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Leadership and opportunity

  • 1.  Leadership and opportunity

    Posted 09-19-2018 05:59 PM
    Thanks to Bob Augustine for inviting me to participate in this discussion thread. I hope that my brief thoughts presented here will spur some thought.

    To start with, I've never considered myself to be a "born leader". I have had experience with numerous leaders in my life, and in many cases, their leadership abilities often appeared to be natural, as if they were indeed born leaders. So what makes a leader a leader?

    Searching for "leadership inspiration" via Google brings up list after list of quotes, some of which are truly inspirational ("As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others." - Bill Gates), some that are just platitudes ("There's no 'I' in 'Team'"), and some that suggest that leadership is akin to knowing all the answers ("A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way." - John Maxwell). I suppose that there's a grain of truth in all of these quotes (literally, there isn't an "I" in the word "team"), but knowing the answers a priori, creating an effective team, and empowering all team members is a tall request for a leader. Indeed, it's a very tall request for someone who doesn't necessarily believe that they have natural leadership abilities.

    Over the course of a number of experiences, I've learned that I do indeed have leadership abilities, although I would be the first to agree that I have plenty of room for improvement. Some of my experiences have been more of a "your turn…" type of opportunity, however others have presented themselves in somewhat unexpected fashion just as a result of my job (I'm a university professor). One aspect of leadership is just the willingness to try.

    What roles have you taken on (perhaps ones that you did not search out) that provided you with knowledge that you indeed have leadership abilities?

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    Donald Finan, Ph.D.
    SIG 19 Coordinator
    Professor, Audiology & Speech-Language Sciences
    University of Northern Colorado
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