Comments for A Man Yelled at Me in a Meeting at http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org , comment 0 to 3 out of 3 comments http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:36:28 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/content/view/294/30/#pc_33 Hi Ruth This thought did not originate with me, but I don't have my sources handy to quote. Here it is: "Leadership implies followers. Followers implies choice." True leadership comes when people inspire other people who CHOOSE to follow them. This is not the case when people MUST follow those with more authority, or when they are intimidated into following. You don't get to be a leader with a big voice and a pointy finger. It doesn't help much either, being able to match someone else's big voice with a big voice of your own. People who can inspire others, and thus become leaders, are able to do so with normal tones and good ideas, not extended fingers, that point the way. Don't confuse democracy with leadership. Democracy requires people who are willing to express their opinions, and the intelligence to do so in a convincing (not threatening) manner. Democracy requires all of us to add our expertise and exert our leadership in those situations where we are qualified to offer it. For organizations to excel in a democracy like ours, the true leaders are those who can bring out the best in (ie, inspire) all the people in the organization they are leading. Another observation: many books (e.g., Jim Collins "Good to Great") in management point out that "the underlying job" is NOT "making money." If there is, in fact, a common underlying job, it is to serve the customer by providing excellent products and services. Making money is a fortunate by-product of that. Similarly, I suppose, true leaders demonstrate leadership first and get put into the position of leader by their followers. They are NOT installed into leadership positions, from which they then get leaders. Finally, from my point of view, what makes leadership edgy is not the person's attitude or demeanor. Leadership is edgy because a leader's vision takes people to the edges of where they are now and points them over a cliff toward someplace they need to go - and the message is "Yes we can." Joel Zimmerman - Joel Zimmerman Sun, 02 Mar 2008 15:11:30 +0100 http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/content/view/294/30/#pc_15 Thanks for the comment and I think I understand your point about substance over all else but I did not set the situation up as a competition of tears and never would. The fact is that we have never had a major party presidential nominee who was not a white man and for one who grew up when one man (person) one vote was a battle still being intensely waged, it is a meaningful moment. By the way, I have never claimed the "progressive" label. - ruth mccambridge Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:58:13 +0100 http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/content/view/294/30/#pc_14 Interesting piece...the fact that "edgy leadership" can create discomfort is the point! If we are "comfortable" why would we want to move or change? With regards to your "Super Tuesday" comment, it's really not an "african american vs. a woman", that's the same comment made by Bill Clinton to create race divisions among Democratic voters. Barrack Obama is a presidential candidate who happens to be african american, not the other way around. When will the "progressive" movement see it's own inconsistencies on race and class...i hope to see the day! - Cesar Hernandez Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:17:47 +0100