Managing Leadership^®

The commonly offered functions for leadership often seem to merely serve as glib introductions to the particular corner of the niche-riddled leadership market that any particular guru wishes to draw us in to. But underneath all the smoke generated by the leadership industry, there has to be some spark; there has to be some real purpose that leadership serves.

To begin with, let’s consider the possibility that the only real need that the notion of individual leadership serves is the bottomless insecurity, combined with the juvenile but eternal aspiration to heroism, that so many of us seem to secretly nourish. Add to all of this the mysteriously seductive master-of-the-universe aura of power associated with leadership of global enterprises, and you’ve got yourself a major trap.

Let’s not dismiss this lightly – it is a strong instinct that creates a powerful demand. We all know that we make decisions on emotion and then rationalize them, after a fashion, on logic. Suppliers know that, too – including gurus, authors, and consultants. And it serves as a suitable explanation for the strong draw we feel to the nonsensical justifications for the wares pushed on us by the modern leadership movement, some of which we reviewed yesterday.

So, is that all? Or is there a real function, a real purpose uniquely served by something called “leadership” beneath all this self-delusional self-absorption?

In the next two days, we’ll take a closer look at both sides of this question, as presented today. Tomorrow’s will be in the form of a book review. Thursday, I’ll tell a story that I think points to the function leadership really may serve - and that may suggest how it really works. Please do join in!

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Today’s tip: Speaking of trying to figure out what leadership is and who needs it, consider this review of the topic from the perspective of women managers, by Dan McCarthy at Great Leadership.

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