Зачем изучать лидерство? – Zachem izuchat’ liderstvo? Why study Leadership (Russian)
Зачем изучать лидерство? – Zachem izuchat’ liderstvo? Why study Leadership? (Russian)
Part 1: What my peers are saying.
Part 2: Highlights from Northouse.
Part 3: Epilogue
Part 1: What my peers are saying.
John Fehlan, says, “Perhaps leadership IS influence and the Christian Leadership industry got us all to buy their stuff… I then took a long break from all things leadership. My stomach couldn’t do another CD lesson or blog post, even from Foursquare legends such as Wayne Cordeiro and Ralph Moore. I wanted nothing to do with church growth gurus such Donald McGaveran, C.Peter Wagner, Robert Schuller, or Lyle Schaller. I lump Bill Hybels and Rick Warren into that pile as well.”
(Both John and I agree that while we are tiring of all the leadership books/guides, we find ourselves embracing a Doctorate in Leadership – yes, it is ironic! And yet undoubtedly I am growing in my understanding…once again God is stretching me in a new direction.)
Travis Vaughn wrote, “But Northouse hasn’t written a book on management…. Instead, it would seem that Northouse has written the one leadership book to rule them all.”
(Leadership versus Management. My wife has noted that I am a better leader than manager. Sigh, I am sure that there is tremendous overlap in the two spheres, and I hope to continue to get out of my leadership rut and become an equally effective manager.)
Jennifer Vernam noted, “These authors all point to the need for us to take time, slow down, and not to rely on short cuts.
(At this point, our readings from Glanzer and Satell deepen my understanding on how we can as leaders can effect change. There are no short cuts, no recipes that guarantee success.)
Part 2: Highlights from Northouse.
I seem to remember Northouse from a distant past reading. Perhaps it was his first or second edition. Nonetheless, his thought, “Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal” [p.6], struck a chord. His book creates a menu of options that replaces coercion (ala U.S. Army) with relationships and influence.
His book, Northouse, Peter G. Leadership: Theory and Practice. 6th ed. Thousand Oaks: SAGE, 2013[1] 
has been accoladed for his Consistent Chapter Structure. Northouse describes this structure in his YouTube video “Peter Northouse discusses Leadership: Theory and Practice, Fifth Edition at the 1:16 minute mark. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3eWfH0_Cb8&t=74s
The structure, Narrative, Strengths/Weaknesses, Application, Case studies, Self-Assessment Tool. This structure makes it easy to jump in and out as needed.
Highlight #1, in Chapter 1, Summary, Northouse states that “Leadership is a process that can be learned, and that is available to everyone.” (sorry I only have kindle locations on this edition.)
This would appear to be borne out by attendance at U.S. Reserve Officer Training Corps programs. According to COL Scott Sonsalla, US Army Command, Director of Recruiting, Marketing and Incentives, “There are over 30,000 Army ROTC cadets enrolled in 274 ROTC programs at major universities throughout the United States.”[2] This does not include cadets at the Army, Navy, and Air Force Academies (about 4,000 at each). This education process sets aside the old adage that leaders are born not made. Clearly the United States is counting on military leadership training for each new generation.
Glanzer[3] further describes U.S. Military leadership training, when he writes, “Listen, See. Learn. Do. Love — Glanzer quotes General Eric Shinseki (from Hawaii), “You must love those you lead before you can be an effective leader. You can certainly command without that sense of commitment, but you cannot lead without it. And without leadership, command is a hallow experience, a vacuum often filled with mistrust and arrogance”, p. 29).
Wow, loving those you lead, a dramatic turn for the U.S. Army.
I truly enjoyed this insight as Shinseki provides an example of how U.S. Military leadership is growing in depth and sees relationship as a core characteristic. This is an appropriate shift in light of Northouse’s warning, “Treating power as a shared resource is important because it deemphasizes the idea that leaders are power wielders.” He adds “Our definition of leadership stresses using influence to bring individuals toward a common goal, while coercion involves the use of threats and punishment to induce change in followers for the sake of leaders. (also chapter 1, summary)
Highlight #2, Northouse also describes the difference between leadership and management. The graphs helps me see what are my strengths and weakness. I clearly am weaker on Management Skills.
Highlight #3, While Northouse remains straight forward in his description of leadership styles, I have to
gravitate back to Walker’s, Undefended Leader. [4] Walker goes one step further with his description of the interplay of leadership strategies responding to “seasons. ” I was surprised to see that Walker had created, not a pigeonhole for leadership, but something more fluid “reaction and action.”[5] Diagram 10.1 describes the movement of the PSX and RWC interaction.
Highlight #4 Lastly, I enjoyed the review of Servant Leadership. (Part 2. Servant Leadership)
- Listening,
- Empathy
- Healing
- Awareness
- Persuasion
- Conceptualization
- Foresight
- Stewardship
- Commitment to the growth of people
- Building Community
These elements remind me of those leadership characteristics of a “Servant Leader.” (WWJD)
Part 3 Epilogue
Part A.
During my first advance, one of the Project Faculty in Capetown, asked, “why do you need this program?” (Why study Leadership?)
It caused me to think of the words to articulate my desire for a doctorate. I am not sure what I said back then, but down deep I unconsciously: 1) knew it would give me credibility in establishing something to address immigration and refugee resettlement (Interlinkt.org a resettlement website now in 10 languages was born), 2) I knew it would give me credibility for discussing the topic of immigration on a broader scale (now the Immigration Symposium happening March 9, 2024 where key speakers will address the polarization of immigration in the U.S.).
Glanzer writes, “Leaders make waves. When a person desires to provide leadership service as an influencer in the kingdom, wave making comes from an internal motivation, a sense of destiny, to see the world as God intended it to be.”[6]
Wow…Creating a Wave (Glanzer), A Cascade (Satell).
Part B.
This is why I am in the program. This is why I want to read about leadership styles, finding my
deficiencies and acknowledging my strengths. I want to make a “transformational” change both on Immigration in the U.S. and setting up the course for GoodSports Ukraine. Northouse gives me things to ponder when it comes to Ukraine and “Team Leadership”. He writes, “A team is a specific type of group composed of members who are independent, who share common goals, and who must coordinate their activities to accomplish these goals. (Kindle Location 5388, Chapter 12 Team leadership).” This week I will meet with 4 individuals, with different skill sets and callings. Perhaps Team Leadership will emerge for the GoodSports Ukraine team.
[1] Northouse, Peter G. Leadership: Theory and Practice. 6th ed. Thousand Oaks: SAGE, 2013.
[2] “Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps.” In Wikipedia, November 12, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Army_Reserve_Officers%27_Training_Corps&oldid=1184771485#cite_note-4.
[3] Glanzer Jules (author). Sound of Leadership Kingdom Notes to Fine Tune Your Life and Influence. Invite Press, 1901.
[4] Walker, Simon P. Leading with Nothing to Lose: Training in the Exercise of Power. Carlisle: Piquant, 2007.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Glanzer Jules (author). Sound of Leadership Kingdom Notes to Fine Tune Your Life and Influence. Invite Press, 1901, p. 125.
About the Author
Russell Chun
interlinkt.org is now ready for your Refugee Resettlement needs. 15 tasks, languages ESL plans coming6 responses to “Зачем изучать лидерство? – Zachem izuchat’ liderstvo? Why study Leadership (Russian)”
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Russ, I have three takeaways and a question from your post. First, you reference Northouse’s definition of leadership: “Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal.” As I read that sentence in the book, and after reading it again in your post, I am reminded that someone really doesn’t need a title, degree, or position to lead in the way Northouse describes leadership. They simply need to influence a group toward a common goal (easier said than done). This is a good corrective and alternative to coercion.
Second, speaking of coercion, where “leaders” of organizations who “lead” through threats and punishment, I’m thinking it’s no wonder that bridges get burned between employer and employee. Once the employee sees a way out, he/she never looks back and never again seeks to connect with the supervisor or organization. On the other hand, where someone leads through influence, carefully shaping a team toward a common mission or goal, I would imagine those leaders get invited to parties of their employees, even many years after the employees have moved on. I think of my very first general supervisor for the region I served in a campus ministry I worked with, soon after college. That person led through influence, not coercion. I still keep in touch with him to this day, 30 years later.
Third, you explain why you “want to read about leadership styles, finding (your) deficiencies and acknowledging (your) strengths.” Now that you’ve read both Walker and Northouse, how might those two authors and their different approaches to talking about power or leadership affect the way you interpret leadership styles, including yours?
Hi Travis,
Wow, thanks for responding!
For me, Northouse represents the Leadership Menu that unfortunately, force many young leaders to pigeon hole themselves. Searching for the style that meets their current leadership space.
For me Simon Walker’s, Leading with nothing to lose training in the exercise of power , was a paradigm shift for me.
I have always seen leadership as the exercise in power, and yet his take on hospitality has been game changing for me. Especially as I transition from one organization (GoodSports International -25 years in Hungary), to work in Ukraine.
As I submitted appropriate forms for establishing GSI Ukraine, I wondered “What foundations will I set for the new organization?”
More specifically, in Walker’s Appendix: Troubleshooting Problems in Leadership, he states “What are your foundations going to be? You need to establish core values, expected behavior’s, standards, goals, routines and rhythms. Are you clear about yours? “
Wow.
I was surprised to see that Walker had created, not a pigeonhole for leadership, but “reaction and action.” What emerged, for me, was this interplay of leadership strategies “seasons” responding to the leader’s environment.
Too much? Thanks for asking.
Shalom…
Russ, I’m with you. THIS is why I’m in the program. To be challenged, to learn, to grow, to change and become a better leader.
That said, I also love that I’m old enough that I can learn much about leadership without it changing who I am as a person. The growth it seems at this point in my life can be more of an authentic expression of what God has already deposited in my soul.
I’m glad to be doing this Doctorate with you.
Russ, your post gave me a bit of a lightbulb moment. You use the phrase “coercion (ala U.S. Army)” and that reminded me of a testimony I read recently. A French businessman was moving up the corporate ladder and was particularly talented at casting vision, encouraging his team and what I would think of as generally good leadership. His employees loved him. And his supervisors were furious. They said he was “wasting time” caring about what his employees thought. He should have simply “twisted their arms” and made them do their jobs regardless of their buy-in, their motivation, etc. French leadership does tend to be more top-down than American to be sure, but this story seemed a bit extreme to me. Here’s my question for you: In your experience with numerous different cultures, what have you observed about cultural differences in leadership, authority, and teamwork? I’m sure you could fill a whole book with your observations, but give us some highlights.
Your question caused me to flash back! and then forward.
Slovaks and Hungarians emerging from communism yearned for a strong leader to tell them what to do.
Right after the fall of the Soviet Union Democracy/Churches/Missions organizations rushed in.
I was part of the waves that went in. For a period all was well.
Unfortunately greed has raised its ugly head within the political structures of both countries reconnecting oil and technology with Russia.
Now, sadly, there appears to be a counter wave of pro Putin/Anti-EUism that is sweeping through Slovakia and Hungary. The autocratic hold on the press and judicial systems have enabled Prime Minister Orban (Hungary) and President Robert Fico (Slovakia) in reshaping national identities of both nations. (Identity – Fukuyama).
A cursory evaluation of the current press coverage in Hungary reveals a movement away from the EU. NATO Next?
Sigh…my thoughts are focused Eastward as GoodSports launches this spring into Ukraine.
Russel,
In your reflection on Northouse’s book and your journey in leadership, it’s clear that you’ve found valuable insights. The idea that leadership is a process that can be learned is significant, and your comparison with military leadership training illustrates this point well. The shift towards valuing relationships in leadership is also evident, as highlighted by General Shinseki’s perspective. Your desire to make a transformational change in various areas, including immigration and GoodSports Ukraine, aligns with the principles of leadership discussed in Northouse’s book. Keep embracing these insights as you continue your leadership journey.