Leadership

Interesting post. I can remember in high school, being captain of my soccer team for three years, the challenges it takes to become an effective leader. What happens when someone doesn’t want to follow under you leadership? What do you do? What Stephen Covey said pretty much sums it up. It is a choice to become a leader. Whether you accept a position that gives you power of employees, or whether it is being captain of the soccer team. All of that comes with accepting the role. In high school I did not have to be the captain. I think it is all about establishing yourself above everyone else. To do this it does take courage, but it also takes experience to be a good leader.

Without experience, a leader will lack the basic essentials to any job he or she is responsible for completing. Rudy Giuliani is right when he mentioned the fear aspect. The problem, and I think the greatest fear of any leader, is what happens if your team does not want you as a leader anymore? Do you step down, or do you change, even if you don’t think you should? Here is where the real courage comes into play.

Leadership is something that you as an individual have. It is not something you just pick up one day. I read a quote one day that helped me to realize this and it goes like this: “Leadership is not so much about technique and methods as it is about opening the heart. Leadership is about inspiration—of oneself and of others. Great leadership is about human experiences, not processes. Leadership is not a formula or a program, it is a human activity that comes from the heart and considers the hearts of others. It is an attitude, not a routine.” That my friends, is what leadership is all about.

Insightful post. I agree with Josh and his assessment that Leadership is something that you have as an individual and not something that you just pick up. Often times you hear people say that leaders are born not cultivated. If a person just decides to be a leader with out leadership qualities then there is little hope that people will be compelled to follow.

Colin Powell said, “Leadership is all about people. It is not about organizations. It is not about plans. It is not about strategies. It is all about people–motivating people to get the job done. You have to be people-centered.” If you aren’t a people person, and can’t get people to believe in the things you are trying to achieve then your leadership abilities will fall short.

In my military experience I have run into both poor leaders and phenomenal leaders. The comment by Marcus Buckingham about turning fear into confidence holds true for military leaders as they are required to make soldiers follow them into battle. Without addressing your own fears and those of your troops, you would fail to create confidence in those who follow you.

Leadership is an art. Some people are naturally great leaders and are often referred to fondly by those who they lead. They get into the heart of those they lead and challenge them to achieve great things by making them to believe they can. The sign of a great leader is not what he says and does himself, but more what people say about him and are willing to do for him. (And that Josh is what leadership is all about … )

I found this post of quotes on leadership interesting. Reading people’s opinions of leadership made me think about what I consider leadership really is. I have to agree with Rudy Giuliani’s quote: “Change requires leadership. Leadership requires courage. Courage requires overcoming fear. Change causes fear. Repeat.”

From this statement, it shows that leadership is not just something by itself. Instead, it consists of a number of different characteristics that together form what we consider to be leadership. Giuliani shows to be a leader, you must have courage, which overcomes fear. But to change, you must also have leadership.

The fact that leadership isn’t a single thing makes it so much deeper, yet also something more difficult to have. I believe that anyone can be a leader. Some may be a leader more naturally than others, but leading is possible, with practice and being educated. But to be full of leadership, this is something that people are born with. Of course there are many ways to build your leadership skills, but there has to be something naturally that brings those skills out. Leadership isn’t something that should be taken lightly. For those that are natural born leaders, I hope they take the gifts they have and spread them to those following in their footsteps.

Quotes are always fun to read. Sometimes, they seem trite-sounding or a cliché, but remembering that quotes are to give wisdom/guidance in a form that is easy to remember. Most of these I like. Laura already picked out my favorite to expound on—the quote my Rudy Guiliani that basically says leadership is cyclical, always redefining itself and having reasons of appearing.

Bill Marriott’s quote was interesting—are the employees leaving the notes anonymously? Or is it a part of the management’s plan when Mr. Marriott visits a particular plan? After all you definitely want the “head hancho� to think that all of the employees are just peachy. However, I’m glad Mr. Marriott sees this as a benefit and that it drives him to be a better leader. Some receiving these notes could do the opposite and become egotistical or arrogant, knowing that they are a good leader and forget about striving to continue leading positively.

I think Marcus Buckingham makes a valid point that leaders do fear. They are not always sure of their decisions and have no clue about what to do, but that is their life and what they perceive as normalcy.

Thanks for providing these quotes for everyone, especially the students. I know that quotes sometimes help me have confidence or at least help me understand why a particular aspect is so important to my future career.

I agree that being a good leader and possessing leadership skills is something that you are born with. You can put yourself in a leadership position, but you may not have exactly what it takes to be successful. Some people are born to be followers, and they enjoy looking up to others and having someone lead them. Some people enjoy making the plans, guiding people, giving advice and working to make their group successful.

However, it can be scary to be in a leadership position. All the pressure is on you. How do you know if people like your ideas and direction? What if people don’t think you are doing a good job and don’t want to work for you? It can be a stressful position that requires natural skill and poise.

I also like Rudy Giuliani’s quote: “Change requires leadership. Leadership requires courage. Courage requires overcoming fear. Change causes fear. Repeat.� It shows that leadership is a combination of many things, and it requires confidence. It shows that things may not always go the way you want them to, but you have to keep overcoming each obstacle.

I liked this post on leadership. It was insightful and I love reading quotes, especially from well-respected people. I always remember a good quote and they give me guidance.

I agree with everyone that this was an interesting post. Although, I think that everyone is born with the capabilities of being a leader, some choose to use them while others choose not to. I have been in both the position of being a leader and a follower and I have learned so much in both situations. One example I could use is dance class. I have been in many different dance classes and have been both a leader and a student. Being a leader can feel powerful, but also scary. I think the best place is when there is a balance of the two feelings. While I was a leader I found out not only things about the people I was teaching, but about myself.

Group projects are used all of the time in our department at Auburn. I find myself in different situations where I am sometimes the leader while other times someone else emerges into that position. It is easy to resent a leader and their opinions. I think the best kind of leader listens to what everyone has to say. I once heard a quote, “”A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader, a great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves.”

I love the quote by Marcus Buckingham, “Basic human instinct is to fear the unknown. Leaders traffic in the unknown. The challenge of the leader is to turn fear into confidence.” The best kind of leaders don’t use themselves and their ideas to get things done, they use the people around them because often times other people’s ideas are better. Woodrow Wilson once said, “The ear of the leader must ring with the voices of the people.” I couldn’t agree more.

These quotes offer not only great advice but they also give us immeasurable insight into the minds of some the world’s greatest business, political and intellectual leaders.

All of these quotes give insight into the mind and leading style of each leader. A few quotes in particular really hit home with me and led me to check out the speaker’s website and read more about them.

I liked Jack Welch’s quote on crisis management because of how candid and frank it was. Welch’s list was very honest and to the point which is necessary when learning how to react, from a public relations standpoint, in a crisis situation. Our professors should use his quote when teaching us crisis management.

I also liked Malcolm Gladwell’s quote, “What would happen if we took our instincts seriously?� I believe instincts are very important and should always be taken into consideration. Most of the time, our first instincts are right. That is an extremely important lesson to learn in business. There is not always time to research and consider all options; in such cases instincts come in handy.

These quotes were very interesting, motivating and thought provoking. I’m sure that was a great conference to be a part of. Thank you for sharing some of the highlights with us.

I often wonder what it is that holds me back from leadership positions. I always find myself asking what has made me so scared to take the initiative. I loved the quote “basic human instinct is to fear the unknown.� So true.

Some would argue that pride is what keep us from change, but I think most of the time my problem is that I get too comfortable. I can find safety in my daily tasks and it makes me not strive to reach for anything more. The same comfort I find soon becomes fear when faced with change, however. Change is inevitable and I think that a true leader is one who is not only prepared for change, but excited about it. Leaders don’t let themselves get stuck in a rut. They are always striving for more and ready to let the next wave hit.

I like to take a step back and look at my life from the outside when looking at my leadership qualities. On the inside I see myself as fearful of failure and full of self doubt. But from the outside, I see the power of accomplishment when I have lead others to finish a task. This feeling of stepping back and looking at what has been done by my hands should be enough to not let me fear the next task. Those who are strong leaders feel this often and, although they may fail, they have accomplished something in their name and wont be afraid to do it again.

Leadership is something that can’t be taught and is something that can’t be ispired by quotes from people that have already left their mark on society. If you are inspired by any of these quotes to lead, then you have just become a follower. Inspirational quotes are just that, someones elses influence on your life. Quotes mold you into the shadow of their creator. True inspiraiton for leadership must come from within. It is not for the lazy or the weak. There will be ups and there will be downs, but the one thing that is constant is change. Change is inevitable and it is for this reason that one has to have the ability to improvise on short notice. It is this ability to “roll with the punches” that makes or breaks an effective leader in our constantly evolving society.

Leadership is huge aspect in our day to day life. Either you are following a leader or you are stepping up and being a leader. However, I feel a lot of times people are scared to be a leader for many reasons. Reason such as feeling like it would take up to much time and lack of knowledge or experience. I think the number one reason though that people do not step up and be a leader is their fear of failing.

I recently watched a speech from Millard Fuller, the founder of Habitat for Humanity and he spoke on a similar topic. In talking about people being afraid of trying something new or leading something he said, “Don’t be afraid to take a risk and step out into uncharted waters.� People don’t want to be a leader of something they have never done before. He also said, “If you are only winning at everything you do then you are in the wrong league. We need to accept many challenges in our lives that we need to live.� I thought Millard was a very motivated and successful person much like the people quoted on the post.

Leadership is not an easy thing and doesn’t come naturally to everyone but anyone that puts the time and heart into can be a leader. Everyone, including myself needs to “step out into the uncharted waters.�

Management and Leadership….hmmm… This article reminds me of a lecture that I had last week in my management class. THe lecture was about one of them most successful privately owned companies in the world SAS. SAS was such as successful company because of it’s presiden’s view on employee relations.
The company’s president stated, “Ninety-five percent of my assets drive out the front gate every afternoon and I have to bring them back every day.” I think that looking at employees as assets rather than expenses is characteristic of a good manager.
By treating employees well, (including things like a 35 hour work week, in house spa, pool, and gym ) the turnover rate for his company was less than 3 percent.
This proves that good leadership that caters to othersa makes for a postive relationship which equals a very successful organization.

Leadership-something that is very hard for some people. I do believe that there are some people in the world who are not “natural born leaders.” Some people are extremely shy, while others are a little too boisterous. The ability to be a good leader is a skill. Thinking back on the first time I was in charge of something, I had no clue what I was doing. I seemed to learn from trial and error what worked and what didn’t. And I think that being in the shoes of a follower definitely teaches you a lot about being a leader. You notice what you like and respond to about that leader, as well as what you don’t like. And now, after being president of my sorority of 220 girls, I still feel like I have more to learn. I must say that I learned more from that experience than anyone could ever teach me, but I will never feel that my leadership is perfect. I think the sign of a good leader is when that leader always feels like he/she can improve.
My favorite quote from your post is that of Rudy Giuliani. Maybe it’s because I can compare his quote to the way he lead the city of New York. Giuliani is a great leader and showed it through his performance on September 11, 2001, and the subsequent months. In his quote he speaks of “change,” and that is exactly what September 11 brought. It changed our whole country, but there could have been a lot more negativity in that event in history, had Giuliani not shown his incredible leadership abilities.