¶ … Promoting Leadership Professional Development
One of the harsh realities of working in an organization is the inevitability of inappropriate promotions that are based on friendship, cronyism or nepotism rather than merit, or wherein employees find themselves thrust into leadership roles by virtue of luck or fate, or a combination thereof. In addition, some leaders who intentionally attempt to climb the career ladder into the executive boardroom may find their path frustrated by a lack of appropriate leadership training that can help them become more effective in the workplace. Although history has shown time and again that some people are born leaders, far more people need some help to achieve their maximum potential in these leadership roles. The objective of this essay was to review to recent peer-reviewed journal articles concerning the importance of leadership professional development and what steps can be used to facilitate the process in the modern workplace. The review of the two juried articles is followed by a reflection concerning how the experience is related to improving leadership development, a summary of the research and important findings concerning leadership professional development in the conclusion.
Review and Discussion
Summary of Journal Article No. 1: Adamek, M.S. (2007, July 1). Elements of leadership development: What contributes to effective leadership? Music Therapy Perspectives, 25(2), 121-125.
Four of the more salient elements of leadership that have been described by leadership expert, John C. Maxwell are influence, empowerment, process, and inner circle (Adamek, 2007). Although not everyone possesses innate competencies and proficiencies in each of the leadership elements, it is possible to improve these qualities in ways that can facilitate trust, teamwork, and collaboration (Adamek, 2007). Indeed, Adamek emphasizes that, "Rather than [arguing...
121). Therefore, by learning how these four constituent elements of effective leadership, influence, empowerment, process, and inner circle operate in the workplace, aspiring leaders can help fine-tune their skills and overcome the constraints to their effectiveness as discussed further below.
Influence. In his seminal work, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, Maxwell (1998) described this element thusly: "Leadership is influence -- nothing more, nothing less" (p. 17). In sum, influence means persuading, compelling and cajoling others to work together towards a mutual goal in which they may have no personal interest, a challenging enterprise in any situation. An important point made by Adamek (2007) in this area is that influence in an organization does not fall out of the sky but is rather the result of long periods of hard work to establish trust and a working rapport with others. In this regard, Adamek emphasizes that, "Within any organization, hard work is required in order to develop influence with others. This influence is not meant to stifle others' ideas but to encourage others to be involved in the process" (p. 122). Indeed, influence can be truly heady stuff and its effective application can help organizations of all sizes and types achieve their goals; conversely, misused or abused, influence in the workplace can wreak havoc in the extreme. As Adamek points out, "Influential leaders get others to participate and contribute to the work of the organization. They also can influence attitudes that impact the future of the organization" (2007, p. 122).
Empowerment. Because some leaders got where they are in life as the result of ability, hard work and merit, it is probably far easier for them to accomplish the day-to-day tasks of their departments…
