“In the past a leader was a boss. Today’s leaders must be partners with their people… they no longer can lead solely based on positional power.”
Ken Blanchard
Effective leaders must model proper value conduct. Conflicts arise when individuals have differing values in organizations. In my organization, I’ve seen the devastation of senior managers battling for organizational power at any cost. Clearly, the casualties are the employees, and the damage is to the organizational culture.
While employees are encouraged to have the highest morale character, some senior managers do not. Some leaders argue that success should be the litmus test, not values. Hill, a renowned author, explains that values count in success. However, the following human weaknesses prevent success: (a) intolerance, (b) cupidity, (c) greed, (d) jealousy, (e) suspicion, (f) revenge, (g) egotism, (h) conceit, (i) the tendency to reap where they have not shown, and (j) the habit of spending more they earn.
In today’s contemporary organizations, leaders are in danger of losing credibility with followers. Kouzes and Posner, leadership gurus, advocate leaders to “walk the talk.” Followers expect leaders to show up, pay attention, and participate directly in the process of getting extraordinary things done. This lack of modeling the way by leaders may be the root cause of their personal immaturity.
Therefore, progressive leaders understand the concept of modeling the way.
References:
Hill, N. (1969). Laws of Success. Chicago, IL: Success Unlimited Edition.
Kouzes, J. & Posner, B. (1995). The leadership challenge. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
© 2006 by Daryl D. Green
