SAIL

Last night I was thinking, who are the greatest leaders in the country right now. The first person I thought of was Cornel West, the second person I thought of was Barrack Obama, and then a controversial person came into my head Tim Tebow. Yea I know it sounds kinda ridiculous to call a sports superstar a leader but if you look through the fans and the jokes Tim Tebow is a textbook great leader. If you watched my video Tebow is always positive. He doesn’t talk junk to his opponents during the game. He does the opposite he makes casual conversation with the players of one of the nation’s toughest defensives. Another great example of his positive attitude is when his wide receiver drops a clear touchdown pass. Instead of getting pissed or losing trust in his teammate he decides to encourage him and pump him up so he can make another great play. Every play that he runs he runs it like it is his last. His determination is like no other person’s. He just has something about him that makes you want to believe.

I found this article about what skills that leaders need in the business world. The article, Developing the Global Leader, is by Julia Hanna with help form Bill George. On thing that Bil George says is “The most successful leaders will not necessarily be those with the highest IQ, Of course, they will need to be intelligent. But they’ll also need to have a high level of cultural and emotional intelligence”.

The first skill that is mentioned is an understanding of details in which the business is run. The second tip is about developing a global and local perspective. This is helpful because each area is different and has their own needs.Another piece of advice that is given is about overcome the dominant thinking at work. “Leadership has to lean in favor of nondominant thinking,” he then says “That requires a tremendous amount of intercultural empathy and a passion for diversity in life experiences.” Then on of the most important tip, in my opinion, is that the organization needs to be at a horizontal hierarchy then a vertical one. This means that “One’s title and role are far less important than the capacity to get things done.” Is there any tips that you think would be useful to a leader in an international position?

Being a leader requires someone to be whatever a group needs. In this instance being a leader cannot be bound by titles or characteristics. I remember during class we were discussing how leadership is not defined by a title or position. I had to think about this for a while because I had always envisioned a leader to be outgoing, forthright, and a creative thinker. Now that I am in college, I have noticed different types of leadership styles. Some may appoint tasks to group individuals, while others do the tasks needed for a group to function. Participation within a group acts as a form of leadership as well. Have you ever been in a class and on the first day you are surrounded by people you do not know. Then suddenly, your professor asks the class a question. You know the answer, but decide not to raise your hand for fear that you will have the wrong answer or be mocked.  I find it that a lot of people are caught in a situation such as this one. However, I find it relieving when someone raises their hand, takes initiative and answers the question asked. Quite often the question is not just the professor’s but other students as well. In this case participation is a form of leadership in that an individual is helping other students in the way that they know how.

Here is a TEDx talk video about leadership: Leading With Lollipops

So what’s next for you?

I’m going to be real upfront here. I blog about things that I deal with in my life. I’ve blogged about DO NOT STRETCH! I also blogged about Leading to Be Judged. Now, I’m gonna blog about the issues that some people may have with gender specific leadership roles.

Read the rest of this entry »

I think a lot of times people see leadership as a hierarchical formation, which poses a big problem. By hierarchical I mean by means of a sort of pyramid form with leaders at the top and followers at the bottom. Although leaders are designated into these positions of authority, it does not necessarily mean that they are more significant than the staff or the people that are subordinate to them. In general, titles separate the authoritative figures from the rest of the group, but it does not mean that they are more significant or important as a whole. A lot of times followers or people that do not have leadership positions have just as much to offer to a team as those in leadership roles do because their mentality is different. As leaders it is our obligation to be able to think from different perspectives and look at situations from angles that we would not necessarily look at. Personally, I feel that everyone on a team or in a organization plays a vital role in making sure that the organization meets its requirements or goals. When people are relegated or marginalized into a specific position simply based on their education or status, it sells the entire organization or team short of what it is capable of. When you have leaders that are open to suggestions on what others have to say as opposed to feeling as if they have to make all of the decisions, I think the operation runs a lot smoother. In addition, I am sure that leaders will find that their job is made a lot easier as more people step up to the plate and exercise their leadership potential.

Remember: ANYONE can be a leader! Leaders come in all shapes, sizes, genders, backgrounds, and viewpoints!

For more info, follow this link! ^^^^^

Thanks for reading!

Tediah Grant

So I’m pretty sure everyone has heard the whole “time management” speech as college students and how vital it is to our success. When you think about it, time management really is important, because we are all very busy in various aspects of our lives whether it is in sororities and fraternities, student government, athletics, jobs, classes, and various organizations on campus. It takes a very balanced schedule and hard work ethic to make sure that we are all meeting the deadlines designated by professors and activities we are involved in. Similarly, as leaders time management is vital to our success and reliability within a given team or organization. A lot of times as leaders we may have to meet with a committee or corresponding group and if we are heading that meeting and we do not have our part done, then we are not effective leaders. It is important for us to be prepared for all circumstances and manage our time accordingly. In the case that we are not prepared, we look bad as leaders because in this chain of command we are looked up to. So in order to avoid this circumstance, we should always be one step ahead of the pack! In essence, as leaders we should manage our time so that we can help our team or organization instead of hindering with horrible time management skills. Below I have put some tips for managing your time!

• Know your deadlines! This way they will not sneak up on you
• Find out where you are wasting your time and rearrange it!
• Implement a plan where you will be more effective as a leader

Until next time,

Re’Necia C