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Leadership Concepts: A Collaborative Consensus
Andrew McClelland, Jacob Nesmith, Karl Rabara, Nikki Lane, Odalys Perez, Phillip Silva
Liberty University
BMAL 501-B05 Strategic Leadership & Management
Dr. Roxanne Stevens
September 6, 2020
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Leadership Concepts: A Collaborative Consensus
Introduction to the Topic
Leadership
What is a leadership? Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower describes it as,
“Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants
to do it” (Eisenhower Presidential Library, n.d.). Peter Drucker, an Austrian-born American
management consultant, educator, and author states that the only definition of a leader is
someone who has followers (Kruse, 2015). Warren Bennis, an American scholar, organizational
consultant and author believes leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality ("On
becoming a leader," n.d.). Author of the book “Organizational Management and Leadership: A
Christian Perspective”, Anita Satterlee states that “Management and leadership are not
synonymous, but both are needed for an organization to succeed. While a manager must deal
with the planning, organizing, and controlling, the act of leadership is a separate function of
management in which a manager must also address coping with change (Satterlee, 2009, p. 2).
Each group member of this paper was tasked with writing a short summary on leadership and to
list the 3 most important concepts they’ve learned, as individuals, over this week’s readings and
instruction. After a great deal of thought and discussion, this paper puts together a collaborative
group summary on what they consider to be the top 3 leadership concepts, and the strategies they
developed for implementing those concepts in different organizations.
Group Consensus
Vision
Prior to any discussion, group members believe they had a pretty good idea on leadership
and what it means to be a good leader. However, when it comes to the different types of
leadership concepts and their importance as a group, the picture wasn’t so clear. After
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considerable discussion on the common elements of leadership, the group came to a conclusion
that “vision” is the number one element a leader must have if they want their organization to be
successful. This decision was based on the question, without a vision, what are we doing here?
One group member put it like this, “Think of your life as if it had no vision, would you be able to
achieve anything? Would your life mean anything at all, or would you be aimlessly walking
around trying to figure out what to do next to better yourself”? "The very essence of leadership is
that you have to have a vision. It's got to be a vision you articulate clearly and forcefully on
every occasion" -Theodore Hesburgh, President of the University of Notre Dame ("You can't be
a real leader who people want to follow without vision," n.d.). With all of life’s distractions, and
people vying for attention nowadays, it can be hard to feel a sense of accomplishment. As a
leader, acting on your vision will provide you with the focus needed to accomplish your goals.
“Vision helps leaders work on what is important to achieve the end results and not get caught up
in the mundane stuff. It helps leaders to focus on the 20% that is important instead of the
remaining 80% that can be delegated and handled by others ("5 reasons why vision is important
in leadership," 2019).
Followership
Organizations are steadily recognizing the important role of “followership” and how it
contributes to its success. “A leader cannot lead without followers” (Satterlee, 2009, p. 2). One
group member asked the question, “Is leadership innate or learned”? All group members came to
a consensus that a good leader will know how to develop a team and lead them to accomplishing
the mission. John S. McCallum, a Professor of Finance at the I. H. Asper School of Business,
University of Manitoba, and former Chairman of Manitoba Hydro says, “It stands to reason that
if leadership is important to performance, followership must have something to do with it too.
But curiously, followership gets only a small fraction of the airtime that leadership does”
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("Followership: The other side of leadership," n.d.). No matter what type of organization you
lead, nothing can be accomplished without its followers. How does an Army win a war if it only
has Generals? If a General does have soldiers, how do they go about motivating them? How do
they influence them to keep pushing forward? Remember, former General and President Dwight
D. Eisenhower said, “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want
done because he wants to do it” (Eisenhower Presidential Library, n.d.). Most followers want to
do the job, but how does a good leader get them to do it willingly? A great leader will know just
that...how to identify the different types of personalities and characteristics of their followers.
Followership is important to organizational leadership for several reasons. “Without followers
there are no leaders. For any project or organization to succeed, there must be people who
willingly and effectively follow, just as there must be those who willingly and effectively lead”
("Importance of effective followers," 2013).
Management
“Management and leadership are not synonymous, but both are needed for an
organization to succeed,” states author Anita Satterlee (Satterlee, 2009, p. 2). The group came to
the conclusion that “management” ranks among the top three leadership concepts that are
inclined to make an organization successful. Leaders have visions, followers use these visions to
guide them, but managers make sure things get done. Good managers know how to communicate
effectively, they’re good listeners, they show trust in their employees, they make good decisions,
they delegate, and they know how to set good examples. “Effective managers are always good
delegators. They can distribute tasks to their team as well as ensuring that their own time is well
used for management issues and important tasks. Employees that feel trusted are better placed to
achieve their potential and are given an incentive to ensure that they perform well ("What makes
an effective manager?," n.d.). How many times have you gone to a fast food restaurant and your
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order was wrong? You want to speak with the manager because this is the third or fourth time
this has happened to you. However, you end up having to wait for the manager because he is
cooking the burgers or getting drinks for the customers. Not a very good manager I suppose.
That manager is not very well organized. While you’re talking to him/her, they tell one of their
employees to run across the street to the dollar store to pick up some straws because they are out.
A good manager has to be on top of everything. He or she is the grease that makes the wheels
turn. Just how important is it to have a good manager? “Success in business happens because of
successful employees. That being said, strong managers are one of the most critical components
of Employee Success — after all, employees leave managers, not companies” ("Why managers
are so important to business success," 2013).
The group had a very good discussion in their collaborative search for the 3 top
leadership concepts amongst them.
Biblical Integration
The epitome of true leadership lies with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He was a man
with a “vision”. Look at what Jesus tells his disciples in Matthew, “And Jesus came and said to
them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you
always, to the end of the age” (NKJV, 1990/1982, Matthew. 28:18-20). Jesus taught his disciples
on how to be humble, how to turn the other check, how to grow and prosper, how to pray. When
Jesus first set out to choose his disciples, He knew what was in their hearts and what they were
capable of. This is why He chose them. He confided in and showed them His vision. He gave
them the right tools (healing powers), the right resources (His teachings) and as any great leader,
He goes on to reassure them, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (NKJV,
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1990/1982, Matthew. 28:18-20). We as Christians need to follow our Lord’s path in becoming a
leader of an organization. We see Jesus as a transformational leader. His laws are black and
white, He tells us exactly what we need to obtain salvation, yet if we fall short, that human
element continues to exist in his mercy and God’s grace.
Strategies
Vision
The group felt that vision should be one of the first things a leader should
implement into the organization. For a company to grow prominent leaders, it needs a vision
from the organization for leaders to follow. To implement a strategy for vision, the first thing
that needs to be done is communication. In studies, communication has ranked in the top four for
leadership themes (Caulfield & Senger, 2017). With an effective leader that can communicate
the vision the organization wants to share; employees will listen more to a leader. Overall, a
strategy to implement a vision for the organization will be by showing that they have a
competent and decisive leader who treats everyone with respect, will help engage employees in
the company’s vision. (Caulfield & Senger, 2017).
Followership
After discussing many aspects of leadership, the group decided that
followership should be one strategy implemented into any organization. Implementing and
training leaders to be more of a servant leader, will empower people to be excellent leaders. A
leader always knows when to follow. Caulfield and Senger spoke about followership in
Perception is reality article, stating that “followership and leadership are active and essential
roles integral to organizations’ success” (Caulfield & Senger, 2017). Strategies to implement
followership in organization is communication. With effective communication, followership for
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leaders is an effective tool for organizations to grow successful leaders (Caulfield & Senger,
2017).
Management and Leadership
Defining the two and knowing how to implement both smoothly into any organization is
key to a successful organization. A vision and followership are essential to implementing a
positive an effective management team and leadership. Defining the roles and responsibilities for
each position are vital. If a manager does not know the vision of the organization, how can they
lead and follower leadership at the same time. An organization should ensure they are hiring and
training their managers that embody the views and morals that the organization wants to promote
(Haski-Leventhal & et al, 2017). Managers are there to foster employees. “Fostering employee
support is crucial for avoiding costly delays, deviations, or even failures of intended change”
(Heyden & et al, 2016). Implementing these strategies for all managers is making sure that they
communicate the vision of the organization and properly train their employees.
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References
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