Groups and the Need for Leadership

My reason for continuing to write on leadership is simple. Without leaders, what? 

Leaders are essential to existence itself and yet the responsibilities that come with being a leader are not well understood.  My experiences make it evident that most leaders believe that being an effective leader is about having and using the right tools. Almost as simple as changing the clothes they wear or using a saw and hammer.  In other words, they are who they are only the tools change.

In fact, leadership tools are meaningless to the good leader because they are always “self” dealing with others and issues. The leader that does use tools as weapons to win over others may win the fight, but loses the battle. No one is scared without knowing they are being used and maybe abused and people find ways to get even. For the good leader their concern is about authentic behavior, communication and relationship; they know leading is not about “tools,” but being real, one’s self and what nurtures others and others do or will reciprocate.

Good leaders are good people and are concerned about those they lead. They not only serve those they lead, but also empower them to be as much themselves as possible. Learning about tools/gimmicks to lead is meaningless to them. They are relationship people based on respect, regard and dialogue. The good leader is whole and what you see is what you get.  They possess an inner calling to relate to others as equals.

It is a way of being that comes from deep within a person. I have to believe this is the way good leaders were nurtured as babies and children. In comparison, how were those that turn out to be bad leaders originally nurtured? The “kitchen table” is still where we receive our lessons on behavior. How different are we today as compared to yesterdays?

It comes down to this: Our early lives are not incidental to whom and what we become.  Certainly accidents and unusual experiences play a part in our being and becoming, but the “kitchen table” is one of our most powerful beginnings and we are only students to what others teach. Both good and bad is dealt us and we have no choice but to play those cards.  Sy

Author: Sy Ogulnick

Sy Ogulnick received a BA from UCLA, Teacher’s Credential from Los Angeles Board of Education and completed phase I (Master’s portion) in a Doctor of Behavioral Science program at California Coast University. Sy leased and operated a summer day camp in LA. He and his wife then purchased virgin wilderness land in Northern CA, where they built and operated a coed summer camp. They moved to Las Vegas, NV, and purchased, built and operated a community children’s program for families staying in a major resort casino in Las Vegas. They have created programs for children nationwide that employed many people and in the process developed successful training programs for personnel. This led Sy to lecture on how to train staff and the creating of community within the workplace. Sy was then invited to speak at professional conferences on how best to hire and train employees, which led to his becoming a consultant in the art of improving relationships in a work environment and eventually to his epiphany that “Leaders are the primary problem and the answer to the personnel issues that arise in the workplace.” Sy has written numerous papers on the subject of interpersonal relationships, leadership and power. He has lectured throughout the United States, has been interviewed by the media and has appeared on many radio and TV talk shows

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