Fundamentals, Part 1

What is a leader? "A person who rules or guides or inspires others".
Leadership has been described as the process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task.
Alan Keith of Genentech states, "Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen".
According to Ken "SKC" Ogbonnia, "Effective leadership is the ablity to successfuly integrate and maximize available resources within the internal and external environment for the attainment of organizational or societal goals".

The point I want to make in this post is that every single person is a leader. At the very least, you provide leadeship to yourself in your everyday life. You may provide leadership if you are in a relationship with another person. You are a leader if you are a member of a family, especially if you are a parent. You are a leader in your group of friends even if you are not the "alpha". The same goes for leadership in your group at work. You do not have to be the manager to need leadership skills. Leadership in an organization is an obvious application of leadership skills. That is why I spell it out here and in the previous post. Leadership skills are needed by everyone, every day, to live the most effective life you can.

What is "the accomplishment of a common task"? What is "making something extraordinary happen"? What is "the attainment of organizational or societal goals"? This blog will be taking a "big picture" view of leadership skills. I will be posting ideas on leadership skills through the Art of Strategy, so I will be talking strategically. Strategy is the goal, tactics is the techniques to get there. I will be necessarily discussing tactics in ths blog, as the goal is no good without the means to get there. So, to answer the questions strategically, all three statements have one thing in common: they require a Goal. And what is the basic goal of all leaders? Money? Power? Maybe. But there must be a Goal that informs everything that the leader does, in his own life and in the surrounding lives. Read this carefully, because for a leader to continue to inspire, the Goal, or Tao, or culture, or Purpose, the original Goal from which all others follow, is of paramount importance.

 Peter Hill taught "One's base goal is respect for life so no matter what situation one finds oneself in, the way is clear". Please read that again. If leaders would refuse to swerve from that one principle, there would be no corruption, and greed would not be the source of the destruction of countless lives and livelihoods. Remember, we apply these principles to our own "backyard" first, and let the ripples of example spread outward. Think about that long and hard. "Respect for life". It is a far-reaching, all-encompassing Way for leadership. Everything I talk about here, all the ideas and techniques, will ultimately be tested by this Purpose: Respect for Life. It is what we all want and deserve in our leaders, and it is what we all should be using in our daily lives as leaders. There is no compromise here. All non-negotiable conflict must start with Respect for Life as the guiding principle.

It will become apparent that each and every person is already a leader in their own life. Some people are parents, and that makes them leaders in their family, providing leadership for growth and development. The family leaders must have an understanding of leadership skills so that they may provide the opportunites for their family (team) members for true self-actualization.
The next post will begin to introduce the basic concepts upon which we will build our ideas of leadership.

What is The Art of Strategy, and How Can it Help Me Develop Leadership Skills?

The Art of Strategy is about the knowledge and skills to end conflict and create harmony in your life and in the lives of others. These are the true leadership skills: to create win-win situations from each conflict, never to waste the resources of you or your opponent, to share so that both may benefit and rise up together.

The Art of Strategy is not about "winning" a confrontation. It is about the skills that allow one to overcome nonnegotiable conflicts. If the conflict has been allowed to reach the stage of confrontation, the leader has not done his job well or skilfully. The power  and respect that is acquired through conquest or destruction of an opponent is a false perception of leadership. It is not a life-affirming act that creates harmony. The 1987 movie Wall Street at once villified AND glorified the idea of leadership as conquest without regard for others.

This blog is about a different way. I invite you to a dialogue that will challenge and enlighten you to become a leader in your own life, creating harmony and growth among everyone you contact. The Art of Strategy Leadership Skills are applied to four encompassing types of nonnegotiable conflict:
-Conflict with Yourself
-Conflict With the Environment
-Conflict with Others (individuals)
-Conflict Between Leaders/Organizations

Each of the Leadership Skills discussions will center on the application of these ideas to these four types of conflict. In this way we can learn to change bad habits (conflict with self), repair a marriage or poor relations with a child (conflict with others), constructively change a workplace or life-place that is damaging to growth (conflict with environment), and provide enlightened, inspiring leadership to an organization through collaboration and development (conflict between leaders/organizations).

An Introduction

I learned The Art of Strategy from a master. It was one of the best learning experiences of my life. Since then I have practiced and taught The Art of Strategy to many people. I firmly believe that you "teach what you most need to learn" (Richard Bach). Therefore I have, for the last 14 years, taught Leadership Skills to whoever had an ear to hear.

I realized quickly about sixteen years ago that I was not a good leader. I found several very good mentors to whom I owe a debt of gratitude for their patience and selfless sharing of their knowledge and experience. One person who I have learned from by example is my father. I am grateful that I have been blessed with this person who has transcended many roadblocks in his own life and has always striven for nothing less than excellence. He has been a great inspiration to me, and a basis from which I embark on these discussions.