My initial proved to actually be similar to the accepted as defined by Bennis. In my original answers to the Bennis questions, I stated that leaders are made, not born. However, I think the process starts shortly after birth. I stated that I feel certain people strive to become leaders while others do not. I thought that leaders were out to prove themselves, to show the world what they are made of and what they can conquer. Many of the original qualities I thought a leader should have included honesty, organization, intelligence, communication skills and the capability to be humble, or to ask for help when needed. My original perceptions stated that failure plays a major role in the development of a leader.
A successful leader cannot be afraid to fail. Any leader who holds themself back because they are afraid of failure will never be able to realize their true potential. I also stated that a leader needs to be educated to some degree to understand the different aspects of life and how they relate to one another. The educational atmosphere also allows leaders to develop the skills necessary to work with their peers in group environments. It helps develop the vital communication and inter-personal skills that are necessary to become a successful leader.
Finally, when analyzing my original perceptions, I stated that childhood experiences play a major role in leadership development. I thought that Church and school leadership roles as a child were vital experiences in the development of a leader. I think that the basic attitudes, morals, and values of an individual are developed and honed as a child. Qualities such as these play a major role in the development of a leader and need to be taught and stressed as a child.
I learned from the Bennis audio that there are many other aspects to the development of a leader. There are many qualities that I think of. For instance, the audio spoke of Ed who had plenty of technical knowledge, business knowledge, education, and judgement skills. He lacked people skills and vision. While I found it obvious that a leader needed people skills, it never occurred to me that vision is also an important quality for a leader to have in order to guide his or her company into a successful future. I also found it interesting that many leaders act on an inner voice or gut feeling. I assumed that most leaders made decisions based on lots of thought and analyzation. Curiosity is also a quality of leaders that I wouldnt have thought of. However, it does make good sense.
In order for a leader to take his or her followers into new terrain, he or she is going to have to be curious about what possibilities exist and how to achieve them. Without listing all the different aspects, I learned that there are really many differences between leaders and managers. I always thought that the terms were really one in the same. In order for a company to be successful, I think that leaders need managers, and vice-versa. A leader moves by passion and a desire to explore new territory. Leaders react to situations by how they feel, not by how the system says they should react. Managers react to situations by the book.
Rather than serve themselves, they serve the company and will make decisions based on what is best for the system. They act as more of an administrator than a leader does and managers keep their eye on the bottom line. Leaders keep their eye on the horizon and where they can take their followers. Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects I found in the Bennis audio was that present feelings are really memories of past behavior. This idea makes complete sense, but it is one that Ive never given much thought too.
Now, I think that as a leader a person must make sure that they dont react to a situation strictly from a feeling stance. The feeling may be based on a past experience that failed. If a leader reacts to a similar situation in the same way because they are scared of failure, then they will never realize their true potential as a leader.
Some of my original perceptions of leaders changed, while other perceptions remained the same. I found that many of my original answers to the Bennis questions were very close to the perceptions that were given in the audio version. While many of my answers were not identical, they were along the same ideas. In many instances, such as qualities of a leader, I think that my answers were correct but that Bennis took the ideas further. He analyzed the questions deeper and thought of aspects that I didnt.
I also found that I changed by mind on some instances as well. For instance, as I mentioned earlier, I thought that leaders were out to prove themselves. I thought that they existed to show others what they were made of. However, after listening to the audio, I now believe that most leaders are out to express themselves. They want to show others what they see on the horizon and how we can all get there. Overall, with a few exceptions, I didnt really change my perceptions on the development of a leader.
However, I did learn new ideas that will definitely be added to by present perceptions. Overall, I feel that the ideas presented in the Bennis audio neither agree nor disagree with the book and web pages views expressed in chapter 14 on motivation. Moreover, I feel that the sources of information compliment one another. I feel that it is a leaders responsibility to motivate his or her followers. All of the ideas expressed in the Bennis audio are necessary to build leaders who will be able to motivate their followers. The web page and book list many types of motivation theories such as the Drive Theory, Reinforcement Theory, Expectancy Theory, Equity Theory, Combination Mechanistic and Cognitive Motivation Theories, and the Mastery and Growth Theories. However, I dont think it matters which theory the leader utilizes to motivate their employees.
In any theory, the theory only works when the leader is effective in communicating with their employees and the employees have a desire to do as the leader wishes. That desire on the employees behalf may be inspired by financial rewards, fear of punishment, or just the fact that they have made their leader happy. It doesnt matter where the desire is inspired from, it just matters that the leader is able to acknowledge and find it. I think that the aspects mentioned in the Bennis audio prepare a leader for these challenges. They teach the leader the necessary skills to analyze their employees to find the desire and to convince their employees that the leader is trust-worthy enough to keep their word on any type of rewards promised.
I think that aspects in both the web page and the Bennis audio will be useful in my preparation for leading people. As I mentioned earlier, I believe the two sources of information compliment each other. The web page lists many different aspects of many different motivation theories. I think that it is important for a leader to know the different motivation techniques that are available and what qualities they will need to make each of them work.
Regarding the Bennis audio, I like how it shows how leaders with and without certain skills have succeeded or failed. I liked the way that the Bennis audio also included certain recipes of success such as the 4 lessons of self-acknowledgment and basic ingredients of leadership. I think that potential leaders should make themselves aware of all potential help in their quest. By learning different available techniques, and then seeing how people have succeeded or failed with them, a leader can make a decision on which method would be best to use in his or her situation. By utilizing all this information, the leader will have the techniques necessary to guide his or her followers to a successful future.
