Check back once in a while and see what’s happening or feel free to peruse the more than 300 posts on the topic of leadership development. CLD has been a fun project! – Scott J. Allen

• All important social accomplishments require complex group effort, and therefore, leadership and followership. Both are necessary in the pursuit of a common purpose. Some believe that influence in the leader-follower relationship is largely one way. This is far from true. Followers have great capacity to influence the relationship. (p. 14)

Just look around you at work today and watch this play out.  Their inspired committment or lackluster compliance can mean the difference between success and failure.

Fascinating…

• In order for the statement ‘she is a good leader’ to be true, it must be true that she is effective and that she is ethical. The question of what constitutes a good leader lies at the heart of the public debate on leadership. We want our leaders to be good in both ways. It’s easy to judge if they are effective, but more difficult to judge if they are ethical, because there is some confusion over what factors are relevant to making this kind of assessment.

• “The true and most accurate  interpretation of leadership always rests in the ‘eye of the beholder’”

Leadership is socially constructed. It is in the eye of the beholder. What is “leader” in one person’s eye is “murderer” in anothers. I guess it depends on what side you are on.

• “The five dimensions of authentic leadership: pursuing purpose with passion, practicing solid values, leading with heart, establishing connected relationships, demonstrating self-discipline. Authentic leaders are genuine people who are true to themselves and to what they believe. Rather than letting the expectations of others guide them, they are prepared to be their own person and go their own way. As they develop as authentic leaders they are more concerned about serving others than they are about their own success or recognition” (Bill George, Authentic Leadership).

In the face of skepticism, criticism and so forth it looks as though he is going for a vote. Politics as usual or authenticity? You decide…

• “Know and control your appetites. These include the hunger for power, money, success and sex.” (Barbara Kellerman, Bad Leadership).

• “Research has shown that optimists interpret both successes and failures differently than pessimists. Optimists for instance, do not take failures personally (it’s not their fault). They view failure as a temporary setback and only in this situation. On the other hand, pessimists make the opposite attributions – they take failures personally, as long lasting, and generalize to everything they do” (Avolio & Luthans, The High Impact Leader).
• Optimism’s cousin, happiness is examined here, in the piece developed by the BBC – The Happiness Formula.

• “Our review shows that positive social interactions at work have both immediate and enduring effects on the cardiovascular system, in the form of lower HR and BP.” (Heaphy and Dutton, 2008, p. 143).
• “Studies suggest that positive connections strengthen the immune system during periods of acute and chronic stress.” (Heaphy and Dutton, 2008, p. 147).
• “Together, these five studies suggest that positive social interactions have beneficial effects on neuroendocrine functioning, either through the release of OT or through contributing to healthier diurnal cortisol response, and these effects, in turn, are associated with better physical health.” (Heaphy and Dutton, 2008, p. 147)

Stop reading this and go connect with freinds! – Scott J. Allen