The everyday task of leadership

The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) published an interesting article “Everyday Leaders, Everyday Leadership” discussing research they conducted into the lives of everyday leaders, people in home schools and communities. André Martin from CCL describing everyday leadership says:

“At CCL, we define leadership in terms of tasks, rather than role or position ….. Leaders are people who, in connection with others, accomplish the tasks of setting direction, building commitment and creating alignment.”

The Tasks of Leadership

CCL’s definition of an effective leader is someone who, in connection with others, is able to accomplish three key tasks of leadership:

• Setting direction. is the articulation of mission, vision, values and purposes. Key questions are: Where are we going? What are we going to do? Why are we doing it?
• Building commitment involves the creation of mutual trust and accountability, including addressing questions such as: How can we stay together? How can we work better as a group? What can improve cooperation?
• Creating alignment is about finding common ground and areas of interrelated responsibility. Effective leaders ask: How can we develop a shared understanding of our situation? How can our actions be better coordinated?

I liked this task view of leadership, it gets to the core of what is means to lead, everyday. Keeping focused on the key issues, everyday create and environment where great thigs can happen, where people are developed and where we all reach our potential, this is the essence of leadership.

Technorati Tags: Leadership, Personal Leadership, Management, Vision, Research, Vision, Task

Related posts:

1. How to Multi-Task Productively
2. A leaders’ character is revealed in everyday situations
3. The Cost of Everyday Interruptions
4. Understanding Leadership Context
5. Communication: The Key to Leadership

Tagged as: Definitions