R U a Leader?
Many people have not set out to become leaders, but they have found themselves in positions of leadership because of seniority, education, or circumstances. Leadership training is usually not given until the individual is in leadership or is about to assume a management or leadership role.
Leadership training is crucial for success.
Because of my interest in leadership, numerous conversations regarding the nature of leadership, the distinction between managing and leading, and the seemingly endless opinions and theories about leadership led me to pursue a doctorate in Organizational Leadership. I began my academic pursuit of "leadership" by entering an Ed.D. program (Organizational Leadership) at Grand Canyon University. After a year of study, I transferred to the PhD program (also Organizational Leadership) in the School of Business and Leadership at Regent University. Through the studies in each of these universities, I have come to several conclusion.
Learning to be a leader is like learning to make straw baskets.
If give the raw material (straw) to make baskets, most people would be able to form some sort of basket. Some of the baskets would be better than others and some would even be so good that these basket makers might be called "natural born basket makers". Other basket makers would be good and some would be poor basket makers. The quality of the baskets would increase if these basket makers observed high-quality basket makers at work. Basket quality would increase as the new basket makers learned from expert basket makers, but there will be some basket makers that have only poor examples of basket making available. The best quality baskets come from those who are trained and mentored by good experienced basket makers. It would be most efficient to have trained basket makers.
Many people have not set out to become leaders, but they have found themselves in positions of leadership because of seniority, education, or circumstances. Leadership training is usually not given until the individual is in leadership or is about to assume a management or leadership role.
Leadership training is crucial for success.
Because of my interest in leadership, numerous conversations regarding the nature of leadership, the distinction between managing and leading, and the seemingly endless opinions and theories about leadership led me to pursue a doctorate in Organizational Leadership. I began my academic pursuit of "leadership" by entering an Ed.D. program (Organizational Leadership) at Grand Canyon University. After a year of study, I transferred to the PhD program (also Organizational Leadership) in the School of Business and Leadership at Regent University. Through the studies in each of these universities, I have come to several conclusion.
- Many individuals are leaders because of their position and are not trained or equipped to be in leadership.
- There is tremendous need for Leadership Development programs. Few organizations are actively developing leaders.
- Every Leader should have a knowledge of organizational and leadership theory.
- Every leader should have a mentor and/or coach.
- Leaders should evaluate their leadership ability and styles and be willing to change and adapt.
Learning to be a leader is like learning to make straw baskets.
If give the raw material (straw) to make baskets, most people would be able to form some sort of basket. Some of the baskets would be better than others and some would even be so good that these basket makers might be called "natural born basket makers". Other basket makers would be good and some would be poor basket makers. The quality of the baskets would increase if these basket makers observed high-quality basket makers at work. Basket quality would increase as the new basket makers learned from expert basket makers, but there will be some basket makers that have only poor examples of basket making available. The best quality baskets come from those who are trained and mentored by good experienced basket makers. It would be most efficient to have trained basket makers.