Thursday, February 19, 2015

Leadership Theory - Contribution of Howard Gardner

Did a google search on transactions between leaders and followers



Leading Minds: An Anatomy of Leadership (Google eBook)
Howard Gardner
Basic Books, 2011 - Business & Economics - 415 pages

Leader and followers, together, have embarked on a journey in pursuit of certain goals, and along the way into the future, they can expect to face some obstacles or resistances that must be overcome. The leader has to understand his followers: where they have been and where they would like to go. He needs to tell a story of a vision which appeals to them in their context.   But there are already stories in the air. The story that the leader is going to tell must be superior to the existing stories to have an impact.

Cognitive psychologists examine how ideas develop and how they are stored etc.

https://books.google.co.in/books?id=IHNMg2zBayIC

Leadership is  always a transaction between the leader, his or her followers, and the goal or dream. A resonance exists between leaders and followers that makes them allies in support of a common cause. My studies show, for instance, that leaders are highly focused, that they are able to inspire trust, and that they are purveyors of hope.

Leaders are capable of deep listening: Gandhi demonstrated that when he traveled throughout India learning the heart of his people. But what distinguishes leaders from, say, psychotherapists or counselors is that they find a voice that allows them to articulate the common dream.

Effective leaders put words to the formless longings and deeply felt needs of others. They create communities out of words.

Review of Gardner Book (1995 edition) by Warren Bennis contain the above lines.
https://hbr.org/1996/01/the-leader-as-storyteller





No comments:

Post a Comment