November 9, 1998
Leaders
I just got back from a leadership conference. You know, one of those places where people go to demonstrate their leadership skills by singing a cute song. Besides the songs, the people themselves bothered me. The very claim that these people are the leaders of their respective colleges. . . what a crock!
For anyone to claim to be a leader is completely fallacious, just as it is for anyone to call themselves a follower. No person fits into these categories. . . none at all. Whenever someone speaks, acts, comments, etc., that person is in effect leading during that moment. If you are listening, you are essentially following.
What it comes down to is that all people lead and follow. Titles and positions are really irrelevant. The person who comes to meetings intermittently, listens, and does what he is told leads just as well by example as does any member of an executive board. An exec might also not be a leader, specifically if they follow a previous officeholder's policies rather closely.
Because of all this, I have trouble with the importance people place on leadership. It's a deciding factor in everything (scholarships, job apps, etc), but in the very essence, who is a leader and who is a follower? And we can't forget the basic question, "Where would leaders be without followers?"
Most importantly, a person who sends out brutally honest and sends out daily e-mails cannot believe people will just shrug him off. He will have an effect, since, after all, he's leading them.