I immensely enjoyed both of these books. I identified with “The 5 Levels of Leadership”, By John Maxwell more than the Warren buffet book. Maxwell spent the first twenty years of his career in private industry working for several companies. During this time, he dissected his bosses and recognized what characteristics separated a “boss” from a “leader”. Maxwell has become one of the foremost authors on leadership and has a training program utilized by many large companies and organizations. In this book, Maxwell identifies the 5 stages that one can attain as they climb the organizational ladder. Briefly they are: Level one, “Position”, this is the starting point for everyone. You are now the “boss” but people will only follow you because they …show more content…
The leaders focus changes from me to we. Maxwell contends that one cannot lead people until one likes people. By doing this, a leader will find that people will follow him because they want to, unlike level one, where they have to. Level three, “Production, is where, as a leader, you have developed the personal relationships that have forged a strong work team. You share the vision of what you want accomplished and everyone on the team is aware of what their responsibility is. The leader is now a producer. His team is results oriented and that is the goal. People will now follow because of what the leader has done for the organization. Level four, “People Development”, is the stage which a leader transforms from a producer to a developer. Here one develops other leaders, even if one day this leader will surpass you as the leader. You actually …show more content…
I improved on the process for completing the task, by doing it faster and more accurately. My immediate supervisor, who had been in his position for a long time, barely acknowledged what I had done. His main concern was getting data from myself and my co-workers so he could complete his day’s requirements. Now I realize he was a level one leader, not creating a strong team but playing employees against each other. I saw other employees who worked for him that only did the minimum required of them. This would drive me crazy, since I was much more productive, completing my tasks efficiently and more accurate than others, all while being under appreciated. I did get positive feedback from some of my supervisor’s superiors, and these acknowledgements kept me motivated in spite of my leader’s short
The book Black Hearts by Jim Frederick is an in-depth narrative about the 1st platoon, Bravo Company 1-502nd Infantry 101st Airborne Division deployed to Iraq in 2005. The leadership failures documented in this book range all the way from the general officer level down to the lowest private. LT general Ricardo Sanchez failed to understand the climate his command group was entering as they were deployed into Iraq. From then on the entire leadership failures continued to compound upon each other with improper time to plan. It is customary to have a six month lead time to have a proper battle hand off when preparing to take over an AO from another unit. To compound this problem, the entire time the 502nd was in pre-deployment training, they were preparing for the rigors of urban combat. In reality, they were given six weeks to recon their new area of responsibility and were going to a countryside crafted by the heavens for guerilla warfare. As Colonel Ebel said in the book, “It is not going to be an easy road. They are not even sure of what they have in the area. It just feels bad. We can expect a real fight.”
On this evidence analysis paper about the speech “Leaders and Managers” by Hugh Nibley to the BYU graduated class of 1984, Nibley put all his efforts to motivate the graduated class of the necessity in the world of real leaders and not just merely managers. For this purpose, Nibley started by explaining the hidden history behind the shift of leaders for managers in the world through historical evidence. Also, Nibley explained the basic division between these two characters leaders and managers using clear and consistent explanations. Moreover, the author expressed the different nature of managers and leaders in society with evidence, through examples in the earthly Christian history, societies of The Book of Mormon, and the current society. Furthermore, Nibley used some opposing views to show the mistake of having pure management skills, but also the necessity of having some managerial skills as an essential factor of leadership. Also, in the speech of “Leader and Managers” by Nibley, it was difficult to find a concrete fallacy or to assume that the author used fallacies because of the clear
Leadership in Watership Down Many people possess leadership qualities, although they don’t rule a country. Meriwether Lewis, the official leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, has been called “undoubtedly the greatest pathfinder this country has ever known.” Just like Hazel, Meriwether Lewis led a group of followers into unknown territory. The two guides faced many difficult situations that they were able to overcome since they had the qualities of a notable leader.
Transformational leadership also integrates well with a biblical worldview because both advocate valuing followers as well as leaders, the importance of ethical behavior, the need to forgive and learn from mistakes, and the value of a high moral example. Kouzes and Posner advocate leaders having a “moral authority to lead” (2007, p. 41), practicing personal accountability and working to improve all aspects of their follower’s lives. This others-centered leadership approach fits well in the Christ centered atmosphere of a Christian school.
In today’s business environment, corporations must be able to adapt and develop strategies that allow them to remain as competitive as possible within the markets they serve. Leaders within those corporations must be able to fully understand the most effective leadership style required depending on the situation at hand. One style may be effective in one situation while another style may need to be used in another. In this day of environmental dynamism, organizations have had to refocus on organizational capabilities in order to attain a competitive advantage in such an environment. This refocus has led to a break in routines and involves a shift in organizational norms and required knowledge. James Clawson discusses the three levels of leadership in his book entitled “Level Three Leadership: Getting Below the Surface.” This article will discuss some issues that may arise within corporations and what leadership styles may be most effective for differing situations based on Clawson’s text.
Leadership is being able to direct or guide other people by either your own actions or by actually guiding them into the right direction (Acumen). Inspiration to be a leader might come from many different areas like your family, friends, peers, or even teachers. My inspiration didn’t really occur to me until I started attending college in August 2013. In all actuality I never even thought of how to be a leader until I was in Mrs. Moore’s Perspectives class. I now have a desire to be a great leader, and the inspiration has come from Mrs. Moore, and my family. I am the first to attend college out of my family, so in a away I have already started leading my siblings in the right direction. Being a leader means inspiring others to pursue their dreams, and aspirations and helping throughout the journey to success. Being a leader has nothing with authority or being able to tell other what, and how to do things, it’s about having people who look up to you and want to follow your example.
“On leadership” was written by John W. Gardner (The Free Press, New York, 1990). He used seventeen chapters to explain and describe essential components for the leadership should be in a successful organization. This book not only has significant influence now, but also for the future. Below are my understanding about this book, which was divided into two parts. For the first part, I will pick up some perspectives which influence me most from this book. For the second part, which is my comments and critique about this book.
The only way to develop the kind of leaders a changing organization needs is to make leadership a critical criterion for promotion, and then manage people’s careers to develop it.
Warren Buffett, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, which owns many different companies, is one of the most successful business leaders of our time. According to Howard (2014), he is the second richest American, coming in at a net worth of over $70 billion. Besides his personal net worth, Berkshire Hathaway is the fifth-most valuable public company in the United States at $350 billion (Howard, 2014). While he is clearly a very wise investor, Warren Buffett is also a successful leader. As stated by Spindler (2010), leadership is a crucial part of any successful business, and good leadership is what Mr. Buffett portrays. The analysis given in this paper will show Warren Buffett’s values and leadership qualities, his leadership style, as well as looking into his influence he has on his followers.
Transformational leaders want individuals to make a positive change in their lives and try to help people apply a positive change on a daily basis. The leaders do this by implementing individual considerations which, according to Kendrick (2011), “treats each follower as a unique contributor and provides coaching, mentoring, feedback and growth opportunities.” This makes such an impact on people because each individual is getting different mentoring, feedback, and growth opportunities due to their unique personality. It is very important for each person to have this because everyone has a different learning ability and motivation. This helps each individual with their own distinctive endeavor.
Though a little dry to read at times, I found this book to be an excellent beginner’s guide to leadership. Although the idea of “corporate” can be a bit dull after a while, Bennis and Nanus continuously attempt to liven it up with real-life examples of their strategies put into practice. They make it clear that the strategies are not what they came up with out of nowhere, but have been determined from years of various case studies. One of my favorite aspects of the book is its ability to imbue an “I can do this!” attitude to the reader.
Maxwell explains to us the three ways to bring value and influence to any organization or position we may find ourselves in. The first of these is something Maxwell calls “leading up”. Leading up is the process of influencing those who are in leadership above us. This process includes lightening the load for those above us through being willing to do what others won’t, while knowing when to push forward and when to back off. The second of the three ways to bring value and influence is called “leading across”. Those who are in the middle of an organization are leaders of leaders. These leaders help peers achieve great results, let the best idea win, and garner mutual respect. These leaders must develop and maintain credibility, and continually exert influence. The third way we can bring value and influence to our organization is through “leading down”. Leaders at the top who lead down help people realize their potential, become a strong role model, and encourage others to become part of a higher purpose. This involves walking through the organization, casting the vision, and rewarding others for their
Most definitions of leadership involve four elements including process – a transaction between leader and followers, context – usually a group with a common purpose, influence – affect on group, and goal attainment – direction of influence (Northouse, 2004). Dr. Bernard Bass has published over 400 articles and written and edited nine books, all concentrating on leadership. Bass has developed a set of theories of how people become leaders. His trait theory says that some personality traits may lead people naturally into leadership roles. The great events theory, on the other hand, says that a crisis or important event may cause a person to rise to the occasion and brings our extraordinary leadership qualities. Finally, the transformational leadership theory says that people can choose to become leaders and learn leadership skills (Bass & Bass, 2008).
John Maxwell is a distinguished author, speaker and pastor who specializes on leadership and leadership development. This paper is outlines my reflections from watching his YouTube video presentation of his five levels of leadership. It was insightful that Maxwell, (2013) explained that all leaders start at level one, then continue to develop in their capabilities through level five. He outlines each of the five stages, identifying the attributes and tendencies of each of the levels. He describes that followers view leaders through different lenses, each the lenses is a reflection of one of the five stages.
...adership Practices in Relation to Productivity and Morale." In D. Cartwright and A. Zander, Group Dynamics: Research and Theory, 2nd ed. (Elmsford, NY: Row, Paterson, 1960)