5SQ109 - Iliff Leadership

Scott Fitzgerald is the main man for Gov. Scott Walker in the latest fight on Union workers. In this article he speaks what he believes is truth, but many believe is not right. So, we will have to wait and see. Gov. Scott Walker could be desribed by Fraud/Northouse as a nonproductive Narcissit

Judge Sumi puts a stop on the law that will end collective bargining for many union workers in Wisconsin. She is demonstrating leadership and being brave against those that think that they are above the law!

Election Day is Tuesday in Wisconsin. We will be electing a lot of local offices that day. This election is big because of the recent tactics of our new republican governer. This is also big for me because I help run elections in Wisconsin. Tuesday is a day that people get to choose their leaders. The ads will be done, the door stuffers all in the trash, but come Wednesday those with the most votes will need to show us what they got. Choosing leaders is a very important thing!! Get out and Vote!

A leadership book from the business world, focusing on the ways of leading to greatness, based on sociological research on top performing companies from the last third of the twentieth century. Collins insists that great leaders start by getting other great leaders to work with them, then they attack the task. This is the greatest value of the book, I think. Important for anyone who wants to lead an organization that will transcend the barriers of goodness and more fully accomplish its mission.

Offers 12 essays on a theology of pastoral ministry that isn't rooted in therapy and production of ministry. Instead, Snow reflects on the willingness to take risks and lead others to take risks, finding the blessings of the Spirit in the risk-taking. This book will be helpful to those who want to take on and lead others in the adventure of following Christ.

In Leadership for Vital Congregations, Anthony Robinson offers us leadership strategies that will benefit a church. "Functional strategies" to lead and information to develop as a leader, especially a spiritual leader. Robinson's work draws upon the expertise of other leaders as he develops "seven strategies for pastoral leadership". As I have read more about Leadership and Northouse (as well as Blanchard and Hodges in Servant Leadership) and reflected on my own experiences as a leader, in my opinion, Robinson doesn't go into depth enough on the qualities of a good leader and his transition from leader to pastoral or chuch leader is a bit choppy. All in all, Robinson gives us a few basics and, as I previously mentioned, his Seven Strategies for Pastoral Leadership. If this book was presented at a conference (and I believe it was) it would be okay as we would hear Robinson speak about the book and hopefully, go into more depth about it.

As both parties head into a week of negotiations on the federal budget, it strikes me that the language and actions of leaders have a real impact on those they lead. How can one hold firmly to principles while retaining open lines of communication? As we seek to lead our churches or non-profit organizations, and especially as we seek to act in ways that are just and allow those who are marginalized a seat at the table of power, it seems to me that we are most likely to succeed when we speak with respect to and about all involved.

Brian J. Dodd © 2003 InterVarsity Press Tired of failing with the latest leadership seminar's advice, Dodd returned to graduate school and found himself drawn to the apostle Paul. Even as he faced Paul's shortcomings (Dodd admits struggling with Paul's acceptance of slavery), he had to admit that Paul is arguably the most effective Christian leader of all time. Why? Agree or disagree (with Paul or Dodd), the exploration is thought-provoking and would inspire pastors to look within their own relationship with Christ and theology for the answers they seek as leaders.

Peter Koestenbaum, © 2002 Jossey Bass A professor of philosophy at San Jose State University in California for over 25 years, Koestenbaum seeks to discover whether successful business leadership principles are compatible with ethical and philosophical principles. Written in response to 9/11, topics include ethics, facing reality, and inquiring whether business - whose leaders often consider their realm to be set apart - must confront issues such as death, evil and courage in today's world.

From time to time, I have read about Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown or watched him on the news. With a healthy sense of "Is this guy for real?" I wondered... I saw an expose on the Senator on 60 minutes as he talked about his new book. Tough background. Charisma all over the place. Brown is a narcissistic leader, a very productive one. "A vision to change the workd and create meaning for people, perserverance, sense of humor..." (Northouse pg 280) It will be interesting to see what other leadership qualities emerge during his time in the Senate.

Leadership is an inner sojourn and is found in acts of self-expression. The book, "Leading from Within: Poetry That Sustains the Courage to Lead" by Sam M. Intrator and Megan Scribner, is divided into seven sections: Called, Defining Moments, Sometimes it Aches, Pay Attention, Dare to Endure, Leading Together, and Back at It. Each section has about fifteen poems in it. The thesis of the book is that real and authentic leadership comes from the voice within and "from our own realization that the time has come to go beyond dreaming to doing."

One can learn and appreciate leadership by reading the actual writings of a leader. "The Collected Writings of Samson Occom, Mohegan: Literature and Leadership in Eighteenth-Century Native America" is a compilation of twenty sermons and diary entries of transactions written by Occum, a Native American leader and Presbyterian minister in the late 1700s. Such writings provide readers with insights into the actual life of a leader instead of and in contrast to the accounts written by others who purport to know what such a leader's burdens, struggles, and motives are.

I found this article to be an interesting capsulization of a modern business leader or any leader for that matter, but mostly pertaining to business leaders. Dr Jim Taylor summarizes the top 10 qualities that he finds "without exception, woven into the fabric of a successful leader". They are identity, vision, passion, ownership, determination, the grind, inspiried by failure, respond with challenge, crisis mastery and process focus. Dr. Taylor's 10 Qualities of a Primal Leader describes leadership in action, not the nature or personality of a leader. Taylor's only slightly taps into the nature of a leader when he talks about passion, but quickly goes on to explain that having passion is what inspires the people a Primal Leader works with every day. I liked the "feel" of this article as being action oriented with a lot of energy. It's interesting with a little salesmanship thrown in for good measure.

This immediately came to mind when I was reading the section in Northouse about the "glass ceiling." It also has been dominating our local news as Wal-Mart is one of the largest employers in our county, including nearly 40% of the women employed in the county.

Here's a really good example of bad leadership.  On the Authentic Action Wheel (Vorthouse 209), Dunlap used power as his motivation and control mechanism.  On the Authentic Leadership Characteristics, he has a sense of purpose and passion but he lacks relationships and connectedness entirely (Vorthouse 212).  I think his main value (as demonstrated in his behavior) was power and greed.

Al Dunlap is a good example of pseudotransformational leadership. He's self-focused, exploitive and power driven, with impaired moral values (Northouse 173). We can see that his leadership is in his own self-interest that sacrifices the needs and interests of others.

A Leadership Blog Tag line is "Building a Community of Leaders"

This is a promising site, so I thought I'd share.

Biographical sketch of Mother Teresa's leadership style

I love how this article relates to our readings for this week. Thanks for posting it!

I found this story of interest because Romanello, president of a teacher's association, is portrayed as a leader who follows procedures; he seems to lack accountability and motivation. Transformational leadership suggests motivation is needed to move beyond an "expected outcome."

I wonder how is accountability related to leadership?

Could lead codices prove 'the major discovery of Christian history'? By Chris Lehmann Share retweet EmailPrint..By Chris Lehmann chris Lehmann - Wed Mar 30, 11:36 am ET British archaeologists are seeking to authenticate what could be a landmark discovery in the documentation of early Christianity: a trove of 70 lead codices that appear to date from the 1st century CE, which may include key clues to the last days of Jesus' life. As UK Daily Mail reporter Fiona Macrae writes, some researchers are suggesting this could be the most significant find in Christian archeology since the Dead Sea scrolls in 1947. The codices turned up five years ago in a remote cave in eastern Jordan-a region where early Christian believers may have fled after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE. The codices are made up of wirebound individual pages, each roughly the size of a credit card. They contain a number of images and textual allusions to the Messiah, as well as some possible references to the crucifixion and resurrection. Some of the codices were sealed, prompting yet more breathless speculation that they could include the sealed book, shown only to the Messiah, mentioned in the Book of Revelation. One of the few sentences translated thus far from the texts, according to the BBC, reads, "I shall walk uprightly"--a phrase that also appears in Revelation. "While it could be simply a sentiment common in Judaism," BBC writer Robert Pigott notes, "it could here be designed to refer to the resurrection." But the field of biblical archaeology is also prey to plenty of hoaxes and enterprising fraudsters, so investigators are proceeding with due empirical caution. Initial metallurgical research indicates that the codices are about 2,000 years old--based on the manner of corrosion they have undergone, which, as Macrae writes, "experts believe would be impossible to achieve artificially." Beyond the initial dating tests, however, little is confirmed a

There are many articles on leadership on this forum. Check out the one on Google's Quest to Build a Better boss. Sounds like they wanted a leader, not a boss!