Very good article that succinctly describes the issue. Leadership is "caught" more than "taught". Today we need less "books and classes" and more passion and leadership. MBAs are good, in that they help provide the tools and information to lead. But, like anything else, the tools and information, improperly used, do not make you a leader!

Dear Michael: As usual, you have caught the crux of the debate. Leadership is not a position, rather, it is a philosophy of action which compels a person to do what must be done, often with a sense of purposeful resolve that leads others to reflect. It might be the receptionist who finds a way to prioritize the incoming calls with a finesse that leaves every caller assured that they are be respectfully being attended too.
I am often amazed how companies fail to understand that the first call could be the last. Leadership, like opportunities abound whenever we make a effort to excel at taking responsibility for a situation by our individual actions. Sadly, we have witnessed such a dissolution in leadership because of the notion that followership means merely taking orders, doing what your told, relinquishing your responsibility. Really, followership is the beginning of the leadership process and when not acted out correctly then the end of the leadership process as well. The aggregate failure in leadership has led to a diminution of responsibility for how things have really occurred. To few are taking any responsibility in how the problems have come about turning to others in disbelief unwilling to accept any contribution to it, often quick to condemnation and rightfixing blame. Leadership is not a single position at the top. If you observe a triangle, you will see that their are points at all 3 sides, and leadership is required at all, not just the supposed top.

Good post Michael, thank you.

I agree we need both management and leadership, and neither is a pre-requisite for the other. A good manager starts leading by managing well.

Sadly, many "schools" are essentially selling MBAs to the highest bidder and devaluing their reputations in the process. They need to stop looking at the short-term profit and show a little visionary leadership of their own.

Craig

Yes, thoughtful piece, Michael. Perhaps the witnessing of financial giants falling and the global economy careening have taught "leaders" that leadership does not mean leading in place. Hands-on management and empowering those around you to lead and manage magnify a true leader's abilities. There's no more hiding behind the curtain or CEO desk. The public, investors and other stakeholders are demanding more transparency, accountability and out-in-front conversations with leaders in both business and government. And that's flustered more than a few folks in the C-suite who got caught up in "position" and lost sight of managing their organizations.

My guess is that with changing times, some schools are trying to keep pace developing programs that can inform students about what leadership really requires in today's world. Titles don't convey leadership; nor do degrees. But I'm hopeful that more schools get that now and are working to embed a more management-based, skill-based approach into their programs.

There are actually two issues here. At the risk of pouring gasoline on the fire, let me offer a non-politically-correct opinion first.

If the definition of "leader" is "one who has followers," then leadership is indeed a position. If you are put in a position of leadership, you will have followers. They will observe you. They will modify their behavior based on what you say and do. The question is not whether or not you are a leader, the question is whether you'll be any good.

The other issue is how we develop leaders. The best model I've seen is the apprenticeship model. You learn 20 percent or so of what you need from books and classes and mentors. You learn the rest by doing. If we can accelerate your feedback loop, we can accelerate your development. If we can offer you development opportunities, we can accelerate your development.

MBA programs can help this process by preparing students for it. So far they keep looking for new ways to teach leadership. They should be looking for new ways to facilitate learning leadership.

Wally, maybe we should define follower? I agree that a leader is one who has followers and a bad leader is still a leader, but could I have "followers" that are not really following? Might I just be kidding myself because of my title or position? Or could I be merely managing them? I've seen "positional leaders" that are indistinguishable from than the "followers" they are to leading, except that they have a title. And how many times have you heard, "I can't get them to follow me." Followers may come with the title but they have to be earned.

Joseph Rost suggested that perhaps we should use the word collaborator to properly define the role.

I use the term "follower" as the name for people who modify their behavior based on what you say and do in the work environment. Because so much discussion of leadership involves leadership as a moral position instead of a kind of work, the language has gotten very muddied.

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Wally Bock

Great article. To me, the definition of a leader is not nearly as important as the necessary attributes required to be a great leader. If I could add my two cents worth (sorry, I can't help myself) I believe there are two key attributes that the very best leaders all seem to have (no, an MBA is not one of them):

1)-People Leadership. These are skills that enable a leader to build a team, maintain a team, and know how to get the most out of the team at the individual and team level. These skills are not typically endowed from an MBA program. It is also the realm where the leader knows how to manage pride and leverage the talent on the team. Many of these skills can be learned, and are often learned on the job.

2)-Intellectual Leadership. Really understanding the product(s) of the business at various levels. Understands process leadership. Understands the customer. Here the MBA helps but again is not required. Fundamental knowledge of how to get a product out the door selling at the highest amount of revenue at the lowest amount of cost, and providing the tools for the business team to accomplish this is the realm here. Here again, many of these skills can be learned.

Show me a leader with these two attributes and I'll show you a world class leader by any definition.

By the way, I've really enjoyed these articles and those who've commented.