Dr. Sabrina Anderson
"Leadership is the art of getting someone to do something you want done because he wants to do it."
- Eisenhower
Leadership is an achievable goal for many people, demonstrating a commitment to personal growth and lifelong learning. With an emphasis on inspiring vision, creativity, innovation and influencing others. According to Steve Jobs, great companies must have a noble cause. Then it is the leader’s job to transform that noble cause into such an inspiring vision that it will attract the most talented people in the world to want to join it.
Leadership traits displayed by the Reverend Graham include his work as world-renowned preacher and evangelist who transformed the dissemination of Christianity over six decades, delivering the gospel message to hundreds of millions of people across the world. His first book, Peace with God, was published in 1953. He wrote dozens more. His leadership traits are evidenced in the courage to write Gospel-message books and preach at filled-stadium crusades, when Christianity is not wholly accepted by many.
Courage and tenacity were his distinguishing quality traits. I would consider him a strategic leader where he displayed the ability to work with others to initiate changes for the good, in their lives. Leadership requires study, research, and quality effort on the part of the leader. It requires the leader to hold themselves to high ethical standards regardless of the blowing wind.
Different attitudes will come and go, and different things will be acceptable. For example, being a manager used to be the top of the organization hierarchy and was a respected position. Attitudes have changed greatly and now, just being a good leader is more greatly respected and ideally loved. Managing people is, per say, just a job for the organization. Leading with excellence can challenge one and create a career one will love.
Today there is much concern and philosophical debate over the advances of artificial intelligence (AI), science and the manipulation of plants and animals, affecting human behavior. If one were to align with this input, they would be of the made-leader rather than born-leader philosophy. In earlier years I would let others take the lead, even though I knew I had a good idea.
I felt that I did not have leadership abilities but was a better helper. I have studied, using scientifically proven fitness, plant/animal, and health regimens all with the outcome of clearer thinking, and improved confidence. With science, AI, and other input being used, taking the best parts of it, one can be a made leader.
There are leader roles and follower roles. The relationship between them historically was irrelevant. In current and future visions of leadership, the leader/follower roles are more important, and they directly affect each other. For example, the leader Reverend Graham took the relationship with his followers very seriously. To safeguard his moral integrity, Reverend Graham’s personal secretary was a man. Being happily married to Ruth Graham, he did not want to leave any room for suspicion of inappropriate behavior by his followers.
It may have been impossible for the followers to listen to what he had to say if they had lost respect for him. Additionally, Dr. Graham provided Christian counsel to all the American Presidents during his lifetime, from John F. Kennedy through Donald Trump. He maintained relationships with Queen Elizabeth of England and the Pope of the Catholic Church.
Situational leaders emphasize adapting, flexibility and being both directive and supportive. Leadership is defined as an influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend real changes and outcomes that reflect their shared purposes. I do not consider myself charismatic and do not expect to grow or be made into one, however, charisma is a trait that I do admire.
Conceptualized as a skill, leadership is a competency developed to accomplish a task effectively. Skilled leaders are competent people who know the means and methods for carrying out their responsibilities. For example, a skilled leader in a fund-raising campaign knows every step and procedure in the fund-raising process and can use this knowledge to run an effective campaign. In short, skilled leaders are competent—they know what they need to do, and they know how to do it.
Describing leadership as a skill makes leadership available to everyone because skills are competencies that people can learn or develop. Even without natural leadership ability, people can improve their leadership with practice, instruction, and feedback from others.
The industrial model of leadership’s aim is to serve institutional needs. Machiavelli suggested the successful leader: must have no other object or thought, nor acquire skill in anything, except war (he said), its organization and its discipline. Leadership virtues and skills are likely to reflect both the responsible and the reasonable person, a person grounded in an ethic of the responsible self. Such an individual will not hold on in an unyielding manner to unshakeable commitments but rather will consider carefully these commitments in light of other social demands and the commitments of others.
In the context of my little world, I shall continually endeavor to lead, teach, demonstrate and behave with leadership skills that I regularly practice. It will be necessary to do regular self-assessments, not becoming complacent. Integrity in leadership requires that one holds fast to one's principles in the face of temptation and social pressure.
Strive to be a competent, engaging, transformative leader in whatever environment you find yourself.
Dr. Sabrina Anderson lives on
Pine Island in Southwest Florida.
DrSabrinaAnderson@outlook. com
