What is Leadership?
It all started a few years ago. A colleague and I were leading a seminar for college students who wanted to learn more about leadership. During one of the discussions related to ethics, the students got into a discussion about whether or not Adolph Hitler was a good leader.
The consensus in the group seemed to be that he was. As supporting evidence, the students pointed to the fact that Hitler was able to moblize others to accomplish horrific tasks that most people wouldn't otherwise do themselves. In their view, accomplishing stated goals was evidence enough of "good" leadership.
As we continued the discussion my colleague and I pressed the students by asking them if leadership was just about outcomes gained. Is leadership about the accomplishment of a goal by any means necessary or does how leaders "get there" matter? The class seemed to think the process mattered, but perhaps there is such a thing as ethical leadership and unethical leadership.
In order to answer the question "Is Hitler a leader?" one must have a definition of leadership that can be applied to practical situations. Is leadership moving people to work together to accomplish a task? Is it building relationships between people and through that process defining shared tasks and working together to find ways to accomplish them? Is it product or process? The answer may be both, or all of those things. The answer may depend a great deal on your personal definition of leadership.
My personal defintion of leadership was formed by a book my mentor gave me while in college called Exploring Leadership: For College Students Who Want To Make A Difference by Susan Komives, Tim McMahon, and Nance Lucas. The authors in this book discuss leadership in terms of five concepts. That leadership is empowering, purposeful, inclusive, ethical, and process oriented.
Based on the concepts provided by Exploring Leadership is Hitler a leader? I suggest any example of behavior exhibited by someone in a leadership position that is inconsistent with the five elements wouldn't be leadership, no matter what outcome was accomplished. If the process matters, then we should expect a process that is worthy of being called leadership.
So why is "Is Hitler a leader" even a question? Why is it we can identify so many examples of "ends justify the means" type of behavior exhibited by those in leadership positions? Is it because we have been willing for too long to accept positional power as leadership? Is it because our leadership behavior and leadership structures have not lived up to the vision of leadership for the common good? What can we do to recognize and reinforce the type of leadership that is empowering, purposeful, inclusive, ethical and process oriented?
The purpose of this little space on the web will be dedicated to making the theory the practice. Recognizing leadership that is consistent with our highest ideals. Reinforcing the positive attributes of leadership while deconstructing the assumed connection between position and leadership. Reclaiming leadership as a community of people who work together for the common good. I hope you will enjoy it!
The consensus in the group seemed to be that he was. As supporting evidence, the students pointed to the fact that Hitler was able to moblize others to accomplish horrific tasks that most people wouldn't otherwise do themselves. In their view, accomplishing stated goals was evidence enough of "good" leadership.
As we continued the discussion my colleague and I pressed the students by asking them if leadership was just about outcomes gained. Is leadership about the accomplishment of a goal by any means necessary or does how leaders "get there" matter? The class seemed to think the process mattered, but perhaps there is such a thing as ethical leadership and unethical leadership.
In order to answer the question "Is Hitler a leader?" one must have a definition of leadership that can be applied to practical situations. Is leadership moving people to work together to accomplish a task? Is it building relationships between people and through that process defining shared tasks and working together to find ways to accomplish them? Is it product or process? The answer may be both, or all of those things. The answer may depend a great deal on your personal definition of leadership.
My personal defintion of leadership was formed by a book my mentor gave me while in college called Exploring Leadership: For College Students Who Want To Make A Difference by Susan Komives, Tim McMahon, and Nance Lucas. The authors in this book discuss leadership in terms of five concepts. That leadership is empowering, purposeful, inclusive, ethical, and process oriented.
Based on the concepts provided by Exploring Leadership is Hitler a leader? I suggest any example of behavior exhibited by someone in a leadership position that is inconsistent with the five elements wouldn't be leadership, no matter what outcome was accomplished. If the process matters, then we should expect a process that is worthy of being called leadership.
So why is "Is Hitler a leader" even a question? Why is it we can identify so many examples of "ends justify the means" type of behavior exhibited by those in leadership positions? Is it because we have been willing for too long to accept positional power as leadership? Is it because our leadership behavior and leadership structures have not lived up to the vision of leadership for the common good? What can we do to recognize and reinforce the type of leadership that is empowering, purposeful, inclusive, ethical and process oriented?
The purpose of this little space on the web will be dedicated to making the theory the practice. Recognizing leadership that is consistent with our highest ideals. Reinforcing the positive attributes of leadership while deconstructing the assumed connection between position and leadership. Reclaiming leadership as a community of people who work together for the common good. I hope you will enjoy it!
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ReplyDeletePaul! You're a wonderful writer. Very insightful.
ReplyDeletePaul - I took a class last year on ethical leadership, and the Hitler question certainly came up - our conclusion was that it came down to "effective" leadership (results oriented, without ethical/moral judgement), vs "good" leadership (based on methods, relationships, and ethical processes and goals).
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to read more! Keep it up!