Pure Common Sense

I've been reading Lee Iacocca's latest book, Where Have all the Leaders Gone? I picked it up since I'm on the path to one day becoming an administrator, and I want to make sure I understand the ins and outs of leadership from the view point of those who did the job really well. He says some pretty interesting things. The underlying theme so far, however, is to have common sense.

He states that magagement is about two things: picking good people and setting the right priorities. and then goes on to say that you succeed or fail based on your team. A group of people who know what they're doing is the starting point, but those people have to be able to work together, because after all, people who work together will win.

Common Sense right?

Makes perfect sense to me. A good leader, in my opinion, will take that team of various personalities and talents and inspire them to work towards the common goal. A new leader should enter the picture, discover their teams strenghts, and put them to good use! Why focus on the negative? Why revel in what isn't working? That just starts the downward spiral and no one seems to be able to rise once that has started.

I've seen this happen several times over the last few years. It's truly a sad situation. We're losing alot of really great people that made our programs what they are today. These people shouldn't be scrutinized and punished by their leaders (and I use that term lightly, because they really aren't effective leaders). What these leaders fail to realize is that their positions were created by the hard work and dedication of the exact same people they're stepping on.

This is what has inspired me to further my education. A real leader is someone their team can turn to, not someone who causes their team to turn away.