Leadership is a Choice

Choice

Leadership is not defined by a position or popularity.  Leadership is a choice. I can debate this point with a number of contemporary leadership authors but you have to agree that everyone has a choice. You also have a choice as to the type of leader you portray. There are great leaders then there are great, bad leaders.

I call the great, bad leaders: “Tater Tot Leaders.” I use the analogy of a school cafeteria. One kid throws a tater tot, and I have to admit, the size and shape are conducive to throwing. Then another kid throws one. Before you know it, the whole table is throwing tots. The one kid that threw the first tot is a leader, he has followers but he led in a bad direction. I can use the same analogy to some very bad world leaders that had whole countries following them.

Some authors will deliberate that leaders are born. I will argue that there are some circumstances that may be advantageous to your quality of life and your opportunities because we aren’t all born on a level playing field. However, as life progresses, your ability to lead and the direction you choose to lead are entirely up to you. In fact, this type (power) of leadership stifles the leadership potential within the organization. These types of leaders lack the ability to reach their potential because they associate power or lack of power as vulnerability that deteriorates their leadership. On the contrary, once you think you need invincibility you become a fairytale leader that will allow the organization to perish because you try to live forever without setting up your organization to thrive in the long-term.   

Positional leaders take the power wherever they go, so to speak. These people define leadership as power, and they think there is a finite amount of leadership. These people will not promote leadership for everyone.

So let us create some leadership. Get on board the leader-ship. Choose and accept your role as a leader. Over the years we (my colleagues, family, and I) have tried to simplify the topic of leadership success. Through research and experience we broke it down to four areas that will balance your opportunities: 1) Self-Management – Organization, 2) Communication – Listening,          3) Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Team Building, 4) Character Education – Service Learning

These four areas are intertwined. Success in all four areas will balance the leadership process and your life. There will always be empty seats on the leader-ship. So, climb on board.It's your Choice.

Be Nice

Be Nice

Does this topic need any more explanation? I hope not but just for the sake of argument we will expand on some related topics.

Character Traits

An important concept to remember is that every character trait has an opposite. My theory is that if you do not possess the character trait then you possess the opposite of the trait. For instance, if you do not have enthusiasm you have apathy.  I’m sure that you can find arguments to this but what is in the middle? Just like most leadership traits are entwined, so are most character traits. What is your favorite character trait? I have several.

Trustworthiness might be at the top. If people trust you, authentic relationships are more likely. If you can trust the people around you, more can get accomplished and leadership does not take on a power position but rather a choice. Trust is powerful as is most positive character.

Any character that you bring on the leader-ship is modeled after your appeal. Remember, no one is perfect at character so when you make a mistake it’s OK to apologize then move on in a positive direction. There’s an old quote: “Character begins at birth and ends at death.” That gives you a lot of stimulus and response in between. To be able stop before you react takes a lot of practice. Start now.

Service Learning

As mentioned previously, the power of positive self-communication can make quantum leaps in your ability to achieve some noteworthy feats. Now let us focus on the power of positive “doing.” When you model positive behavior and get your team involved, your influence and the influence of your organization will exceed what you thought you were capable of accomplishing.

There’s a big difference between community service and service learning. Most people have never really thought about it. Community service is donating hours or some other resource to your community. There is no real learning or commitment taking place. Service learning is actually making the connection to the community or a group and discovering a need then carrying through on that need to make the community or group better. Service learning can also be described as community involvement: a connection for the betterment of people around you.

Several years ago I joined a community education foundation because I wanted to give the children of our town more opportunities for success. The president of the organization  asked me if I was joining to give back. My response was, “I’m not joining to give back, I’m joining to give.” Service learning is unconditional whereas community service has motive for self-gain or fulfilling an obligation. I think of community service as punitive or obligatory.  

For instance, many student groups require community service hours without the notion of a plan to make a difference. I think the planning part is most important when formulating service leadership. Service learning is an important component to the leader-ship and should not be taken lightly. What are the needs of the organization or community? What are your special talents and/or the talents of your organization?

Take a long look at how you can make yourself, people around you, and your community better. Over the years there has also been opportunity for our organization to get involved and make a difference globally. One year we raised money for an organization that brings clean water systems to Chinese orphanages. Another year we sponsored a cancer support organization. Other years we supported local food banks and homeless shelters. There are multiple chances to service learn. Come up with a plan.

In our organization, one component of the leader-ship is for members to come up with their individual service learning plan before they add to our platform. The idea of “paying it forward” may have come from a movie but the service learning involved will make a difference for a lifetime.