Leadership on the Line free essay sample

The book Leadership On The Line talked about three basic things. The first was the challenge that leadership brings forth and how it affects you and the people you are trying to lead. Throughout the book the authors reference back to technical challenges and adaptive challenges repeatedly. They talk about how it is easier to be faced with technical challenges when your know- how and personal skills can help fix the problem. But the real challenge arises when you are faced with adaptive challenges.These challenges can not be fixed with everyday expertise and know-how, they need experimentation and new innovative ways to fix the problem. Adaptive challenges and the ethos they involve are the root of many leadership problems. People who are faced with leaders who must confront these challenges are usually not very receptive to change. The book described many things people will do to avoid these leaders changing their ways such as margin inhalation and diversion. We will write a custom essay sample on Leadership on the Line or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page They use these tactics to stay with the norm and cause resistance to the change.The next section of the book talks about the response. It covers different techniques to deal with the problems that arise in leadership. As covered before, making oneself a leader is hard work and requires you to put yourself n the line and confront others. Some of the best advise the book gives is to fist you make sure you understand how the people feel about the situation in the first place. They call it getting on the balcony. With this method you have to step back and observe how the people you are trying to lead react to you and the possible adaptive challenges you are facing. One strategy they talk about using is listening to the song beneath the words. With this you must take everything they say and try to interpret what they are actually trying to say to you. The point I believe is most important in this section is old steady. In it, it talks about how you yourself should remain calm and handle each dilemma as carefully as you can. It talks about taking the heat, letting the issues ripen and focusing attention on the issues. These three points help you to better deal with the issues and allow you to use your abilities the best you can.The last section covers the body and soul. This section is more about you than the people you are leading. The most important lesson I learned from this section was that you have to remember that you are not without your faults. You have to remember that although you are trying to show strength wrought leadership you can cause many problems yourself. Also in this section it talks about having confidants and a place for sanctuary. I believe these two things are very important if you are to remain sane during the ordeal.Having someone you can talk to and a place to relieve you stresses always helps in times of duress. The idea of servant leadership was foreign to me before this class. Of course have heard of people such as Martin Luther King and Mother Teresa, but I didnt really know about their philosophy on leadership. The idea of sacrificing yourself for those who you lead seems out of place. But the action f servant leadership is very effective. When speaking about myself and servant leadership I find that the idea of it to be quite appealing but the actual action of servant leadership is quite daunting.The fact that out of the three examples of servant leaders we gave in class 2 of them were killed and the third died in absolute poverty is just a sign of how hard servant leadership is. I would like to use the philosophy in my future but I think it would involve a lost of self sacrifice and humility on my part. I think that the outcomes of servant leadership evolve out of the utmost respect for the individual, Hereford there followers are more likely to give there all for the leader. The lessons we learned in class and from the speaker we saw did a lot in showing me this philosophy of leadership we hope one day to at least attempt in my leadership style. So far in this class we have discussed three main points; values, systems and leadership. To me it is quite obvious that these three points are interconnected. I think it first starts with values. You must be aware of you own values before you attempt any form of leadership. You have to know what kind of person you are and what you strive to achieve with you values.Next we discussed systems, which I believe must be understood if you are to become a leader. You must know how systems work and how you function within the system in order to be a leader or have any kind of impact on your environment. Lastly we covered leadership which draws off of the other two topics. You must incorporate your own values into your leadership style in order for it to be effective. Believe people will follow those who they think are honest and trustworthy. You must have a clear understanding of these issues to help make yourself a better leader.