~Part One~ Kayse

I found this section to be ultimately more interesting that the last week's readings. I really felt like I was learning something and therefore, related so much more to the text.

Chapter One spoke about leadership as well as followership. Here are some key points that I feel were important:

The Foundational Principles of the book

1. Leadership is a concern of all of us
2. Leadership is viewed and valued differently by various disciplines and cultures.
3. Conventional views of leadership have changed.
4. Leadership can be exhibited in many ways.
5. Leadership qualities and skills can be learned and developed.
6. Leadership committed to ethical action is needed to encourage change and social responsibility. (p. 4-5)

I think it was very important that these were stated early on in the chapter. However, I think I would have liked to read about them last week. Maybe I would have had a better opinion of the text and an idea of the type of material was covered in the text.

Next, the 3 Basic Principles of Leadership were listed:

1. Knowing. You must know-yourself, how change occurs, and how and why others may view things differently than you do.

2. Being. You must be-ethical, principled, open, caring, and inclusive.

3. Doing. You must act-in socially responsible ways, consistently and congruently, as a participant in a community, and on your commitments and passions. (p. 5-6)

I also found these to be extremely helpful as well as practical. I could definitely see myself applying these principles to my own style of leadership.

Not only was leadership discussed in this chapter, but also 'followership.' I thought this was an interesting section as a leader is only as strong as his followers.

A follower should.....

-Offer support to the leader
-Take initiative
-Play counseling and coaching roles to the leader, when appropriate
-Raise issues or concerns when necessary
-Seek and encourage honest feedback from the leader
-Clarify your role and expectations
-Show appreciation (p. 15)


Chapter Two discussed definitions and theories of leadership and how they have evolved over the years. I found the following information to be very interesting.

Myths About Leadership

-Leaders are born, not made
-Leadership is hierarchical, and you need to hold a formal position (have status and power) to be considered a leader
-You have to have charisma to be an effective leader
-There is one standard way of leading
-It is impossible to be a manager and a leader at the same time
-You only need to have common sense to be an effective leader (p. 17)

The chapter goes on to dispel these myths, but I found comfort just from reading this list. The term 'leader' can be so intimidating at times, and to know that much of the pressure is off relating to the aforementioned list, I felt so much more confident.

Chapter Three talked about relational leadership and how it is empowering. I found this list in particular to be very relevant and educational.

6 Methods Through Which You Might Be Empowered

1. Educating (discovering/sharing information and knowledge)
2. Leading (inspiring, rewarding, directing)
3. Structuring (creating structural factors such as arranging your day, bringing people to the table, changing policies or processes so that the change lives beyond the people who created it)
4. Providing (making sure others have resources to get their job done)
5. Mentoring (having close personal relationships)
6. Actualizing (taking it on-being empowered-claiming it) (p.94)