Title: Leadership in Victim Services, Chapter 1. Principles of Leadership
Series: National Victim Assistance Academy Advanced Topic Series
Authors/Editors: Anita Drummond, Carroll Ellis, Melissa Hook, Morna
Murray, and Anne Seymour for the National Victim Assistance Academy.
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime, in
conjunction with Victims' Assistance Legal Organization (VALOR), California
State University-Fresno, National Crime Victims' Research and Treatment
Center at the Medical University of South Carolina, University of New Haven,
and Washburn University
Published: June 2002
Subject: Organizational leadership
33 pages
81,920 bytes

----------------------------

Figures, charts, forms, and tables are not included in this ASCII plain-text file.
To view this document in its entirety, download the Adobe Acrobat graphic
file(s) available from this Web site.

----------------------------

Table of Contents 

Chapter 1. Principles of Leadership

o Introduction
o Leadership and Management
o Origin of Leadership Qualities
o Leadership is a Work in Progress
o Core Leadership Strategies
o Servant Leadership
o Conclusion
o References

----------------------------

This project was supported by Grant Number 95-MU-GX-K002(S-5)
awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S.
Department of Justice.  The Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice
Programs coordinates the activities of the following program offices and
bureaus: Bureau of Justice Assistance, Bureau of Justice Statistics, National
Institute of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and
the Office for Victims of Crime.  Points of view in this document are those of
the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the
U.S. Department of Justice.

----------------------------
     
Chapter 1. Principles of Leadership

Abstract

The discipline of victims' rights and services has benefited from strong
leadership over the past thirty years--from victims who have experienced
tremendous personal tragedy; from service providers who have effected
significant changes in laws and polices to benefit victims; and from local, state,
and federal government officials who have made victims' rights and services a
priority. This chapter offers a broad overview of styles, qualities, and
processes, and provides concrete examples of leaders in America who have
overcome considerable obstacles to make a difference in the world.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this chapter, students will understand the following
concepts:

o The origin of leadership qualities and common myths about leadership.

o How one's past experiences contribute to the ongoing and dynamic process
of becoming a leader.

o Core leadership strategies for victim assistance and justice organizations.
Introduction

The study of leadership is recent. Only in the last fifteen years have
organizational theorists closely examined qualities of leadership as distinct from
qualities of management. Yet throughout history individuals whose actions and
accomplishments have inspired people to live honorably, to persevere in
personal quests, and to treat others with dignity and respect have been revered.
In 1978, James MacGregor Burns, one of the first major theorists on
leadership, wrote: "Leadership is leaders inducing followers to act for certain
goals that represent the values and the motivations--the wants and needs, the
aspirations and expectations--of both leaders and followers. And the genius of
leadership lies in the manner in which leaders see and act on their own and their
followers' values and motivations." (Phillips, citing Burns, 1992, 3) The role of
the modern leader has evolved into a process that involves clearly-defined
tangible skills and attributes.

The requirements for effective leadership in victim services are developing as
rapidly as the discipline itself. In addition to providing leadership in a variety of
direct victim assistance programs, victim advocates are heading teams in
Attorneys General's offices, police departments, prosecutors' offices, and
departments of probation and parole. Victim advocates convey their passion
and dedication to helping victims to these colleagues--some of whom may have
little understanding of the cause, may be apathetic towards the mission, or may
be nonbelievers.

The challenges to a new leader are great. A leader entering into an established
workplace environment may have to adapt considerably while building the
necessary trust to lead co-workers. On the other hand, a leader joining a
"work-in-progress" can influence the development of programs and the quality
of working relationships. The leader may have attained the leadership role
through promotion, in effect, taking the wheel and learning to drive the machine
that s/he has already fueled with his/her labor. For those who aspire to become
leaders, much can be done to prepare.

While this chapter cites examples of leadership in victim services, it primarily
examines leadership from "the outside," i.e., leadership in its broadest sense.
What are some classic leadership styles? What is the difference between
leadership and management? Are leaders born or do they have the necessary
qualities within them just waiting to be developed? What are the basic skills and
strategies that individuals can develop to improve leadership abilities?

Most of the examples come from the corporate world, the organizational model
which has been the focus of most leadership research and where the greatest
amount of change has taken place. Much of leadership styles in business
directly applies to leadership styles in victim services. And although the focus of
turning a profit is not central to victim services, having adequate funds to
effectively run and expand the organization is as central to victim services as it is
to the private sector.

The ideas of modern theorists on leadership roles and the writings of inspiring
leaders like Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy are cited. The stories of
people currently in leadership roles are told, and what guides them, empowers
them, and sustains them is discussed. Courage, self-awareness, a clear mission,
the ability to relate and communicate with co-workers, conviction, "grace under
fire," and passion for their job all are qualities that effective leaders cultivate.

Victim advocates come to their jobs with the passion and conviction necessary
to light a fire in any organization. This manual provides the tools and strategies
that can channel passion, develop skills, and help find the leader within whom
others will wish to follow.

Leadership and Management

This manual focuses upon leadership and the ways that leaders develop their
own capacity for leadership from within; it does not focus upon day-to-day
management of organizations and resources. Effective management is, of
course, critical to the successful functioning of any entity; however, the focus
here is upon how true leadership is the hub of the wheel around which all other
operational tasks depend.

During the last five years, studies on leadership increasingly moved away from
the more management-oriented models that had been followed in many public
and private sector organizations because these models failed to supply the
answers to what made leaders effective. As Robert Danzig writes in The
Leader Within You:

. . . many of us have had the feeling of leaving the table a little bit hungry; the
"management meal" we've been served has not quite hits the spot with its limited
menu of retrenchment and competitive down-sizing. It is so palpable that
people are hungering to see the ingredients of leadership join us at the table.
(2000, xxv)

Because of the challenges faced as the millennium approached, many observers
noted that there has been an extraordinary focus upon the science of
management, e.g., the task-specific and goal-oriented actions taken by
organizations to achieve their objectives in an increasingly complex and
competitive world. What is missing from this picture is the larger and
overarching role that leadership plays. An organization may have a poor
geographical location, or it may not be utilizing its resources most effectively.
These are pieces of a larger whole that can be fixed. However, without the
vision of true and effective leadership, an organization is most assuredly
doomed to function at a lower level than it could or perhaps even to fail.

This is not to minimize the importance of management; indeed, effective
management is integral and crucial to the daily operation of all organizations.
Again, the distinction is between the roles of managers and leaders:

Management is an essential fundamental requirement of the operation of all civil
society, including business, health care, arts, and educational institutions. We
cannot deliver 10 million Hearst newspapers to readers each week without a
carefully calibrated and managed process. Management is of the utmost
importance. However, when separating the two like strands of a rope wound
tightly together, the discreet elements suggest that management is about today
and leadership is about tomorrow. Management is a series of learned attributes;
leadership relied on inherent capabilities. Management is about process;
leadership illuminates vision and promise. Put another way, all leaders are also
managers of others. But not all managers exercise the qualities of leadership
(Danzig 2000, xxvi, emphasis added).

As research for their book, Leaders: Strategies for Taking Charge, two
respected authors on leadership, Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus, conducted
interviews with ninety prominent leaders--sixty were successful chief executive
officers, and thirty were outstanding leaders from the public sector. These
extensive interviews were designed to capture what it was that propelled these
individuals to their positions of leadership, and how they construed their own
roles as leaders. The interviews were conducted like exploratory dialogues in
which the subjects of the interviews joined the authors in investigating the true
nature of leaders and leadership. Among other things, the authors concluded
from these interviews that these very effective leaders viewed management and
leadership as profoundly different:          

They viewed themselves as leaders, not managers. This is to say that they
concerned themselves with their organizations' basic purposes and general
direction. Their perspective was "vision-oriented." They did not spend their time
on the "how tos," the proverbial "nuts and bolts," but rather with the paradigms
of actions, with "doing the right thing." (1997, 20)

So the question is how does one access one's own qualities of leadership? If
the word "genius" is replaced with "leadership," dance pioneer Martha
Graham's familiar saying is appropriate: "Everyone is born with genius, but most
people lose it after fifteen minutes." (Danzig 2000, xxvi).

The key, according to many leading leadership theorists today, is
knowing oneself. It is in getting to know oneself, one's strengths, one's
weakness, that the individual unlocks his/her potential for true leadership of
others. As Danzig puts it, "the ability to know oneself so well you send out an
inspirational beam just like a lighthouse." (Ibid.) Bennis and Nanus make a keen
distinction in saying that leaders "manage themselves" and in so doing, are able
to access their ability to lead others (1997, 18).

Origin of Leadership Qualities

ARE PEOPLE BORN LEADERS?

How often has it been said that someone is a "born leader"? Typically, it has
been assumed that if leadership "talents" did not attract the attention of family,
teachers, and peers during the adolescent phase of life, then the individual is
simply an "average" person who has to work hard to do well. It is taken for
granted that those individuals who had leadership roles and made a splash with
whatever they did would succeed throughout their lives. Many remarkable
leaders appear to have been born with amazing talent, yet others overcame
enormous difficulties before they took on leadership positions. An in-depth look
at the lives of some of the greatest leaders reveals evolution of character and
self-awareness, development of skills, and assimilation of knowledge gained
from challenging experiences--both successes and failures--that combined to
form their personalities.

Was Abraham Lincoln a born leader or an incredible self-starter? Lincoln
taught himself to read by the firelight at night. His mother died when he was
nine, and while he did form a close, loving relationship with his stepmother, his
father was an abusive and hostile personality who offered no support or
guidance. Although by nature Lincoln was a self-taught person, it was in law
school that he acquired the writing skills to express himself and his beliefs to
others. During his political career, he learned to persuade, direct, and motivate.
The renowned wit and ability to tell stories that he developed later helped him
become an effective communicator with his constituents. His qualities of
honesty, integrity, empathy for the common man, and devotion to the rights of
individuals appear to have evolved out of his childhood experiences (Phillips
1992, 4-6). Lincoln may have been born with a remarkable talent for
leadership, but he worked diligently throughout his life to acquire and refine the
skills that helped him to lead during a period of intense national crisis.

There is an ongoing and lively discussion among leadership theorists that decries
the concept of "born leader." Heifetz (1994, 20) claims that "it fosters self-
delusion and irresponsibility." McCall of the University of California's Marshall
School of Business also challenges the belief that extraordinary people
accomplish exceptional things solely due to innate talent. Borrowing Tom
Wolfe's term the "right stuff"--used to describe the talent of successful fighter
pilots (Wolfe 1974)--McCall takes issue with the assumption of "innate talent"
commonly used in leadership selection and development programs in the
corporate world. Typically, organizations spot the obvious stars early and give
them added responsibility and attention, while overlooking those individuals
whose skills are less evident even though they may have greater long-term
leadership potential. McCall believes that "executive leaders are both born and
made, but mostly made . . . executives do learn, grow, and change over time."
(McCall 1998, 4)

In discussing the "heroic nature of accomplishment," McCall cites the qualities
of resourcefulness, risk-taking, courage, readiness to take action, flexibility,
perseverance, creativity, and ability to inspire others. He points out that initially
these competencies can only be inferred and are contingent on continued
achievement. The "right stuff" can be determined only after remarkable
performances have been achieved. In fact, "the right stuff is whatever it needs to
be to explain a result." (Ibid., 7)

McCall believes that the use of the "right stuff" concept in leadership selection
has several unintended consequences when leaders both succeed and fail. With
each new success, a leader chosen for having the "right stuff" may feel more
powerful; each victory adding to the "siren song of invincibility." (Ibid., 8) The
author cites numerous examples of executives who performed leadership roles
in major companies with extraordinary success, but whose mythic arrogance
and attitude of invulnerability contributed to their eventual downfall.

Such high achievers define themselves as "special," leading in some cases to an
attitude that other people are unnecessary. They ignore advice and cease to
value the input of their colleagues. When inevitably they fail (because errors are
unavoidable), the problem lies not in the error, but in the initial assumption of
their innate talent. A failure is treated as a proof of inadequacy or absence of
talent rather than an opportunity for learning. "Fear of being found out causes
them to attempt to hide their stumbles, not to take the risk of stumbling, or to
blame their errors on something or someone else, all of which eliminates
learning." (Ibid., 9)

What bearing does the "right stuff" assumption have on the individual's efforts to
become a leader? If s/he is one of the chosen few with extraordinary innate
talent, s/he is may already be moving down the road to success, encountering
the joys and pitfalls that power engenders. S/he may have inherently understood
McCall's message: Don't rest on your laurels . . . An individual may be a born
leader, but if s/he is going to successfully meet the new challenges a changing
world presents, s/he clearly has to work hard to develop and refine his/her
skills.

On the other hand, an individual may have innate talent that has gone unnoticed.
His/her progress may have been derailed by unfortunate circumstances. S/he
may simply desire greater challenges in the workplace, and the possibility of
moving forward requires the assumption of leadership responsibilities. How
does the individual rise to the occasion? Being pro-active and taking charge of
his/her development provides competence and confidence so that when the
opportunity for leadership presents itself, s/he will be able to assume it
wholeheartedly. Wherever someone is on the leadership continuum, much can
be done to help oneself to adapt to new situations, be resilient, learn new skills,
find the courage to take risks, and stay true to oneself and one's values.

DISPELLING COMMON MYTHS OF LEADERSHIP

In their book, Bennis and Nanus (1997) discuss several common myths about
leadership that have taken root in society and are, in fact, counterproductive
and discouraging to potential leaders. These myths are:

Myth 1: Leadership is a rare skill. Everyone possesses qualities of leadership
and leadership opportunities abound; they do not exist just at the tops of
organizations. People excel at leadership in the areas that are closest to their
truest aspirations and dreams. A clerk at the local supermarket may be the
leader of a community mediation group. A taxi driver may be the director of a
local theater company. The truth of this myth is that leadership opportunities are
everywhere and within the grasp of most people.

Myth 2: Leaders are born, not made. This myth has already been discussed,
but it is worth repeating in view of the attention that has been focused upon this
question in leadership studies and theory. There are many qualities that may be
inherent that can assist in one's process of becoming a leader. But most of what
goes into being a true leader is learned along the way. Books and mentors are
crucial to the learning process, but the process itself can be compared to
learning to become a good spouse or parent--the most important lessons are
learned in the experience of being exactly that.

Myth 3: Leaders are charismatic. While it is true that there have been truly
charismatic leaders who had unique powers to influence and communicate in an
almost spellbinding way, e.g., Churchill or Kennedy, there are many more
leaders who are quite ordinary in their everyday leadership roles. It can be
argued that charisma is a result of effective leadership; not the other way
around. For those relatively few leaders who possess an abundance of natural
charisma, it simply enhances their connection to and ability to influence others
around them.

Myth 4: Leadership exists only at the top of an organization. While leaders at
the top of an organization may get more public attention, this does not diminish
the truly heroic "ordinary" leaders at other levels. In fact, the larger the
organization, the more leadership roles it is likely to have. Increasingly,
organizations are moving toward team building and "intrapreneurship"--the
creation of smaller autonomous units within a larger organization. Opportunities
for leadership abound on a daily basis on all levels of an organization, for
example, assisting a co-worker with a problem that threatens to mushroom into
a larger one. Leadership is not confined to those who are the defined
"managers" and "leaders."

Myth 5: The leader controls, directs, prods, manipulates. This myth is
potentially the most damaging of all. As stated by Bennis and Nanus,
"Leadership is not so much the exercise of power, but the empowerment of
others." (p. 209). Traditional models of leadership, based on the older
autocratic management theories of leadership, have proven to be ineffective and
destructive. True leaders lead through inspiration rather than through orders,
through empowerment of others to achieve their true potential rather than by
manipulating and scaring them into compliance with the leader's view of how
things should be done. A quote from Carlo Maria Giulini, former conductor of
the Los Angeles Philharmonic is fitting: "what matters most is human contact,
that the great mystery of music making is that it requires real friendship among
those who work together." (Ibid.) The friendship described is not about the
leader being "buddies" with those s/he leads and works with, but rather about
understanding others' perspectives and utilizing his/her own talents to allow
others' true potential and abilities to unfold.

Myth 6: The leader's sole job is to increase shareholder value. Whether
discussing corporations or service organizations, the bottom line of financial
responsibility is always there. While victim service providers may not be
concerned with turning a profit, leaders in victim services must be concerned
with acquiring and maintaining adequate funding to do their jobs. This need can
compete with the energy a leader needs for visionary planning and maximizing
the potential of the organization. While the leader must keep the necessities and
requirements of effective management at the top of his/her priorities, it should
be done in such a way that it does not become the overriding concern of the
organization and its constituency. Again, good management is a requirement,
not a goal in and of itself.

Leadership is a Work in Progress

Like McCall, many of the new thinkers on leadership look at the life
experiences of respected leaders for clues about the origins of their abilities:
home, education, relatives, friends, work, peers, environments, and any special
hardships or disabilities. Reflecting upon his career, recently retired newspaper
publisher Robert Danzig looked back upon childhood, school, college, and
early work experience for the source of knowledge and skills that shaped both
his workplace relationships and his performance as a leader (Danzig 2000, xix).
"All are stepping stones to help us cross the water ways of life," he writes. [A]ll
of us have leadership powers [within us] which allow us to lead our lives in a
more effective and satisfying way . . . Once identified and activated, these
freshly honed characteristics within our individual acorn can result in our
becoming leaders, and will dramatically change the kind of people we are."
(Ibid., xx)

Character and abilities--including talent for leadership--reflect one's life-long
experiences. For better or worse, qualities ingrained in one's personality may
result from the influence of family, mentors, and employers. Positive qualities
should be nurtured and cultivated; negative qualities should be identified and
objectively reckoned with so that they are no longer harmful. Leadership
requires courage.


COURAGE

The stories of past courage . . . can teach, they can offer hope, they can
provide inspiration. But they cannot supply courage itself. For this each man [or
woman] must look into his [her] soul." -- John F. Kennedy in Profiles in
Courage

If there is one human quality essential for leadership, it is courage--not just the
courage to face adversity, but the courage to look inside and face up to
weaknesses. Without delving into theories of succession planning (the
systematic assessment process that an organization develops to identify key
jobs to be filled and the best qualified candidates), it is useful to note that many
of the people responsible for the development of new leaders within their
organizations cite the qualities of courage and risk-taking as being the inevitable
missing ingredients in new candidates.

One national association director, who has served in leadership roles
throughout his criminal justice career, reports that "it has been hard to identify
people who will stick their necks out and take the leadership opportunity
offered to them. Leaders must have courage and I don't believe that you can
teach it. . . . The real challenge is to face the shortcomings that one has as an
individual and overcome them--at least in the leadership role--to be a better
leader. The challenge is to speak when you don't know how, to take risks, and
to face the losses and the mistakes that you inevitably make." (Wicklund 8
January 2001)

TAKING RISKS, EXPOSURE TO CRITICISM, AND THE POSSIBILITY
OF FAILURE

Out of fear or self-doubt, people often make choices that work against their
own growth. Listed below are five common reasons why a talented individual
does not assume new challenges and move forward in the job (Danzig 2000,
xiv). This individual--

o Continues to use existing strengths to achieve quick, dramatic results rather
than learning new skills that take longer to develop and may produce poor
results in the short term.

o Is more inclined to dwell on compliments (i.e., s/he is really good at his/her
job) than to examine weaknesses.

o Rarely seeks out negative information about him/herself from colleagues and
superiors, especially if the organization offers little opportunity for formal
evaluation.

o Likes being rewarded for achievements and steers away from development
projects that are amorphous and do not offer "concrete business results."

o Feels a risk in leaving what s/he does well to attempt to master something
new.

These are normal human responses to challenging situations. Avoiding extra
work and responsibility when one is busy, and not wanting to be exposed to
new risks that increase the possibility of failure, are reasonable positions. When
seeking to develop leadership skills and acquire greater responsibility in the
organization, it is helpful for the individual to understand what s/he shies away
from, and determine and assess his/her patterns of behavior. One of the first
steps in developing a leadership "mind" is increasing self-awareness.

SELF-AWARENESS

We are not our feelings. We are not our moods. We are not even our thoughts.
The fact that we can think about these things separates us from them . . . Self-
awareness enables us to--stand apart and examine even the way we "see"
ourselves--our self paradigm, the most fundamental paradigm of effectiveness.
--Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Covey takes the position that until we understand how we see others and
ourselves through our own personal set of filters, we are unable to understand
others--how they see and feel about themselves and their world. As a result,
when we attempt to view them objectively, we are really just projecting our
intentions and our point of view on to their behavior. Conversely, they do the
same to us. Both our personal potential and our ability to relate to others are
limited. We can, however, examine our paradigms to determine when they are
reality-based and when they are a function of conditioning (Covey 1989, 67).

The "social mirror" is Covey's term for the vision that we have of ourselves as
reflected by the opinions, perceptions, and conditioning of others. He stresses
that the reflection we see of ourselves is just as unreliable as our view of others
because it is likely a projection of their concerns and character weaknesses.
We should first acknowledge the existence of "conditioning" and then try to see
to what extent we are influenced (and limited) by it in our own world view and
choices (Ibid.).

Covey cites such limiting factors as genetic or inherited influences, psychic
influences such as parents and childhood experiences, and environmental
influences that can be everything from a difficult boss to the national economic
situation. He makes the important point that through greater self-awareness we
can free ourselves of limiting influences. If we seek self-knowledge and
understanding of our conditioning, we can be free to choose our responses.
"With our imagination we can create our minds beyond our present reality. . . .
With our conscience and deep awareness of right and wrong, of the principles
that govern our behavior . . . we can determine the degree to which our
thoughts and actions are in harmony with them." With independent will we have
the "ability to act based on our self-awareness, free of other influences." (Ibid.,
70)

Why is self-knowledge important? Until the individual knows who s/he really is
and his/her motivations, s/he will be unable to relate openly with co-workers.
As a result, they will be unable to trust and follow the individual. People trust
what is real. The second challenge is to know one's weaknesses and effectively
address them.

USING LESSONS OF PAST EXPERIENCE TO INFORM AND
INVIGORATE LEADERSHIP: FAMILY, MENTORS, AND CAREER

There is a wondrous value in pausing to contemplate that which has crossed our
paths. --Thomas Merton

Psychologists and management educators Mackoff and Wenet conducted a
series of interviews with sixty-five leaders representing a wide range of
organizations--government agencies, Fortune 500 companies, professional
sports teams, victim service providers, Native American nations, and inner-city
schools--to gauge how their life experiences informed their approach to
leadership. They found that leaders participating in the study all had reflected
deeply on their pasts as part of their quest for self-knowledge. They translated
the meaning of important events and relationships in their lives into consistent
thought patterns to direct the way they thought about and reacted to complex
and challenging situations. The patterns can be divided into five mental
disciplines that have proved central to their successful careers. They developed:

o The capacity to examine and appraise their own behavior and impact on
others.

o The strategy of interpreting negative events with a resilient inner narrative and
response.

o The practice of setting aside assumptions, reversing roles, and learning from
every person in the organization.

o The ability to trust, value, and speak from their own experience.

o The craft of counterpoint, that is, restoring perspective and renewing
resources (Mackoff and Wenet 2001, 1-2).

Many effective leaders draw on past experiences--in families, education, work,
and key events in their lives--to develop the mental disciplines that are the basis
of their inner authority. In the Mackoff-Wenet study, many participating leaders
described the influences of their family and family-related experiences that
formed and reinforced their core values.

Conviction. Ruth Simmons, president of Smith College, is the first African-
American woman to head a major college (Ibid.). The daughter of a Texas
sharecropper and the youngest of a family of twelve, she credits her family for
instilling in her values that she draws upon in her leadership role. From her
mother, a domestic worker who took great pride in cleaning well, she learned
how to stay focused and committed to her work. "I developed my own
conviction about always doing work with great care and seeing every job
through." (Ibid., 1)

Enduring core values. Simmons tells how her mother gathered the twelve
siblings around the kitchen table and taught them about their forebears--how
they evolved as people and their contribution to the community. "There was
always a moral attached to the story, offering insight into human frailty and what
can happen when people lose sight of their values. . . . My mother built
structure in these lessons about life, and I learned some basic values in dealing
with human beings. I spend a lot of time thinking about whether I live up to
these models." (Ibid., 187-188)


Consistency and loyalty. His father's chronic emphysema forced Chief
Executive Officer and President of CIT Financial Group Al Gamper to drop out
of college in his sophomore year to support his family (Ibid., 18). He combined
a day job at Manufacturer's Hanover Trust with night school for four years so
that he could take care of the needs of his parents and brother and complete his
education. The impact on his family of his father's inability to work, and the lack
of a safety net in company benefits, instilled in Gamper a powerful commitment
to give job security to his employees and to build an organization that provides
good benefits. He has done so, and whenever the company went through hard
times and it was suggested that employee benefits might be reduced, he
adamantly refused and found other ways to cut costs. He also formed and
funded the CIT Foundation to help employees in trouble. Providing an
umbrella for the special needs of employees, the Foundation has "sent terminally
ill children to camp, helped divorced mothers pay their mortgages, and covered
the costs of funerals." (Ibid.)

Understanding community and relationships. The value of community and
contributing to its well-being were driving forces in Japanese-American Beckie
Masaki's family throughout her childhood. The Executive Director of the Asian
Women's Shelter in San Francisco remembers that the entire Japanese
neighborhood, from the very young to the very old, hung out in her family's
Sacramento fish market. Her parents put a high value on investing in community
relationships and in not allowing small things that were negative to destroy the
social fabric. Her commitment to helping Asian women deal with domestic
violence is motivated by a belief that whether or not we experience violence in
our own lives, we must become part of the solution for those who do. "It may
not be happening to me as an individual but because it is part of the community
that I belong to, it is as if it is happening to me." (Ibid., 23)

Inner authority and critical thinking. Knowledge of her parents' internment
during the Second World War provided Masaki with another important insight
that informs her role as a leader in providing services to victims of domestic
violence. Her parent's internment, which she learned of in high school, did not fit
in with "what she knew about them as good citizens and good people... It was
the beginning of my thinking critically about injustice in our society. So much of
our schooling is based on mainstream culture. It doesn't relate to my
experiences as a person of color. It was the roots of my seeing that I needed to
have bicultural lenses--to learn not to swallow things whole." (Ibid., 71)

As a result, when Masaki was working at a large domestic violence shelter in
San Francisco and inquired about the absence of Asian women, she was told
that domestic violence was not a problem in the Asian community. At the time,
she had no statistics to refute the statement, but her intuition and her direct
experience told her that it was incorrect and motivated her to start the country's
first shelter for Asian women (Ibid.). One of Masaki's fundamental principles of
leadership is that "[w]e don't allow the status quo or conventional pressure to
create our organization...We must question the truth of the conventional
perspective to create a truly good fit for our organization." (Ibid., 72)

REMEMBERING MENTORS AND ROLE MODELS

Sometimes it is the people whom one meets on life's journey who have an
enormous impact on character, self-confidence, and life choices. These people
see the individual in a different light and perhaps recognize a potential or a
longing that may have otherwise gone unnoticed.

Hearst newspaper publisher Robert Danzig lost his parents from divorce and
disease at an early age and thus grew up in five different foster homes. He spent
his early years "surviving, getting through life and learning how to adjust to
constantly changing conditions." However, from his first job at seventeen as an
office clerk on a newspaper, he encountered several mentors who guided,
inspired, and taught him values that have served him throughout his career. He
learned the importance of treating clients well and taking risks from his first boss
at the Albany Times; maintaining high standards from the chairman of the
Saratoga Performing Arts Center; and the power of innovation from the head of
Gannett Corporation. "Each of us have been inspired by leaders who have
motivated us to move with enthusiasm on the pathways we have chosen to
pursue . . . They touch our spirit with the richness of their message and help us
absorb the shocks on the roads ahead. They appreciate the individual and
acknowledge that each possesses worth and counts." (Danzig 2000, 45)

A great tribute to leadership role models is Profiles in Courage, John F.
Kennedy's Pulitzer Prize-winning account of eight courageous U.S. Senators
who, at times of national crisis, took unpopular positions against their own
constituencies and political parties for the greater good. Kennedy wrote the
book during his term as U.S. Senator after experiencing the dilemmas members
of Congress face trying to act morally and represent voters when it is often
necessary to compromise. While the situations he discusses are limited to the
political arena, the themes of moral courage and "grace under fire" are relevant
in all leadership roles: Leaders continually compromise. 

Kennedy stressed three major points in discussing the Senators:  

o "We prefer praise to abuse and popularity to contempt. The path of the
conscientious insurgent is a lonely one."


o The desire to be re-elected is normal. "It should not automatically be assumed
that this is a wholly selfish motive."

o "The third and most significant source of pressures which discourages political
courage in the conscientious . . . is the pressure of the constituency, the interest
groups, the organized letter writers, the economic blocs, and even the average
voter. To cope with such pressures, to defy them or even to satisfy them is a
formidable task." (Kennedy 2000, 4-9)

A leader may be challenged on a daily basis to reconcile the desires to be liked,
keep the job, and make everyone happy with finding a way to solve problems
courageously and correctly. In his concluding thoughts Kennedy writes, "A man
[or woman] does what he must--in spite of personal consequences, in spite of
obstacles and dangers and pressures--and that is the basis of all human
morality." (Ibid., 225)

Core Leadership Strategies

Once the individual has taken a look at him/herself and his/her motivations and
has reflected on his/her life and the influences that have made him/her who s/he
is, s/he will have a better sense of personal goals and the kind of leadership s/he
can offer. Whether entering an established organization with an existing
hierarchy, a predictable work environment with set protocols for providing
services, or a start-up effort, there are choices the individual can make and
actions s/he can take that will affect how the organization will evolve under
his/her stewardship.

MISSION STATEMENTS

An organizational mission statement creates in people's hearts and minds a
frame of reference, a set of criteria or guidelines, by which they will govern
themselves. They don't need someone else directing, controlling, criticizing, or
taking cheap shots. They have bought into the changeless core of what the
organization is all about. --Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective
People

The creation of a mission statement is an integral component of Covey's second
habit of highly effective people, Begin with the End in Mind. As Covey
describes it, all things are created twice--first mentally, and second, physically.
Creation of a mental vision and purpose for a project, be it an individual, family,
or organizational undertaking, is essential to achieving and accomplishing that
undertaking. Covey (1999) states:


A mission statement is the highest form of mental creation for an individual, a
family, or an organization. It is the primary decision because it governs all other
decisions. Creating a culture behind a shared mission, vision, and values is the
essence of leadership.

A mission statement that is created by the group who works together helps in
establishing the shared visions and values that are essential elements of healthy
organizations. Critical to the creation of any group mission statement is input
from all participants. The key is to harmonize individual values with the values of
the group so that people work together for a common purpose.

Ideally the creation of an organization's mission statement occurs in the
following sequence of activities:

o Input is requested from all members of the organization.

o A preliminary mission statement is drafted.

o The draft is passed around for feedback.

o The mission statement is revised and finalized.

o The mission statement is posted.

o The mission statement comes under regular review and can be modified to
accommodate the changing needs of the group (Covey 1989, 138).

Following the creation of the organization's mission statement, it can sometimes
be effective to invite every department in an organization to generate its own
mission statement that describes the core values and goals of the unit. What
results is a wheel, with the organization's mission statement with its common
goals at the hub and the departmental statements forming the spokes. Covey
tells the story of a hotel chain that offered excellent and consistent customer
service at levels so impressive that he inquired of the top management how they
were able to accomplish this feat in such a large organization. He learned that
the overall mission statement was "Uncompromising personalized service." Each
hotel had then developed a mission statement that suited its distinct environment
and business climate and, within each of the hotel departments, specific mission
statements had also been developed (Ibid., 139-140).

Every mission statement spelled out:

o What the employees stood for.

o How they related to the customers.

o How they related to each other.

The time spent, the sincerity and patience of the groups who worked together
to resolve their differences, and the efforts to align the systems and structures
within the organizations helped to arrive at a set of shared values that generated
tremendous energy and enthusiasm. Both performance and company loyalty
improved dramatically. The staff felt involved. They cared about the company,
and they trusted the leadership who trusted them to participate in the process.

Numerous organizations are developing mission statements these days, but how
many include their entire staff in the formation of the core values? Often they
don't even think of it. The director of a leading criminal justice organization
specializing in research and technical assistance was approached by one of the
largest probation departments to bring its managers up to date on promising
policies and practices being developed as models at the national level. The
client planned to send forty-five managers for training and technical assistance in
areas such as enhancing victim services, intervening in family violence, and
management of sex offenders in the community. It was to be a sizable contract.

The client agency listed the development of a mission statement as the first item
on its agenda, a plan so "out of sync" with the potential contractor's own
leadership philosophy that he initially refused to include the task on the program
and almost lost the contract. He objected to the fact that forty-five managers
would be determining the mission of the entire agency. A firm believer in full
staff participation in the writing of an organization's mission, the contractor
eventually convinced the agency that it would be wiser to teach the managers
the "process"--how to conduct the creation of a new mission statement--so that
they could return to their agency and carry the process out with the
participation of all of their co-workers (Wicklund 8 January 2001).

EMPLOYEE CORE VALUES: SETTING STANDARDS

Morningstar is a financial services company that has prospered and grown
exponentially in the last decade, monitoring mutual fund growth under the
leadership of Joe Mansueto, its founder and chairman. Co-workers consider
him an empowering leader whom they profoundly trust and he in turn trusts
them to work at their full potential (Haasnoot 2000, 10). Morningstar
employees generally agree with the statement that "You are allowed to take
risks and go with your judgments, because you know if you are wrong you will
disappoint Joe, but your job is not in jeopardy." (Ibid., 16) In his book, The
New Wisdom of Business, Haasnoot quotes Mansueto on the subject of trust
and autonomy in the workplace:

I like to give people a wide area to maneuver by giving them general goals and
guidelines and letting them figure out how to do it. I certainly do not want to
micromanage people. I think people want room to express their own creativity
and to do something their way. I certainly don't have the ideas to solve all of
these problems. If people are looking to me to solve all the problems, then we
are both in trouble. (Ibid., 17)

Giving co-workers as much freedom as they need to feel creative and to find
their own ways of meeting the challenges posed by the company is an
increasingly popular leadership approach. If this approach is chosen, however,
it is the responsibility of the leader to work out performance and ethical
guidelines with the staff so that everyone understands the standards they should
maintain. Furthermore, it should be made clear to the staff that included in the
freedom offered is the responsibility to maintain those standards with diligence.

Mansueto and his staff developed a handbook that provides guidelines on
ethical behavior, standards of interaction with clients, the type of work
environment they want to foster, the obligations of the company to maintain it,
and the obligations of the staff to respect it. The following is an excerpt from the
Morningstar Financial Services Employee Handbook:

o People should have a consistently positive experience with Morningstar.

o Be consistent. It is not enough for a person to experience excellent service
only once.

o Even bozos deserve the best.

o Be sincere.

o Be willing to go the extra mile.

o Say yes. Our standard response should be yes, but if for some reason we
cannot honor the request, don't just say no.

o Under promise, over deliver.

o Little things do mean a lot.

o You are Morningstar.

o To create great products we need great people.

o People who can manage themselves and their workloads and can take
initiative can do the most for Morningstar.

o The environment here should only fuel your enthusiasm and passion for what
we are trying to achieve. If you see something that can be improved, please let
your manager know, or go ahead and correct it.

o Morningstar should offer a creative environment that lets people think broadly
and question current practices.

o We expect everyone at Morningstar to behave with the highest ethical
standards.

o If you enjoy your work, it should be fun. We owe it to ourselves to find ways
to make this experience a positive one for everyone.

o It's hard to create great products if you are stressed out--so be good to
yourself. Find ways to ease the tension and stress of daily work. Go out for a
short walk, listen to some favorite music, take the time to eat a good meal, or
do some reading in our library. (Ibid., 21)

These excerpts clearly demonstrate the respect accorded staff and customers
alike, as well as concern for staff well-being and expectations about ethical
behavior. Morningstar leader Mansueto is an extraordinary example of a leader
who knows how to both communicate positive and high expectations and do
everything possible to facilitate the willingness and capability of his staff to live
up to his standards.

COPING ENVIRONMENTS VS. LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

Understanding the leader's role requires consideration of the type of working
environment that the individual is in charge of and the type of working
environment that s/he wants to create. Generally work environments can be
divided into two types: coping environments and learning environments.

Individuals who work in coping environments are expected to be responders.
They plan for what is ahead and adapt the workplace for the changes that they
will need to make to stay abreast of the times. Coping environments involve
benchmarking: monitoring the achievements of other similar organizations to
establish the highest current standard and ensuring that the organization
maintains that standard. Coping environments tend to be manager-focused.
Most traditional corporations operate this way as do many agencies in criminal
and juvenile justice.

A concept defined in the early 1990s in The Fifth Discipline (Senge 1990) and
The Learning Company (Pedler, Burgoyne, and Boydell 1997), learning
environments are dedicated to the generation of new ideas and the creation of a
culture of expanded thinking. For example, Morningstar can be considered a
learning environment as are most of the software and Internet companies that
have developed in the last decade. Senge describes a learning organization as
"an organization that is continually expanding its capacity to create its future"
(McCall, citing Senge, 1998, 187). The leaders are stewards, designers, and
teachers. A leader in probation and parole management describes himself as a
leader in a learning environment. His job is to remove the impediments that
block the paths his co-workers are pursuing in their research and development
of new programs.

I am the guy with the machete cutting the swath through the jungle so that the
staff don't have to duck the branches. At the same time, I am the guy with the
shovel who walks behind the elephant in the parade and scoops up the "poop."
In other words, I am responsible and take the blame for what goes and grows
wrong under my charge (Wicklund, 8 January 2001).

Haasnoot cites six characteristics of a learning company:

o It has a commitment to continuous learning.

o It has in place processes to create, capture, and share knowledge with
people who have a need to know.

o It as a system of critical and systemic thinking in place.

o It creates a culture that values, respects, and rewards learning.

o It is willing to experiment and be flexible with what it does learn.

o It is people-focused and people benefit from the process (Haasnoot 2000,
40).

One leader in probation services for the state of Colorado is responsible for
statewide probation standards and policy development. He works hard to
create a learning environment and relies upon his staff to think expansively. His
stewardship approach has been to carefully evaluate staff performance and
progress every year and remove impediments whenever possible. If they need
funding resources, legislative support, or legal authority to move forward, it is
his job to secure it. The office staff comprises self-directed work teams made
up of individuals with different skills. There are no unit supervisors. He asks that
people think for themselves and not come to him for problem solving. The
principle of his hiring approach is "there is no place on the staff for soldiers, only
leaders." (Fogg 8 January 2001)

Whatever environment--coping or learning--the team functions in, the leader
must consider which environment is better suited to the goals of the
organization. S/he should also value the co-workers' well-being. A leader needs
to create a culture that recognizes and rewards innovation--an environment in
which people can grow and improve their skills and one that allows them to
take risks and make mistakes.

COMPETITION VS. COOPERATION

Much of the recent leadership writing on competition versus cooperation comes
out strongly on the side of cooperation. Abraham Maslow writes in Maslow on
Management that "enlightened economics must assume good will among all
members of the organization rather than rivalry or jealously." (Haasnoot,
quoting Maslow, 2000, 61) Some of the underlying beliefs about the
importance of cooperation, as opposed to competition, in the work place are
that it creates unity, loyalty, and good will. It also fosters creativity and builds
self-esteem among participants. Haasnoot writes that "when true cooperation is
in place there is usually a common purpose, coordination, and meeting of
diverse minds, and people fully leverage their skills." (2000, 75)

Doug Walker, founder of a thriving software company, has tried to create a
corporate culture where respect and trust foster collaboration among an
egalitarian group of people. "Collaboration intrinsically involves open,
constructive sharing." He goes on to say that there are no quotas and no rules.
"We use a system here that is principle-based instead of rule-based. Respect
and trust guide us through the process." (Haasnoot, quoting Walker, 2000, 56-
58) He readily admits that this approach works because the company takes
incredible care in hiring people who can work in this environment. An average
of fifteen hours is spent interviewing anyone before s/he is hired--enough time to
feel confident that the newcomer can thrive in a "principle-based" system.

Critics of competition in the workplace believe that it creates both unnecessary
anxiety and unnecessary levels of aggression. They deny that it produces better
results because greater efforts are made to attack the opposition's weaknesses
than are made to develop one's own strengths. Competition creates losers even
though they may have done an excellent job.       

On the other hand, since time immemorial, competition has been a motivating
factor for individuals to increase performance and achieve excellence. It is hard
to judge if the traditional beliefs about competition ever apply in the workplace:
competition builds character and self-esteem, is fun, is instinctive, produces
better results, and leads to innovation. A little insight into how competition
operates in the organization, however, will help a leader to understand
workplace dynamics. Some people are competitive by nature and by habit, and
the leader should understand how they are motivated.

Whether a leader chooses to introduce competition to the organization or
eliminate it depends on many considerations. Creating an atmosphere of
cooperation is essential to a healthy working environment. Whether a certain
amount of competition can be sustained is specific to the environment and the
job descriptions. 

Modern leadership theorists generally view fostering competition in a negative
light. There are other negative tools that leaders bring to bear on their co-
workers that can produce results in the short term but, in the long term, breed
discontent and distrust.

Closed-book management. When people receive regular feedback that enables
them to know how they are doing in their job and how the company is doing,
they feel more involved and more secure. The opposite is also true. Staff who
are kept in the dark about the quality of their performance and the health of
their company feel manipulated, detached, and insecure.

Leadership by fear. Machiavelli wrote that if "one's country is threatened, there
should fall no consideration whatsoever of either just or unjust, kind or cruel,
praiseworthy or ignominious . . . The people must fear their leaders, but they
must believe in the goodness of their leaders." (Ledeen 1999, 117-118) It is
surprising how many modern leaders cite Machiavelli's philosophy for effective
leadership as their guide to maintaining power and domination. In the short
term, such treatment perhaps makes people feel secure in the sense that it
appeals to their desire to have a patriarch or a matriarch but, in the long term, it
makes them dependent, angry, and distrustful.

Coercion? Or take the time to persuade. For a leader to compel people to do
things by the use of his/her power as a leader is ill-advised when s/he can take
the time to befriend them, communicate with them, and explain to them why
s/he is taking an unpopular decision. Abraham Lincoln said that when a leader
begins to coerce his followers, he is essentially abandoning leadership and
embracing dictatorship.

When the conduct of men is designed to be influenced, persuasion, kind,
unassuming persuasion should ever be adopted. If you would win a man to your
cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend. On the contrary,
assume to dictate to his judgement, or to command his action, or to mark him
as one to be shunned and despised, he will retreat into himself, close all avenues
to his head, and his heart; and tho' your cause be the naked truth itself . . . you
shall no more be able to reach him, than to penetrate the hard shell of a tortoise
with a rye straw. (Phillips 1992, 41)

THE WIN/WIN PARADIGM

Probably the strategy that has received the most attention in Covey's theories
on leadership is the Win/Win paradigm. In this model, the goal of any
interaction between individuals, in families, and in organizations--both internally
and externally--is the creation of win/win solutions. Covey explains that our
focus in every human interaction should be on "producing personal and
organizational excellence by developing information and reward systems, which
reinforce the value of cooperation." (Covey 1989, 206) To operate with the
Win/Win paradigm means that one is in a frame of mind and heart "that seeks
mutual benefit in all situations." The belief inherent in the concept is that there is
plenty for everybody, that one person's success is not achieved at the expense
or the exclusion of the success of others, and if it is a "No Win" situation, then it
should be avoided.

Arriving at a win/win solution requires trust in the good intentions of the parties,
openness in the sharing of information, and honesty in all dealings. By arriving at
an understanding of the needs and realities of both parties, the process
promotes the creation of solutions that are mutually beneficial. Covey points out
that this kind of exchange provides "tremendous emotional freedom and
harmony in family and work relationships. In the business world it promotes the
kind of creative and cost-saving collaborations between organizations that are
becoming a necessity in the modern world (Ibid., 207-214).

Covey also stresses the importance of "No Deal" in the win/win model.
"Anything less than Win/Win in an interdependent reality is a poor second best
that will have impact in the long-term relationship. The cost of that impact needs
to be carefully considered." (Ibid., 214)

An analysis of win/win in successful interpersonal relationships can be looked at
from the points of view of (1) the characters of the participants, (2) their
relationships, and (3) the agreements that they make. Necessary qualities of
character are self-awareness, imagination, conscience, independent thinking,
courage, and an understanding of one's innermost values.

In the relationship there must be mutual learning, influence, benefits, and
commitment to the win/win outcome. This relationship will not diminish the
issues to be resolved but will replace the negative energy generated by the
conflict with positive, cooperative energy focused on understanding the problem
and finding a mutually beneficial solution (Ibid., 216-222).

Finally, win/win agreements can cover many types of interaction: between
employers and employees, between independent people working together on
projects, between companies and suppliers, and between companies and their
clients. Win/win agreements are a means to clarify expectations of any group
working together for a common or an interdependent effort. In win/win
agreements, the following elements are made explicit:

o Results desired.

o Guidelines within which the results are accomplished.

o Resources available for the effort: human, financial, technical, and
organizational.

o Accountability: standards of performance, time frame, and method of
evaluation.

o Consequences: What happens as a result of the evaluations (Ibid, 223-244).

Covey writes of a four-step process to help people develop a win/win
approach to negotiations and problem solving:

o See the problem from the other point of view. Understand and give
expression to the needs and concerns of the other party.

o Identify the key issues and concerns.

o Determine what results would constitute a fully acceptable solution.

o Identify possible new options to achieve those results (Ibid.).

MOVING BEYOND ADVERSITY: THE NATURE OF OPTIMISM

As a leader during a time of change, I think it is my obligation to first quickly
deal with my own predictable emotional cycle. Then it is my job to help people
move through their feelings and to understand that we are all totally in control of
how we react to major changes that we don't agree with or didn't engineer.
--Phyllis Campbell, President, U.S. Bank of Washington (Mackoff and Wenet
2001, 116)

How a leader responds to adversity and how s/he frames a difficult or
threatening situation to co-workers has a great deal to do with how well s/he
will be able to respond. Major General John Stanford used to say, "leadership
is not a role but a point of view." (Mackoff and Wenet 2001, 122) The greater
the fear component and the negative energy attached to any problem, the
harder it is to view it objectively and respond to it efficiently. Another
Stanfordism is that "[w]hen leaders choose to live in the world of "yes," they
can turn adversity into an event of knowing." (Ibid.) Leadership theorists define
the reframing of negative events in a positive light as a positive explanatory
style. Many effective leaders practice this approach quite naturally.

----------------------------

Figure 1 is not included in this ASCII plain-text file. To view this document in
its entirety, download the Adobe Acrobat graphic file(s) available from this
Web site.

----------------------------

A typical reaction to a problem that has been created is to ponder certain
questions, such as: how long will it last; how will the leader be affected by it;
and who is to blame (and the leader is to blame). Using a negative explanatory
style, a leader responds that it is always happening; that it will ruin the company;
and that it is all his/her fault. Imposing the discipline of the positive explanatory
style is to answer the questions truthfully but in a way that is more objective. 
The leader takes the long view on the time frame, having the expectation that
with enough time, the situation will work out or be solved; confines the problem
to the specific circumstance it relates to; and takes realistic responsibility for the
problem or error, in the context of previous accomplishments (Danzig 2000,
79-82; Mackoff and Wenet 2001, 112-122).

Maj Gen John Stanford was hired as the superintendent of Seattle Public
Schools, having had little experience in the field of education. There was
opposition to his hiring. Colleagues in the field advised him that he had been
hired as token minority and could expect to be fired rather quickly. While he
took care not to personalize the threats and assumed his duties with great
enthusiasm, he found the job at hand to be daunting. The poor condition of the
school district was detrimental to the quality of education they were able to
provide to the children. The adversity centered on school management and
dwelled on class size, teacher-principal conflicts, and department heads
competing for dwindling dollars. No one had time to think about the students
(Mackoff and Wenet 2001).

Applying positive explanatory techniques, Stanford decided to reframe school
problems and set new goals that addressed the needs of the students and their
achievements. He created a successful plan with a slogan that became a rallying
point for all the participants and allowed them to set aside their complaints and
bickering--"Victory in the classroom." The plan created an academic
achievement plan for the students and a contract with a "trust agreement" for the
teachers to deal with school budgets and staffing weighted towards student
needs. Teachers and administrators were reminded of why they had chosen
teaching in the first place and the plan helped them to renew their personal
missions to teach (Ibid.).

POSITIVE ENERGY

Since leaders continually interact with other people, their co-workers look to
them to be positive, good humored, and cheerful. Leaders must find a way to
effectively manage their own fears and emotions. In his darkest moments during
the Civil War, when his generals were failing to carry out orders and he was
angry and frustrated, Lincoln wrote scathing letters--which he never sent--to
expend his negative energy. He was very careful not to let minor differences
and personal preferences affect his mood while working with others. With
regard to quarreling over insignificant matters, he once advised a military
officer, "Better give your path to a dog than be bitten by him in contesting a
fight. Even killing the dog would not cure the bite." (Phillips 1992, 82)

A leader should consider mood maintenance as part of the job. Everyone is
entitled to his/her moods, but if the leader can find an innocuous outlet for
his/her negative energy--writing, vigorous exercise, meditation, etc.--
co-workers will find refuge in the leader's equanimity.

OPTIMISM

Conveying optimism is an essential skill for any effective leader. An optimistic
state of mind is attainable with practice. Among the Cherokee Indian Nation
leaders, for example, there is a prayer that is offered at the beginning of
meetings that is a plea for a positive framework. Participants are asked to
dispel negative thoughts in order to make space for positive and creative ones.
"Being of good mind" in fact is a general practice among the Cherokee that is
used  to create positive energy. In dispelling negative energy, they reflect on
problems in a bigger context, and try to observe the connection between
negative events and the universe (Mackoff and Wenet 2001, 104).

Chief of the Cherokee Nation Wilma Mankiller first learned "being of good
mind" when her family was moved by the Indian Affairs Relocation Program
from the woods in Oklahoma to central San Francisco. Rather than dwell on
the injustice and the discomfort her family felt at leaving their friends and their
lovely home in the woods, her parents focused on what the city had to offer to
them: electricity, inside plumbing, central heating, good schools, and job
opportunities, all of which they had previously lacked. It was true that they felt
they had been wronged but they chose not to be dragged down by their own
negativity that would prevent them from seeing the benefits of their new life.

When the previous chief retired, Mankiller accepted the challenge to run for
chief of the Nation. Many Cherokee were angry that a woman wanted to
assume leadership. She received harassing phone calls and other forms of
intimidation, including death threats. She believed that gender was a nonsensical
issue in the election and that she would lose the election if she allowed herself to
dwell on it. Mankiller admits that sometimes there is very little upside to a
negative situation, in which case the best one can do is reflect on what s/he
learned (Ibid., 103-105). She has found throughout her career as a leader that
"being of good mind" has been an essential practice--a simple prayer that rids
the mind of negative thoughts, improving energy and heightening creative
thought processes.

PASSION FOR WORK

In discussions of leadership, the term "charisma" has been given a number of
different but overlapping meanings: a leader's magical qualities; an emotional
bond between leader and led; dependence on a father [mother] figure by the
masses; popular assumptions that a leader is powerful, omniscient, and virtuous;
imputation of enormous supernatural powers to a leader; and simply popular
support for a leader that verges on love (Phillips, citing Burns, 1992, 77). The
leadership attributes that best evoke the adjective of "charismatic" are the clear
communication of mission and the passion felt for work. Passion and conviction
have great and energizing power that can stimulate co-workers and inspire them
to help achieve the goal. "Passion ignites a contagious optimism." (Danzig,
quoting Stanford, 2000, 82)

Unquestionably, survival and excellence in the field of victim services are clear
indications of the passion an individual feels for helping victims and seeing
justice served. In the process of acquiring greater leadership skills, the
individual needs to look inward to better understand self, motivations, and
passion. In so doing, s/he improves interpersonal skills and acquires practical
skills that make him/her a more adept and confident leader.

Servant Leadership

Today there is a growing voice in modern leadership theory, and a shift in
emphasis from financial capital to human capital as a source of organizational
success. The concept of servant leadership (as defined by leadership theorist
Robert Greenleaf 1977) is at the heart of this transformation, and elements of
this theory abound in current leadership models. The point of departure for the
servant-as-leader paradigm is that enlightened leadership puts serving others--
employees, customers, and community--as the number one priority.
Furthermore, strong servant leaders focus on means and attitudes as well as
outcomes. They see choices, have the willingness to make the right choices
(based on values like respect, caring, and competence), and take responsibility
to stay their course (Spears 2001).

Greenleaf attributed the foundation of servant leadership to Journey to the East,
a work by Hermann Hesse (1956). This book is an autobiographical account of
the narrator's journey toward enlightenment, wherein he is accompanied by his
faithful servant, Leo. Throughout the arduous journey, the narrator and his
companions are assaulted by all kinds of disasters and hardships. Leo, by his
spirit and warmth and gentle service, is able to sustain the travelers through
these challenges. Then Leo is lost. The effect on the travelers is extreme; they
end up wandering for years, and the narrator nearly dies. Finally, the narrator
finds Leo, and is taken to the society he has been seeking--there, he discovers
that Leo, his trusted and loyal servant, is actually the leader of the enlightened
society.            

According to Greenleaf (1977), the key elements of servant leadership are:

o Listening receptively to what others have to say.

o Accepting others and having empathy for them.

o Having foresight and intuition.

o Being aware and perceptive.

o Having highly developed powers of persuasion.

o Having an ability to conceptualize and to communicate concepts.

o Having an ability to exert a healing influence upon individuals and institutions.

o Building community in the workplace.

o Practicing the art of contemplation.

o Recognizing that servant leadership begins with the desire to change oneself.

While theorists and researchers often take great care to avoid the injection of
morality into organizational theory, Greenleaf affirmatively states that it is the
very moral underpinnings of leaders who choose to serve that prevents the
typical corruption so often seen in hierarchies of power. Many leading writers
on leadership echo this "new" approach to leadership. John C. Maxwell cites
"servanthood" as one of the twenty-one indispensable qualities of a leader and
cites five qualities of the true servant leader:

1. Puts others ahead of his/her own agenda.

2. Possesses the confidence to serve.

3. Initiates service to others.

4. Is not position-conscious.

5. Serves out of love (Maxwell 1999, 136-37).

This challenging approach to leadership creates more questions than answers. It
is not the embodiment of a simple formula that can be objectively applied for
specific results. The exercise of servant leadership is as individual and varied as
there are individuals and organizations. Yet the basic premise remains steadfast
and unchanged--leadership in the name of true service to those led.

In his book Synchronicity: The Inner Path to Leadership (1998), Joseph
Jaworski takes the concept of servant leadership one step further in describing
the true servant leader as one who makes the choice to serve life. In his
introduction to Synchronicity, Peter Senge, a renowned authority on leadership
and organizational theory, describes Jaworski's work as making a profound
connection between the world of hierarchical power that is quickly disappearing
and the newly emerging scheme of shared power, vast networks, and self-
managed teams. Senge cites Jaworski's assertion that:

. . . in a deep sense, my capacity as a leader comes from my choice to allow life
to unfold through me. This choice results in a type of leadership that we've
known very rarely, or that we associate exclusively with extraordinary
individuals like Ghandi or King. In fact, this domain of leadership is available to
us all, and may indeed be crucial for our future . . . That is the real gift of
leadership. It's not about positional power; it's not about accomplishments; it's
ultimately not even about what we do. Leadership is about creating a domain in
which human beings continually deepen their understanding of reality and
become more capable of participating in the world. Ultimately, leadership is
about creating new realities (Jaworski 1998, 2-3).

The concept of servant leadership draws upon all the qualities discussed in this
chapter, and carries the need to know oneself to its highest level of potential. In
knowing one's own capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses, one prepares
oneself for the most effective and constructive leadership possible.

Conclusion

The many examples of leadership highlighted in this chapter offer both
inspiration and insights into what makes an individual an effective leader. One's
past experiences--both personal and professional--contribute significantly to
leadership attitude, style, and strategies. While there is no "one" style of
leadership that emerges as preferential, there are many components of different
leadership styles addressed in this chapter that offer strong guidance for
creating a self-style of leadership that is comfortable, creative, and effective.
Key among research espoused by prominent leadership theorists is the need for
leaders to know and understand their own strengths and weaknesses.

The next chapter examines personal stories and historical illustrations of a
quality absolutely essential to knowledge of oneself and one's true capacity for
leadership--the possession and exercise of integrity.

References

Bennis, W., and B. Nanus. 1997. Leaders: Strategies for Taking Charge. New
York: HarperCollins.

Burns, J. M. 1978. Leadership. In D. Phillips. 1992. Lincoln on Leadership.
New York: Warner Books.

Danzig, R. J. 2000. The Leader Within You. Hollywood FL: Frederick Fell
Publishers.

Covey, S. 1989. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New York: Simon &
Schuster.                

Covey, S. 1999. Living the 7 Habits. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Fogg, V. 8 January 2001. Personal communication with author.

Greenleaf, R. K. 1977. Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of
Legitimate Power and Greatness. New York: Paulist Press.

Haasnoot, R. 2000. The New World of Business: 9 Guiding Principles from
Today's Leaders. Chicago: Dearborn.

Heifetz, R. 1994. Leadership Without Easy Answers. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard Business School Press.

Hesse, H. 1956. Journey to the East. Translated by H. Rosner. New York:
Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

Jaworski, J. 1998. Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership. San Francisco:
Berrett-Koehler.

Kennedy, J. F. 2000. Profiles in Courage, perennial edition. New York:
Harper Collins.

Ledeen, M. 1999. Machiavelli on Modern Leadership. New York: St.
Marten's Griffin.

McCall, M. 1998. High Flyers: Developing the Next Generation of Leaders.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Mackoff, B., and G. Wenet. 2001. The Inner Work of Leaders: Leadership as
a Habit of Mind. New York: Amacom.

Maxwell, J. C. 1999. The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. Nashville,
TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.      

Pedlar, M., J. Burgoyne, and T. Boydell. 1997. The Learning Company. New
York: McGraw Hill.            

Phillips, D. 1992. Lincoln on Leadership. New York: Warner Books.

Senge, P. 1990. The Fifth Discipline. New York: Doubleday.


Spears, L. C. 2001. Servant Leadership: Quest for Caring Leadership. As
viewed 21 January 2001 on the Robert Greenleaf Web site
<http://www.greenleaf.org>.

Wicklund, C. 8 January 2001. Personal communication with author.

Wolfe, T. The Right Stuff. 1979. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. In
McCall, M. 1998. High Flyers: Developing the Next Generation of Leaders.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press.