I really hope that this BlogSeries ends up being seven parts long, then I can refer to it in the future as the ruminant ruminations of random recall, being that our bovine friends & their other cud-chewing brethren have something like seven stomachs (or is it nine? Man, if it's nine, I'm really going to have to become long-winded... More so!)
So yes, extending my thoughts from rumination one, I must say that I have learned a lot about leadership and responsibility in the past term. Much of this learning has come from being the sole leader of a pair of first-year acting students for my introductory directing project. Truly an amazing experience. I learned a lot & applied a lot of my psychology. I think the largest lesson on leadership I learned from the ordeal is that in any position of direction and/or guidance, the actual "real time" interaction with the people you're dealing with is truly only 50% (or less) of the work that's involved in being a successful & effective leader. An hour of rehearsal easily took 90 minutes—if not an hour of solid preparation and planning in order to be fully productive. When I slid in my pre-meeting work, the rehearsal efficiency suffered along with its effectiveness. It isn't only having all the pre-work completed, however—it's the focus and confidence in what you're doing that plays a key role in motivating people. As a leader, one cannot be overly apologetic, and it is a fundamental error in leadership to show uncertainty in decision. Those one leads are looking to the leader for confidence and assurance, and when their director/leader isn't radiating these qualities in even some respect of his actions, the enterprise suffers, morale drops and compliance becomes more difficult to elicit as questioning the authority's proficiency increases. Fortunately, however, these slips can be easily rectified by taking a good, strong & prepared posture.
Note, however, that there is a large difference among strong leadership, overbearing leadership, sensitive leadership and ineffective leadership. Although one can combine the above styles in many different ways, each style by itself is a different flavour of leading. The strongest form of leadership can only come from a strong/confident leadership style that is coupled with a sensitivity to the needs, desires and opinions of those one leads. This being said however, a strong leader cannot be wholly swayed by every opinion or comment from those being led. It is a fine line to walk, but when done well, everybody is exceedingly pleased with the outcome.
***
I have more to say on this & more subjects—but again, time is the natural and pervasive constraint of these, my blog entries. Stay tuned & hopefully another installation will arrive shortly!
No comments:
Post a Comment