A Leadership Strategy: Been There and Done That!
A Leadership Strategy: Been There and Done That!
Sharon Downey | 2019
Abstract
Our society is in need of ethical leadership right now. Organizations’ leaders are struggling with their identity, not knowing their leadership style and methods for effectiveness. It takes ongoing self-examination and awareness for authentic leadership development. There is not a final arriving point in leadership, only a continuous understanding point.
However, organizations are promoting emerging leaders into specialized positions based on their higher education. Organizations have expectations that emerging leaders will master leadership from on-the-job training, which can lead to early failures in their work life. Leadership is often not taught, but experienced in a challenging manner within organizations.
Therefore, organizations must do better with their emerging leaders’ growth and development through investing in an onboarding strategy. Leadership is time-consuming, and it requires a strategic plan for leaders to be successful. This manuscript, titled “A Leadership Strategy: Been There and Done That,” is a guide for emerging leaders and those in a leadership role.
It provides leadership direction in nine different sequential building blocks. (1) Leadership: Position vs. Process is an introduction to perspectives of leadership—both stances of position and stances of process. (2) Having a Leadership Mindset is an introduction to leadership thinking as part of developing a leadership stance. (3) Leadership Development is an introduction to practices that can support leadership styles, such as mentoring, coaching, and consulting. (4) Leadership Effectiveness is an introduction to practices that can develop and improve the overall effectiveness of leaders. (5) Measuring Leadership Effectiveness and Efficiency is an introduction to methods and tools to measure and support leadership effectiveness, such as leadership index, 360 feedback, and instrument tools. (6) Challenges in Leadership is an introduction to some challenges for leaders, along with solutions for overcoming challenges. (7) Diversity in Leadership is an introduction to diversity that confronts leaders daily in the business sectors, providing insight on how to have openness to others’ opinions and values. (8) Faith in Leadership is an introduction to Christianity, faith and servant leadership in secular organizations. (9) Pearls of Leadership is an introduction to the rewards and benefits of good leadership, making a difference and changing lives within organizations. The manuscript advocates leadership philosophy and its real-world usage within organizations.