Leadership Assumptions About Leadership Leaders

Leadership

Assumptions about Leadership

Leaders are born and made. This is what Kouzes and Posner believe in. However, an important dimension to their belief is the statement that leadership is not a gene. Rather than an innate set of skills and abilities, which is widely believed to be the case, leadership is honed. Anybody can be a leader. We all have it in us to be leaders.

In the same way, I too believe that leadership is acquired more through experiences rather than through birth. Unlike Bass, I do not believe that leaders are born. Since working at the Illinois Public School District Office, my experiences have shaped the way I view leadership and have helped develop my belief that leadership is an art that can be nurtured, learned, embodied and practiced by everyone. My idea of leadership is strengthened by Kouzes and Posner's writings. Like what Kouzes and Posner wrote, it is a widely held belief that leadership is an innate ability only to a chosen few. I suppose this is the reason why for most people, the thought of leading brings forth anxiety and discomfort. The reason for this might come from, as Kouzes and Posner speculated, the fear of failure and of not being able to make a positive change. However, just like Kouzes and Posner wrote, I believe that leadership is an innate ability which everyone is born with. And while we all have that innate capacity to lead and be leaders in our own rights, what we do with this innate capacity is up to us. Upon reflection, I realized that it is important for people to begin leadership early on.

One of the things I appreciate about Kouzes and Posner's article lies in their assumption that leadership is not about position and power. Their belief is an affirmation of my belief that power and position are not requisites for leadership. Leadership is not limited to those who hold high positions nor does it require a subordinate to lead. Rather leadership occurs at all levels of an institution.

It is true that leadership has nothing to do with how a person looks like. On the other hand, leadership is all about how we think about ourselves. We always hear that a great leader believes in his or her followers in as much as the followers should believe in their leader. I too believe that leadership requires leaders to have faith in people to change. For this reason, it is required that leaders believe in themselves before they can believe others. In order to create change, leaders should have belief in their capacity and in the capacity of others.

I have always believed that leadership is helping other people change their beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes. Leadership is helping others create a positive change in their lives. Upon reflection of Kouzes and Posner's article, this belief is affirmed. Alongside the affirmation, I also gained the insight that leadership is not only helping others but also a lifelong journey of self-development.

I figured that in the lifelong journey of self-development brought about by leadership self-reflection is indeed essential and crucial. It is indeed important to be self-aware before pursuing leadership. It is essential that one fully knows his or her own values before leading others. One should not only be aware of his or her values; he or she should also understand these values and have a strong conviction in standing by these values. In the same way, it is also important to put a conscious effort in leading others.

One should treat leadership with utmost care and put high value to it. Leadership is not to be taken lightly for it is a heavy responsibility. I also believe that it is indeed easy to get carried away when we hold power. Being powerful and important are tempting. Abusing our power becomes easy when we are powerful and important to others. Constant self-awareness and conscious effort are requisites for successful leadership. These values help ensure integrity in leading, that the power of leading other people is not abused. Like Kouzes and Posner, leaders should learn to be humble and perhaps not see leadership as a privilege to be abused, rather a responsibility to others.

Equally important is the continuous and constant learning which goes hand in hand with constant self-awareness. In leadership, leaders should be able to find every experience as a learning exercise as they endeavor for constant improvement of themselves and of the institution.