===================================================================== Center for Community Economic Development University of Wisconsin-Extension Community Economics Newsletter No. 310 August 2002 ===================================================================== A Newsletter from the Center for Community Economic Development; Community,Natural Resource and Economic Development Programs, and University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension Service ===================================================================== Leadership* by Spencer J. Campbell Are leaders born? Do they have natural traits that are part of their personality? Can persons not blessed with those traits study them and adopt them into their daily living? Can leadership be learned? Many leadership scholars, such as Spencer Campbell, former Lt. Coronal with the US Army Medical Department and Professor of Psychiatry, conclude that with hard work and dedication, the daily traits of effective leaders can be put into practice by anyone willing to learn and adapt. In this issue of Community Economics some of those traits are highlighted with a focus on poignant phrase to help current and future leaders of the community to stop and reflect on the dimensions of effective leadership. · Leadership is the process of influencing others toward achieving group goals. · Leadership is both a science and an art. · Leaders can no longer demand compliance they must instill commitment by others. · One quality of leadership is the ability to inspire trust. · One quality of leadership is that a leader knows how to follow. · One quality of leadership is that leaders make contact with their followers. · Organizations and followers will seek leaders of tomorrow with a vision and the communication skills to motivate workers to accomplish organizational goals. · Followers are eager to commit and connect with competent, trust- worthy leaders. · The measurement of leadership is not about the quantity of knowledge in your head, but the commitment to serve in your heart. · Politics is always a common thread that puts incompetent people in leadership positions. · Why should we follow you? · Leadership development requires individuals to be dedicated to improving their leadership skills and demonstrating the courage to practice. · If you reflect on your experiences you can discover the truth about yourself and your life. · You are the only person who can make yourself a leader. · Leaders learn the most from the failures they experience. · When energy is not transferred from the leader to the workers then individuals and organizations are in a rut. · Leaders of the future must have a multiple focus. · You can’t leader from behind a desk you lead by working around. · A leader’s ego must allow him to share the credit. · Leadership is relationships. · Leaders must model and demonstrate what others want to copy and become. · Management is about coping with complexity due to organizational growth. Leadership by contrast, is about coping with change. · Don’t confuse leadership with power. · Don’t confuse leadership with status. · Leadership requires a large expenditure of energy and a consistent effort. · Take the leadership challenge every opportunity you get no matter how small the part may be. · Leadership is not simply an art or a science. It is a blend of rational, emotional, the inherited and acquired, the ideal and the practical. · Leadership is about the interaction and relationship between leaders and followers and how they communicate. · A good leader must be a good follower and pursue the goals and objectives of the organization. · Leaders recognize the quantity and quality of the work done by followers. · Leaders develop a winning team attitude and get all players on board. · Leaders create an environment that causes followers to join the team because they want to. · Leaders encourage cooperation between followers, bosses and departments. · Leaders set a level of expectation for high quality and quantity of work. · Leaders get people involved in their career. · Leaders care about followers and do not view them as machines. · Leaders do not constantly stand over their followers checking their every progress. · Leaders arrange for followers to have opportunities for training that develop skills for advancement. · Leaders are effective teachers. · Leaders are able to simplify; simplification is the ultimate sophistication. · Leadership power comes from transmitting information to make it usable and productive for all, not from hiding it. · Learn to follow before you lead. · Leaders evolve from the ranks of followers. · Leaders who encourage thoughtful dissidence develop information that leads them to good decisions. · Leaders know that organizations develop and grow from diversity. · To be a good leader you must understand the ability to put your vision into a vision statement. · To be a good leader you must understand how to set specific goals that contribute directly to the attainment of the vision. · Leaders understand how to motivate. · Leaders set the goals, set the priorities, and set and maintain the standards. · Leaders understand that they must develop successful teams and that it is trust that enables team relationships. · Leadership is a behavior, not a position. · A leader’s behavior demonstrates their ability and willingness to teach followers. · A leader’s behavior demonstrates their ability to listen. · A leader’s behavior demonstrates their ability to consistently treat all people with dignity and respect. · A leader’s behavior demonstrates their ability to set the example for others to follow. · A leader’s behavior demonstrates their ability to consistently project their individual values. · The leadership journey requires the leader to be a student of theory and a practitioner of the art. · When a leader makes a mistake and accepts responsibility and corrects his mistake and does not blame others he exhibits strong character. · Leaders can focus and identify situations they can change before problems develop. · Leaders worry about the forest, not the individual trees. * Drawn from Leadership: A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding and Development by Spencer J. Campbell, PhD. San Francisco, CA: Robert D. Reeder Publishers. 2000. Spencer is keen to point out that his use of the male reference “he” and “his” should not be interpreted as gender-bias. A leader should be read as a man or a woman. Steven C. Deller Community Development Economist Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8, and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Carl O‘Connor, Cooperative Extension, University of Wisconsin-Extension. University of Wisconsin-Extension, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Wisconsin counties cooperating. UW-Extension provides equal opportunities in employment and programming, including Title IX and ADA.