Wednesday, August 24, 2005

The Ecology of Leadership

Definitions of leadership typically refer to something a leader does to, for, or with followers. The emphasis is on the leader. I view leadership as a system. This system has three components—leader, follower, and context. Leadership is not about the leader but about the relationship between these three components. Remove any part of this system and you destroy leadership. I refer to this dynamic as the ecology of leadership.

Ecology refers to the relationship of organisms to each other and to their environment. The ecology of leadership is about the relationship between leaders and followers within a particular context. Context refers to the situation or environment within which the leaders and followers find themselves.

Someone becomes a leader when others choose to follow. The followers determine who leads. There is no leader if no one is following. If there are followers, then by definition there is a leader. Otherwise you simply have a group of people wandering around. A leader is successful only if the followers are effective. If the followers fail, so does the leader. What is effective depends upon the context. What may work in one situation may not be appropriate in another circumstance. All three elements of the leadership system—leaders, followers, context—are interdependent.

This also means that leadership is an emergent process. Who leads and follows emerges as individuals interact with each other within a particular context. There may be a “designated” leader but that person may not be the true leader. Having a title does not make you a leader. The authority to lead is given by the followers. You become a leader when others choose to follow you.

Recognizing leadership as a system explains why many attempts at leadership development fail. Such efforts usually consist of designated leaders being isolated in classrooms or retreat centers and undergoing assessments, role plays, case studies, rock climbing, and rope courses. These individuals are then returned to their workplaces and expected to lead. The entire development process is disconnected from the leadership system. This is equivalent to trying to teach someone to be a championship tennis player by subjecting the individual to classroom instruction, video lessons, and assigned readings. The trainee may even get to role play in class by swinging a tennis racquet. Upon completing the training the individual is put on a tennis court with an opponent and expected to perform at a championship level. Not likely! Leadership development must take into account the leaders, followers, and the circumstances in which they find themselves. This does not mean leader skills cannot be taught. Such training can be useful. But such training does not constitute leadership development.

We need to be mindful of the distinction between leading and leadership. Leading is what a leader does. Leadership is the systemic relationship between leader, follower, and context.

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Background

Leadership has been a lifelong interest of mine. It may be helpful to anyone who may read this weblog to have some background on me explaining my interest in leadership.

I began taking a leader role as a child. I could say I started at birth since I was the first-born. What I had in mind, though, was my position as lieutenant of my elementary school’s safety patrol. As a teen I was the first Master Acolyte of the Episcopal parish of which I was a member and served as Captain of the Acolyte Guild. In college I was president of my fraternity. While still a graduate student, I initiated the start of a community action group for the community in which I lived; this lead to my later election to the Village Board. During this time I also was elected to leader roles in my church. Professionally I have served as chapter president of several professional associations and been formally recognized by my peers for my leader abilities.

Leadership also has been a focus of my work as a consultant and teacher. I have provided leadership training for audiences from North America, South America, Asia, Australia, Africa, and Europe. I founded the Center for Transforming Leadership. I teach leadership courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

I do not consider myself a leadership expert. I will always have more to learn. To say I “know” leadership is to confine myself to the past and present. We can only know what is or has been. If we expect to lead others we must first lead ourselves. We must move beyond our own personal boundaries into the realm of the unknown. It is there that learning takes place.

This journal is to document my own explorations into the realm of my unknown. Others have already journeyed to places I have not yet been. I welcome hearing from those who may wish to share what they have learned about leadership. “To know the road ahead, listen to those coming back.” (Yang Li An) I look forward to sharing and listening.