Understanding the Leadership Advantage

What do all of the following descriptors have in common?

Well, they are all terms commonly used today to describe leadership and/or leadership styles. You will also see leadership defined as an ability, a collective action, an act, a skill, a capacity, a process and even the office or position of a leader. We currently perceive our leaders as being either autocratic, participative, democratic, task oriented, transitional or even true. Cross-culturally, it has been determined that there are perhaps several hundred leadership theories, including the Great Man theories, Behavioral theories and Trait-based theories.

Without question, leadership is one of the most studied, documented, discussed, celebrated and sometimes mystifying subjects that mankind has encountered. This apparent confusion and/or transformation of leadership theories has been going on for centuries, as revealed in the philosophical writings from Plato's Republic. Yet still, none of us can escape the fact that we spend most of our lives either leading or being led.

As professionals, we all, to some degree, can reflect back over the years and list numerous ?leadership roles that we either accepted or were given as we progressed in our careers. Like many of you, over my professional and management career, I have had the privilege to serve in many somewhat diverse leadership roles. My list includes: leading technology development as a young computer engineer in the 70s; leading major equipment manufacturing projects as a manager in the 80s; leading large business teams within Fortune 100 companies as an executive in the 90s; and leading a venture capital backed internet start-up as well as family-financed entrepreneurial business franchises in the early 2000s.

And to think, we could include in such lists the demanding civic, community and charitable board positions which challenged every ounce of leadership experience gained from our professional endeavors.

Other than just reminding me that father time is quickly passing me by, this broader view of leadership was the catalyst that ignited my long-time interest in writing my second book on leadership titled, "The Leadership Advantage: Lead More. Sell More. Earn More." ?

I am well aware that my list of reflections on the types of experiences I have had is very similar to millions of other professionals who have had long, diverse careers in all kinds of industries. However, as an author who writes about leadership, I have a tendency to scratch anything that itches. Within the apparent confusion and/or transformation of leadership at this early point of the 21st century and with some new insights recently gained from my role as an adjunct professor of leadership at the post-graduate level, I have been moved to ask the question, "Was my success and rewards based primarily on me leading others or on me, first, becoming a good leader of myself?"

I recall once hearing that when you learn to be a good leader of yourself, you also learn how to be a good person, a good husband or wife, a good father or mother, a good student, a good teacher and a good communicator. In the normal progression of one's career where opportunity and experience is the enabler of more opportunity and more experience, maybe a good leader of self also evolves into a good conflict manager, a good goal setter, a good planner, a good coach and eventually a good leader of others.

As research for the book, I spent about a year simply asking people the question, "What comes first to your mind when you hear the word leadership?" I was not surprised to learn that most of us think of leadership in terms of people or groups of people [our leadership] or those applying leadership knowledge and skills within governments, companies, organizations, groups, teams, etc. as a process [our leaders].? The other thing that rang consistently true was that almost everyone I asked stressed the need for a good leader to have faithful followers, to be able to articulate a purpose or mission and to know what is to be achieved or earned when victory is won. However, no one mentioned the need for a good leader to first be a good leader of his or her self.

In my book, The Leadership Advantage: Lead More. Sell More. Earn More ., I explore the concept that leadership is indeed a "verb" and a dominant competency that is anchored by what I call absolute attributes. I also describe how these attributes innately touch every aspect of our lives, our relationships and our professions.

In the book I discuss in detail each of the Ten Absolute Attributes of Leadership which creates the framework for gaining the Leadership Advantage. In addition, I provide specific insight into the personal goals your should pursue to allow each of the Ten Absolute Attributes to play a maximum role in helping you gain your leadership advantage.??

The?"Leader-In-You"?and?"Selfish-Food-For-Thought" exercises presented at the end of each chapter have been proven to be valuable in identifying a leader's primary attributes. The goal is to assist you achieve your highest level of career, business and personal success by helping you? harness your leadership advantage.

In the book I provide an overview of each of the Ten Absolute Attributes of Leadership which form the framework of gaining the Leadership Advantage .