Leadership Styles

Great insight today from Breakfast With Fred on our tendency to try to typecast leaders according to various models or systems. I'm just going to quote the whole thing it's so good:

Too many believe in limited leaderships styles.  It is easy to draw up a grid and put people neatly into boxes.  But, true leadership doesn’t work that way.  Christian leadership training often fails in the same way.  We create biblical archetypes: Paul, Peter, Moses, Jesus , for example, expecting everyone to neatly line up with them.  Such a canned approach to leadership limits the effectiveness of persona l development.  We can learn from these models, but we can never pour ourselves into a mold.We are unique.  Each of us is the best leadership style ---- for us and for our purpose.Bob Rule once gave me golf lessons.  He didn’t open his mouth until he watched me play a bit.  The aim of the lesson wasn’t to hit the ball like he did.  The aim was to hit the ball the best I could hit it.  Leaders shoot to be the best leader according to their unique design, not according to the latest leadership theory.A leader will be strong according to four things:1. Personal influence with followers.2. Superior knowledge as to what is to be accomplished ---- when, how, and how often.3. Power to create respect by both reprimand and promotion while moving followers from their comfort zones.4. Ability to become inspired with the task and to inspire others.Number four is the emotional factor which goes beyond skill and leadership abilities.People are more influenced by their evaluation of a leader’s willingness to use power than the actual possession of it.  Often those motivated by fear will push the limit to see if the power will be exercised.How a leader feels about the acceptance of the group is important.  For example, a leader who spends a great deal of time and energy gaining acceptance is taking away time and energy for task accomplishment.  The emphasis is changed.  The process of gaining acceptance is totally different from producing results.A leader recognizes the difference between being task-motivated and relationship-motivated.  The initial process should be relational, but a leader who focuses too long on this stage after building the platform can expect poor task performance.Cookie cutter models produce “fair to middlin’” leaders.This week think about: 1) What is my leadership distinctive? 2) How do I balance task-orientation and relational-orientation? 3) How well do I use my power?Words of Wisdom: Cookie cutter models produce “fair to middlin’” leaders.Wisdom from the Word: “Remember your leaders, who spoke God’s message to you; reflect on the outcome of their lives and imitate their faith.” (Hebrews 13:7 NET Bible)