Question

Question

Do you have a personal story about a leader who has inspired your creative juices to break through a wall when they asked you a simple question?

What denotes a Negative Leader?

This is in response to:

Avoiding negative leadership practices

If leadership is guiding intent with integrity towards a goal, then negative leadership is one style of leadership among seven (7) styles : Great, Positive, Good, General, Bad, Negative, and Dark. While leaders also interact with five (5) other groups: peers, followers, non-followers, outsiders and observers.

The qualities of a negative leader listed in the article were: - tendencies to control everything, - interfere and dictate how the job should be done, - their goal is to hijack the glory of the good results, and - to absolutely refrain from any delegation.

Other qualities of negative leaders to consider are: - their type of guidance provided? - their intentions? - how they view the social contract? - what are their goals? - responses in decision making areas?

A leader's guidance can motivate their subordinates? Or, place them under greater stress to complete the project? Does the guidance imbue the subordinate to take initiative? How are subordinates separated from each other? What words does the leader use?

What are the leader's intentions? For himself, for his subordinates, his career, and so on. Does the leader intend to share success or keep it to himself? Is this just part of a larger project? How close is the leader keep their intentions? Why did the leader join this project?

How does the leader view the social contract between him and his subordinates? Is the contract a mutual one, or is there a 75/25 split? How often is the leader trying to break the contract? What methods does the leader use to break the contract? When and how are people removed from the group?

What goals has the leader may expressed? Are there other goals in mind. Many people usually see an opportunity as a stepping stone to another, what does this leader see this goal as?

Decision making is usually situation. Here are several categories that a leader will make decisions in. They are: communications, rules, roles, problem solving, issue identification and raising, reputation, human condition, integrity, intent, guidance, promotion, individualism, group membership, group management, task management, strategies, expressions, influence, security, networking, offensive actions, defensive actions, resource allocation and distribution, governance, observation.

Then there are the other people that they interact with, the: peers, non-followers, out-siders, and observers.

How does a negative leader interact with fellow peers? How does he talk about his subordinates? How does he talk about his projects? What issues does he raise and address surrounding his goals?

Non-Followers are those that dislike the leader usually. The message that the leader trumpets usually grates against them in various ways. Either through violations of integrity, or a knowledge or distrust of their true intentions. Or it could be that the guidance is so poorly worded that the non-follower recognizes the harness of the negative leaders speech and tries to stay clear.

Out-Siders are usually unaffected by the leaders actions, discussions, goals, or day to day interactions. However, if this group has something that a leader wants / needs, they may become a target for a larger strategy to acquire that resource.

And finally, there are the observers. These individuals live in all camps. They are peers, followers, non-followers, and out-siders, who watch the leader and take in his decisions and actions from a distance. They calculate his next possible move, and contemplate what his overall objective is and how likely he is to make it. In the end, observers play a vital role for keeping leaders in check, in either reminding them about how in-effective they are, to how effective they are being, or how over reaching they are.

So, as you can see, the discussion of a negative leader is much larger than originally described. I look forward to reading more about your thoughts and findings on the subject.

What should you talk about with a Leader?

When you think about the question, "What should I talk about with my leader?", how do you plan the time you've arranged with them? Do you talk about stuff they already know? Do you provide them with information about what they don't know? Do you ask them to fill in information gaps?

What is Bad Leadership?

Bad Leadership, as defined by the definition of leadership, "Guiding Intent with Integrity", Bad leadership is a product of several bad choices on the leaders part that misguides his followers, hides, represses or denies intentions, and completely misunderstands or construes the social contract between them and their followers. A bad leader consistently makes bad decisions 75% or more of the time.

Tuesday's Workout

Weight 214 With the help of my personal trainer, I worked on ... Batter ropes .. 3 sets Lat pulldowns while sitting on a bolsa ball Cable Row press Crunches on a bolsa call with weights Pass the bolsa ball Lunges Seated wall squats with a bolsa ball and military press with weights Standing to seated wall squats Thigh stretches

Is Leadership Genetic?

In the Linked In, Leadership Think Tank, group several questions were asked about whether or not leadership is an inborn, innate, or genetic trait.  Or, if leadership could be learned.

Using the definition of Leadership, "Guiding Intent with Integrity", and Behavior Theory, I will answer your questions.

- How can we determine that someone has inborn leadership traits? Leadership is not an inborn trait. Leadership is a learned behavior. Some people are able to express the behaviors intuitively at an early age, which is what makes it appear that leadership is inborn.

- At what age we can see inborn leadership traits: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25...? Leadership can be expressed at any age. The place that you will see it initially expressed is in the sand box. Watch how children group and who is leading the activity and watch the ripple effect.

- Are those who have inborn leadership traits superior from those who do not have inborn leadership traits? Superiority is an ego issue. While our society prefers charismatic leaders to introverted leaders, individuals who express leadership traits early one and are unaware of how this can become a drug for them, will feel superior to others. This problem can be exacerbated when individuals misunderstand leadership with supervisory roles. The power to manipulate and control people to do what you will, vs guiding people toward a larger goal.

- Is gaining leadership inborn traits genetic or accidentally? Leadership behaviors are not genetic, they are learned. Learning how to guide people either intuitively or through formal training. Integrity is the product of the social contract that leaders have with their followers, non-followers, outsiders and observers. As leaders maintain this contract with their followers, they will gain further influence.

- Can we easily distinguish leaders in practice: Those who have inborn leadership traits from those without them? Leaders who started early vs leaders who needed a master degree to become leaders should be indistinguishable, if both have mastered the process of leadership. This is the same with individuals who are born enlightened vs those who achieved enlightenment through many decades of sitting on a matt and cushion. However, the distinguishing features will be the skill level to which the leader can express their guidance.

- Are all individuals who have inborn leadership traits become leaders? If not, why? While leadership is a learned behavior, some children can be burned early on and while having the intuitive knowledge about leadership choose not to use it. This emotional response is seen in children that are attacked by dogs. From that point forward they will avoid dogs until the trauma is resolved.