hal said in this post, leadership IS measured by followership, or, by those that follow them. I owe my success as a leader, as does Hal, to those that have mentored me, helped me, guided me and even those that I've seen make gross mistakes. I've been able to look at those qualities and make decisions based on emulation...or avoidance.
When a leader says to do what I do and say what I say, they are not creating more leaders, but rather, they are creating robots. Robots that will simply do anything and everything you say. A leader should not want followers to mimick them, but for them to be able to think for themselves and make decisions and choices based on their thinking, not their leaders.
Sure, we have to create order amongst the ranks or anarchy could break out. Of course we want our orders carried out when we pass them on to the management teams and customer service folks. What I am suggesting does not or would not usurp the leader's authority. What I am suggesting is empowering those under us, those that we lead, to be able to think for themselves and formulate processes without being told what to or how to think. A great leader empowers the ranks.
So when a leader says do what I do, say what I say, hopefully he or she means to formulate their own thoughts. I hope that's what they mean. What do you think?
» Leading By Example from LeaderNotes
People who fall under our leadership in any situation will simply do what they see, or don't see, you do. [Read More]
Tracked on: December 12, 2007 11:29 AM | Permalink to Trackback