The recent postings on both leadership and values have managed to pull me
from my lurking (listening) post and to step into the light.
Having been a USAF Officer for over twenty years , I have come to my own
understanding of what constitutes Leadership and what are desirable
leadership traits, and I make a distinction between the two.
I think of Leadership as an observable and measurable force that is
defined by the impact an individual or group has on others. In this
context Hitler and the National Socialist Party exercised tremendous
leadership in Germany of the 30s. By this definition, Leadership is as
amoral as gravity and just as pervasive.
However I think of leadership traits as a "stable cultural pattern of
values" (borrowed from Robert Pirsig, "Lila, An inquiry into morals"
1991), or those traits we would most like to see in our leaders, and that
resonate with our existing or emerging cultural values. These traits would
obviously differ from culture to culture. In this context, Hitler met the
cultural needs of his time and culture, but would hopefully be
inappropriate, and therefore powerless, in the world cultures of today.
Having separated the two, I would like to bring them back together to
posit that traits are the engine behind the force of leadership, and that
traits can be taught. I believe this to be the role of the cultural action
systems (Parsons' Systems Theory) such as the Boy & Girl Scouts and
Churches, and that the "desirable traits" they pass on give the moral
flavor to that person's or group's eventual leadership.
I think a current-day example of this is that the cultural changes ongoing
in our world are changing our concepts of what we consider to be desirable
leadership traits. Accordingly, we seem to be finding leaders that exhibit
a concern for Quality, empowerment of people and environmental awareness.
Hey, this is fun.
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Lt Col Ben Granade, USAF
11 AF/CC-QI (Quality Office)
Elmendorf AFB, AK
(907) 552-2675
granade@mailhost.server.ctis.af.mil
If you're not having fun...you're not doing it right!
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