The good ol' history of leadership.....

Greetings and good day,
This brings upon the second entry of “What is leadership anyway?” Today I will be writing more in depth of leadership and the different theories given the different time periods in which that style was most effective. To date, there has been around five eras of leadership which include: Tribal, Pre-classical, Classical, Progressive, and Post-Progressive. Not to mention the different theories (as written above) behind leadership, meaning what style of leadership those who were given the “label” carried about themselves to best suit them and their “followers”. Have you ever been in a leadership position in which you found yourself going back and forth from the “Great Man Theory” where you believed you were just born as a leader or the “Situational Theory” perhaps? Let’s go ahead and see exactly how this world we live in came around along the time line of leadership (do note that there are many concepts to be gained from reading this).
To start, tribal leadership (which speaks for itself) gives one somewhat of an idea on how the leaders came to be, what their physical qualities were like, or how they contributed to benefit themselves and others. Well, in that time period, the leaders were leaders because of their size, strength, and agility. They posed fear into the eyes of their followers and though the followers were crucial in tribal success, those who did not obey were killed to say the least. The leader knew how the ‘system’ worked, meaning who did what, how to do what, and where to do what. In “layman” terms, he was practically the ‘head-honcho’ of his established tribe. The next in line was the pre-classical era, perhaps in the Renaissance time period where claimed divinity was essential to leadership and kings and queens ruled over the country. Death was feared and majority of the time it was male dominance in which held the leadership positions. Those who viewed the leaders as spiritually or magically endowed can say that this can somewhat correlate to Biblical times concerned with spirituality (prophets for example). The followers were to obey and be spiritually filled for they followed in fear of the leaders. So what about today? You may ask. Let’s pick up the pace a bit and skip forward in time just to see exactly how much the thought of leadership changed. The post-progressive era is the time we are in now where leadership has explored new forms of leading beyond business and profit margins (PowerPoint, 15). The thought of addressing the post –industrial world is relevant to the leader’s point of view. There is a new democratic agenda at hand and answers in which everyone is looking for in a leader. It can be said that the idea of one person being in charge of his or her own is no longer a factor in today’s society, but rather equal partner in the leadership relationship. The follower’s needs are met and the agenda of becoming a better follower leads to the empowerment of the leadership position. With this in mind however, it was a different story for the theories behind leadership can be dated back to the late 1700’s.
During our nations Independence (1776), the “Great Man Theory” was believed that all leaders possessed this quality, not by learning, but they were born with it. This was in their family lineage and it carried with them in time. Moreover, the “Trait Theory” in which was during the early nineteen hundreds to mid nineteen hundreds, the leader had certain traits about him and held a predisposed position in their society such as hair, height, weight, etc.. The “Behavioral Theory” lasted between the 1950’s-1960’s where there was only one best way to lead others and the thought of actually learning this was understandable. The “Situational Theory” lasted around the 1950’s-1980’s and this dealt with the fact that the leader was supposed to adapt to any given situation based on the task at hand. Based on my belief, the situational theory should or would suite me or any other leader because that shows the diversification of the leader. For example, the president comes across many different situations in which people are asking him to do different tasks and he has to adjust to the situation and find out what works best. Last but not least, the “Process Theory” which dates to the 1970’s to the present, in which leadership is a relational and shared process. They (leaders) must conform to the followers needs to create a better place including serving them, leading by example, and focus on the community to create change. I believe this is very relevant alongside with the situational theory because many businesses you can see this in which in turn creates a better work atmosphere for everyone. For example, someone’s boss who works for a major company is open minded to them and sees both sides of their situation. This in turn leaves the worker to stay and work for the boss making the business better and the people around better. Gone are the days when it was about the leader, instead it is about leadership and what it means. In the end, “true self interest teaches selflessness” (Wren, 69). What can be said by this? Ask yourself this question while you go about your days work, for it can prove the enhancement of a better person in you….

The basics of leadership

Hello and good day, my name is Andrew Lopez and I would like to start by thanking you for coming or even following me on my way to bring the latest updates on leadership to the web. Throughout my life I have taken on quite a few leadership roles ranging from academics in high school, to a team leader of the varsity football team, to insuring quality patient care on the ambulance as an EMT. I seemed to have a pretty good idea of what leadership meant, but not once did I contemplate on the history, different types, or even the truisms of the quality. Have you ever been put in a leadership position? What do you define leadership as? As a member of the Blue Chip Program at the University of Arizona, it is required that my peers and I give our insights on what it means to become a ‘leader’. Over the course of 4 years (myself being in the first phase, equivalent to the first year), everyone who takes part in this prestigious program will learn ‘inside and out’ what it takes, means, and the history of leadership and leading in general. At this time we will dive into the basic concepts of leadership.

Leadership can be dated as being one of the oldest preoccupations in history (Wren, 49). Dating as far back as the leaders in the Old and New Testaments, leadership defined, was different than it is now. This definition of the term has changed many times over the years. This being said, the reason being was in correlation with the time period and what major people stood out during those years. The commonality between all these people that emerged into leaders was that they all had a well understanding of who they were such as their values, interests, skills, style, and their mission. Which brings us to the sole and beginning definition (so to speak) of leadership and that is:

1. You have to know who you are as a person

Are you the type of leader that will understand your vision and see ‘eye to eye’ with the public or group of people in whom you are trying to outreach to? It is essential that in order to be the leader you want to be, you have to use the best strategy to work effectively with a group of people (PowerPoint, 2). In other words how to communicate, create powerful teams, use everyone’s skills for the better, work with, and know the strengths and weaknesses of your followers. I never thought of these key aspects when I was in the position of leading another person or a group of people. However, I can say now that these rolls which must be played are indeed vital to becoming a successful leader. Though we may make mistakes in life and bestowing upon the responsibility is no easy task, but it’s the mistakes we learn from that make us better leaders for the future to come. In fact, as mentioned earlier, leadership defined nowadays is the relationship between the leaders and followers with the intent towards a common goal and mutual relationship. This means that in today’s society we are becoming more and more equal with each other coming from all different walks of life, but sharing and helping each other more side by side. In the end, everyone has the responsibility to lead, but when it comes down to it, there is no one best way to lead rather follow your heart, mind, and soul….and sure enough others will be there to help and follow you through your journey of life.