 | ||
| ||
|
Definition of Leadership |
|
| home | site map | links | about | contact | privacy policy |
|
|
|
Leadership A Perspective From Tao
Tao Te Ching said to be written by Lao Tzu during the period of warring states in china around the second century B.C.; a compilation of Chinese philosophy dating back to 6th century B.C. or even earlier, is a profound philosophical work with many lessons for the corporate of the 21st century. There is a lot of debate on issues of what differentiates a leader from a manager. One of the biggest challenges for leaders is to lead and lead by example. He is less preoccupied with control functions which are a function of knowledge and more with broader objectives of how the future should be shaped. Future can be shaped with visions, dreams and emotions. He also realizes that for the future to shape up well he needs to utilize the Present to the maximum advantage. He can achieve higher ideals and aspirations only when he is in touch with the ground realities. Experience of events and situations and behavioral aspects bring him closer to current realities and help discern the undercurrents of change so that he can translate them to better solutions. The managerial functions of organization and control have more to do with knowledge whereas a leader thrives on futuristic vision, people centered approach, a bias for action and in creating the future which he desires. All this emanates from the experiential. Let us now look at the leadership paradigm from what Tao Te Ching has to say about knowledge and experience. Knowledge & Experience: Tao is the way. The way in which we conduct our lives in accordance with the natural principles conducive to right living and thinking, without regrets and in such a manner that we develop and realize our potential without harming others or preventing others from realizing their potential which is beneficial to the society. Such a way of life may be conducted without a name. This may simply be called the way. Or to distinguish from other ways we may describe it and give it a name so that others may know of it. By thoughts and words and by means of being non participating observers we may gain knowledge of its manifestation. But only through participation in this way do we gain experience of it for ourselves. So knowledge is not the same as experience. When we have knowledge of something, we can describe only our knowledge and not the experience. And when we have experience, we can describe the knowledge of that experience and not the experience itself. Let us look at an illustration. We observe the marketplace and we see the manifestation of market place. Then we have reports from our sales person which is the knowledge from the experience. So we now have the knowledge. But it is not equal to the experience of the marketplace. So we go down physically to the marketplace and buy or sell products or interact with the many components of the market. We now have the experience. With the experience come right decisions and actions. But we cannot still convey the experience itself, only the knowledge of the experience may be conveyed. Knowledge and experience both are real. But they are different realities which may cause complexities. When they are used according to that which may be appropriate we may transcend the barriers of such complexities. This perhaps explains why many of the leaders are men who have risen from the ranks. Even if they have not risen from the bottom you may easily identify them by their hands on nature and leading from the front. Hands on men who have the knowledge, knowledge of experience and experience itself. Leaders who understand the complex reality of the manifestation, knowledge and experience prefer to lead from the front and not from sterile cabins far removed from the experience itself. These are the leaders you cannot keep away from the marketplace or their people or their constituents or customers. These are the men who instinctively understand the �Tao" of leadership - The Way. This is not to say being hands on and lead from the front is the only leadership criteria. This is one of the distinguishing qualities of leadership. It is said that the greatest leader of all time Alexander The Great always lead every battle from the front when the battle began and only then did he move on to other roles. What would you prefer to be? An acquirer of knowledge or a leader. R.G. Srinivasan is founder of Born to Win Forum. He is a certified trainer and 0nline marketing promotions consultant. Check out his webpage at http://venturelinks.tripod.com
Leadership is best defined by the quality of your thoughts, decisions and actions. It is also underpinned by the quality of the tools you use in your role. Be seen to bring true leadership to your organization and act with the authority that it brings to you.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Value Driver Leadership CHAPTER 1************VALUEThose qualities regarded by a person or group as important and desirable of standards and principlesWhat is value driven leadership? Have you ever considered having a value driven leadership team? Or even a team driven by values and not a team having to be driven by the leader? That thought alone made me consider looking into the way I ran my teams and how I could do things better; this is the driving force behind writing this book. When you think about it, in everything we do as individuals or a team we should always be 'values driven' not impulse or need driven! If we are driven by values then we will always have a "why" in everything we do, and then we will do what we do with everything that is in us, come hell or high water (test, trials, pressure, set back or circumstances). Learn How to Lead People "Who rules or guides or inspires others"Having excellent guide skills is one of the most importantabilities to possess in today's fast-paced world. We need thesupport and cooperation of other people to help us in reachingour goals. Abe Lincoln: An Extraordinary Leader Perhaps noted as one of the greatest United States presidents of all time, Abraham Lincoln's early life may not have reflected his potential greatness. He failed in business. The Flexible Leadership Workshop The Leadership ChallengeLeaders in today's society are faced with an increasingly complex challenge: To deliver business results in the face of rapidly changing conditions, while building team members' capacity to address the future. While organizations are becoming generally flatter, less hierarchical, less "command-and-control," individual managers must still determine which leadership style to employ. What Kind of Leader Are You? You are a leader if someone is following you. This could be as simple as one person watching you and following your example and encouragement, to being a leader in your home, your community, your workplace or even your nation. Ten Qualities Of A Great Leader - Plus 1 Great Leaders are optimists first and foremost. Their tendency is to interact according to Henry Ford's observation, "whether you think you can or think you can't - you are right. Leadership - Passion, Purpose, Profit - Its Not That Hard Go to any educational institution, look at airport bookshelves, shopping centres and open your eyes to the myriad of products available today and you could be forgiven to thinking that the art of leadership was beyond mere mortals.After many years in corporate life before starting my own business I finally got the chance to prove for myself what I had always beleived - leadership is simple, it is being a person who has passion, purpose and who uses that to bring others with them on the journey and reaps the rewards. 7 AAA Ways To Succeed! [Abounding Abundant Ample Ways To Boost Your Growth!] This may come as a surprise but there are reliable,effective and powerful ways to improve your ability to learnnew things. If you will allow me to use leadership skills training asour example, you will see how poor learning forces us tosuffer through any one or more of the following problems: - leadership training programs usually cost serious money -in fact, some programs are outrageously expensive - leadership training programs last for a very short time -quite a few of them run for only one or two days - many leadership training programs fail to give studentsways to confidently resolve problem situations or meet andovercome their daily challenges - less than 1% of all leadership training programs combinecoaching and mentoring follow-ups with classroom lessons - most leadership training programs like to do 'raw datadumps'- the vast majority of them do NOT give you chances to'blend' your learning experiences with supervised support orpractical feedback In this article you will discover how to find, use and takeadvantage of every kind of performance improvement learningopportunity you encounter. How to Become a Great Leader & Improve Your Leadership Skills A great leader is able to inspire his/her workers to work harder. Instead of firing workers, great leaders know how to fire his/her worker up to do their best. The Tao of Leadership There can be no doubt that the ancient author of the Tao Te Ching, Lao-Tzu, was a man of unique wisdom whose writings continue to influence people of different backgrounds and faiths.Many leaders then and now get wrapped up in selfish ambition. Mr. Shoaffs Simple Strategies to Success (Excerpted from the Jim Rohn Sampler single CD)My first mentor, Mr. Shoaff, over a six-year period from the time I was 25 to age 31, taught me some extraordinarily simple things, before his untimely passing at age 49. People or Objects? - - You Decide "How you think determines how you act. How you act, in turn, determines how others react to you. Why You Should Ignore This Advice Doesn't make too much sense does it? Am I really going to give you some advice that asks you to ignore the advice I'm giving you? Well, that's not strictly true. I am however going to show you how to qualify the advice you are given, so you can sort the wheat from the chaff, and help you to survive the information overload on the Internet. Be the Samurai Sword Relationships are constantly facing crisis. Everywhere we look people are in dispute with one another. On Being A Born Leader "Leaders are born, not made." Right? Let me ask you a question: do you believe that?I'll give you mine: I *don't* believe it. Who Needs Heroes? When we were talking the other day we started to think about our heroes when we were young. After we had discussed the usual film star and sports stars that we idolised I remembered Derek. Teen View of Leadership From Around the World It has been stated that the world of tomorrow will be shaped by the leaders of today. This is certainly true when you stop to think that the great leaders of the past, Columbus, Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt, King, and Reagan did not get to see the lasting impact their leadership had on the future. Are You The Most Powerful Leader You Can Be? As someone who teaches, manages, parents or influences you'll probably already be aware that powerful leadership is not just about the boss, it's about the team, irrespective of whether that team is in the classroom, in the office or around your home.In a driven world of instant access and fast everything the view of leadership being top down has become dated, and dare I say it, dangerous. Are You a Good Manager or a Great Leader? Your word is your truth - Know that when you speak, you will fulfill your promise to others and others will know they can depend on you. Think before you speak. To be, or Not to be (Average)? When is hate OK? When it's the feeling you have toward average. Let me make this point clearly and without reservation.
|
|
home | site map | links | about | contact | privacy policy
|
| © 2010 Defintion Of Leadership & Career Consulting Limited Powered By CCL WebServices |