Posted on Oct 7, 2015
COL Mikel J. Burroughs
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Do you agree (3) Things Leadership Is NOT?

Leadership Is NOT a Position
Leadership Is NOT Power
Leadership Is NOT Pride

RP Members and Connections this is one of those lost Questions that was lost and It has been a while since I've posted something on Leadership, so here we go.

RP members do you agree or disagree with this author's assessment on the (3) things that leadership is NOT?

SEE ENTIRE ARTICLE BELOW

by Dianna Booher Author, speaker, consultant. Leadership communication, executive presence, presentations, CEO at http://www.BooherResearch.com

Leadership—or the lack of it—has been the theme of the last decade. From political pundits, to convention keynoters, to sports team coaches, everybody claims to want a cadre of leaders to carry out their mission.

So for all the talk, training techniques, and tips on the topic, you’d think everyone would have the concept down by now. But not so. A few carrying the title of leader are still off track.

Leadership Is NOT a Position

Real leadership requires personal influence—persuasion afforded by a long track record of strong relationships built by trust. That reserve of trust may have been built by any number of things:

Direct, clear communication without intention to deceive
Consistency ̶̶ ̶̶ actions that match your words
Transparency and openness
Explanations about goals and decisions
A private life that matches the public life
Competence
Concern and compassion for others
An upbeat, positive attitude about the future
When others observe these attitudes in a leader, the personal influence compels them to listen with an open mind—and often to accept the leader’s ideas and opinions as their own.

When the personal influence is missing, a positional title often demands little more than a “hearing”—often met with open skepticism.

Leadership Is NOT Power

Positional power comes from a title—to hire, fire, write a traffic ticket, dismiss from a sports team. But members in all levels of our society have such power. The cashier has “power” to stop buyers before they walk out of store without paying for an item. The librarian has “power” to charge for an overdue book. The night security guard in the building lobby has power to turn visitors away if they don’t have a proper ID to enter the building.

But people in these positions would not necessarily be showing leadership to stop the thief, fine the book borrower, or turn away the building visitor.

Leadership comes from a higher order of power—one not simply granted by the position or title someone holds.

Leadership has to be earned. Your followers grant it. To know if you are a leader, look behind you to see if there are followers.

Leadership Is NOT Pride

Whenever I go to a conference, I’m not surprised to see the most successful attendees in the group taking the most notes. They never stop learning, growing, reflecting, tweaking to make themselves and their businesses better. The less successful often lean back as if they know it all already.

The greatest leaders demonstrate deep humility. Not a false humility, but a genuine humility. Because of their wisdom, they know the vast potential for human growth, and the standards for themselves and their own achievements remain extremely high.

The humble leader listens—to new ideas, to feedback, to those lower “on the food chain” with a different perspective. The humble leader understands that their greatest accomplishment often comes as a result from intake, not outgo.

Effective leaders communicate a lot about position, power, and pride—without ever saying a word.

Dianna Booher is the bestselling author of more than 46 books, published in 26 languages. She consults, writes, and speaks on leadership communication, executive presence, productivity, and faith. Her latest books include What MORE Can I Say: Why Communication Fails and What to Do About It, Creating Personal Presence: Look, Talk, Think, and Act Like a Leader and Communicate With Confidence. National media such as Good Morning America, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, Bloomberg, Forbes.com, CNN International, NPR, Success, and Entrepreneur have interviewed her for opinions on critical workplace communication issues. http://www.booherresearch.com
Edited 8 y ago
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Responses: 70
TSgt Larry Johnson
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Yes, I agree. I also agree that it is much harder to be a leader in the civilian world than the military world. The military gives you training, and the civilian world throws you to the wolves.
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CMSgt Steve Pennington
CMSgt Steve Pennington
8 y
After the military I retired as an executive with The Boeing Co. and can echo what you say about the civilian world. But the civilian world is also lacking people like Sgt. Maj., Division Chief, First Sgt. , etc. who provide the support structure for senior leaders.
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PO1 Kevin Dougherty
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I agree, especially when couple with the elaborations in the article. I would add one thing, a true leader knows when to listen, when to act, and when to wait. That entails both wisdom and the ability to make a decisive decision when needed.
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CSM Bruce Trego
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Some of the best leaders that I have known did not have a true leadership position/title.
If a leader must have power over those he is leading and use that power to lead he is not a true leader. To be a leader he must have followers, not just subordinates.
A proud leader isn't proud of his leadership; he's proud of the actions of those he led!

This is just a few thoughts from and old NCO.
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SSgt Boyd Herrst
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definition is that leadership is the art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal. ... He or she is the person in the group that possesses the combination of personality and leadership skills that makes others want to follow his or her direction...
And the list that LTC U
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SSgt Boyd Herrst
SSgt Boyd Herrst
8 y
Stephen F. Articulated.
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Construction Manager
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Excellent premise Col., & you are living proof ! Leadership is a servant's heart, doing good to everyone possible. Leadership is Not driving the sheep forward but leading them from the Front! True leadership operates in love & compassion & builds a cohesive Team !
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SSgt Gary Andrews
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Agree. Leadership is not a position.....it is more like a calling. Leadership is not about power.....it is about influence. Leadership is not about pride.....it is about rising to the occasion.
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1SG James Matthews
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Completely.
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Sgt Randy Wilber
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I agree with the article, to be a leader also you have to have patience (to teach and guide even when you could do it and be done with it sooner) also personality comes into it some ppl can't make decisions and don't want or can't handle the responsibility, some ppl just can't read ppl or the situation no matter how many times you tell or show them. So I believe you can teach all ppl how to be a leader, some will be OK leaders some will excell and some won't be able to handle it. IMHO COL Mikel J. Burroughs
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SSG Edward Tilton
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Pride, nothing wrong with installing Pride
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SMSgt Maintenance Superintendent
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Those 3 things tend to make for bad leadership decisions. Leadership is not a place or a level of responsibility nor is it how much you think of yourself.
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