Business Tips
Leadership Evolution
- Details
- Parent Category: Business Tips
- Category: Leadership
There are three broad types of leadership.
The first is Leadership via Fear and Threat. "Successful" leaders of this type were practised at demonstrating horrible consequences to those who did not follow orders. This kind of leadership presents zero possibilities for creativity and innovation, as followers must implement specific orders to the letter or face a terrible fate.
Peter Drucker, the well-known management writer and consultant said, "Let me say bluntly, I don’t believe in leaders. All the talk about leaders is dangerous nonsense. It is a cop-out. Forget about it. And I am very unhappy that after the 20th century, with Hitler, Stalin and Mao as the great leaders, maybe the greatest leaders in hundreds of years, I'm very unhappy that anybody wants leaders with those examples of mis-leaders so fresh. We should be very much afraid of leaders. We should ask, what do they stand for? What are their values? Can we trust them? Not “do they have charisma?” We've had too much charisma the last 100 years."
For Peter Drucker, leadership is about communicating with people, uniting them behind a shared mission and values, and mobilising energies toward accomplishing the mission or purpose of an business or organisation. An effective leader leads followers with dignity, and inspires them toward achievement. That means that leadership is a means to an end - the mission it serves is the end.
The second general form of leadership is Leadership via Reward. This is sometimes called the "Carrot and Stick" model. If you perform well and meet the goals I set for you, you get a reward, and if you don't, you not only don't get a reward, you might even suffer a loss, such as your job.
The third form of leadership is Inspired Leadership. Inspired leadership has been studied, refined and more fully developed by Lance Secretan who refers to it as Inspirational Leadership. This kind of leadership does not require designation, promotion or anointing of a specific individual. Anyone can be an "inspirational leader." In a word, inspirational leaders have found out who they are, why they are here, and they are dedicated to making this a better world by following their passion, a powerful magnetic force based on their innate and cultivated skills and goals.
Inspirational Leadership is based on the CASTLE Principles, an acronym of Courage, Authenticity, Service, Truthfulness, Love and Effectiveness. When internalised and practised proficiently, these principles form the basis for creating a business that is personally rewarding, commercially advantageous, and socially responsible. It makes the world a much better place in which to live.
Reference: James Cusumano: “Balance: The Business - Life Connection”