The Leader and His Giant: Overcoming the Leadership Giant

By Olatunde Adepoju, Dr. Alima Anderson, Ayo Ajiboye and General Bolaji Koleoso

'The Leader and His Giant' discusses relational issues particularly within the Work Environment. It is a book written to help in resolving conflicts that emerge in the workplace as a result of our various individual filters and differences. The book has a set of 'Walk Through' questions at the end of each chapter to help people translate the various filters and improve on their interaction with other people

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Apr 20, 2016
• ISBN: 9781483566412

Olatunde Adepoju

Pastor Bola Adepoju received her Bachelors of Arts degree at Spelman College and her MBA from Atlanta University, both in Atlanta. She and her husband have pioneered churches and they currently lead Northern Star Ministries, a ministry that reaches out to youths and families and teaches on leadership both in the church and in the secular world. She is an intercessor and a motivational speaker whose passion is to women. Her love for the unsaved, afflicted and oppressed has taken her on mission trips to villages in Nigeria, West Africa, for evangelism and deliverance. Her passion about her relationship with God, her love for Him and His truth and her desire for people and women in particular to excel is the message she preaches everywhere she goes. She has put into writing what her heart speaks to women of all ages and color.

Book preview

References

Introduction

There are many definitions to describe leadership and all of them include influencing people to accomplish goals. As you will learn, leadership is defined in many ways by many different leaders.

Definitions:

The Dictionary defines Leadership as a process of social influence in which a person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task.

Leadership is not to lead followers but to lead leaders. Leadership is making leaders out of people.

Bishop Anthony Osuobeni 2013

Leadership is the practice of helping people to see and then contributing to it, leaving the world a better place than the way they found it.

Life Leadership 2013

Leadership is inspiring others to pursue your vision within the parameters you set to the extent that it becomes a shared effort, a shared vision and a shared success.

Steve Zeitchik March 2014

Leadership is harnessing the energy and efforts of a group of individuals so that their outlook is advanced from an unremarkable point A to a very desirable point B. From bad to good, slow to fast, red to black, during that process, leadership manifests in projecting your expertise in a way that gains the confidence of others. Ultimately leadership becomes about trust- when that confidence inspires others to align their vision and level of commitment for the betterment of the company.

Phil Blair March 2010

Leadership is the ability to get men and women to do what they want to do and like doing it.

Olusegun Obasanjo, 2014

Leadership is an act-a decision to take a stand or step in order to encourage, inspire or motivate others to move with you. What’s more, the most effective leaders do not rely on their title or positional power to lead. Rather, their ability to use their own personal power combined with their use of strategic influence to make them effective.

Kendra Coleman, July 2013

Leadership is the ability to take an average team of individuals and transform them to superstars. The best leader is the one who inspires his workers to achieve greatness each and every day

Jonas Falk, November 2014

Leadership is the ability to inspire motivation in others to move towards a desirable vision. While Management is focused on tasks, leadership is focused on the person. All in all, the best leadership drives change and long lasting motivation.

Josh Kuehler, January 2015

Leadership is influencing others by your character, humility and example. It is recognizable when others follow in word and deed without obligation or coercion.

Sonny Newman, January 2015

Leadership is actions committed by a person or group that produce an output or result. It simply helps people to get things done. It is not based on position in an hierarchy.

Robert Preziosi, August 2010

Leadership is the collective action of everyone you influence, your behavior, your actions, and your words determine how you influence. Our jobs as leaders are to energize whatever marshals’ action with others.

David Casullo, January 2012

Leadership is simply causing other people to do what the leaders want. Good leadership, whether formal or informal is helping other people rise to their full potential while accomplishing the mission and the goals of the organization. All members of the organization who are responsible for the work of others have the potentials to be good leaders if properly developed.

Bob Mason, January 2015

Leadership is employing your skills and knowledge, leveraged by your attitude to get the results you desire.

Philip Gafka, January 2015

Whichever way leadership is defined, it is more focused on people than tasks. The direct resource and product of leadership is PEOPLE. Leadership thus becomes the ability to elevate people from one point to another by evoking in them an internal motivation beyond their own self-interests. It is, therefore, imperative to add value to people in order to be able to move them up from their original positioning to a higher level of achievement and self-actualization.

People being the most difficult yet most valuable resource in any organization, in most cases, will only move from their original position if it will benefit them in a meaningful way. As a result, the most important tool any leader needs is INFLUENCE.

Leadership should be defined beyond attaining goals and accomplishing tasks. It should be seen as the art of moving people from a position to a more advantaged position. Any leadership style that does not add value to people is destined for eventual failure.

Leadership styles are historically restricted to autocratic, democratic and laissez faire. The laissez faire style could also be referred to as leadership by default. The truth is that any good outcome must be intentional. Leadership by default in the 21st century will not produce a worthwhile result. A successful leader should be able to combine the other two styles effectively.

Moreover, a leader that is people-centered is able to transition from one organization to another because his strength is not in tasks but people. To lead people, you have to know them. Anyone can lead perfect people. Imperfect leaders are called to lead imperfect people. In Chris Brady and Orrin Woodward’s Leadership and Liberty, the authors state, Leaders lead groups of imperfect people who squabble with each other, get their feelings hurt, get offended, hold grudges, play mental games, pout, fight each other, are spiteful, selfish and do unfair things. The only way to overcome the Giant of Leadership is to get to know the people you lead and be able to influence them based on that knowledge. In today’s society, a leader’s acumen must reflect keen insights into navigating the diverse behavioral complexities of the modern workforce to help people to improve, grow and change, while creating a culture of trust, creativity and excellence in spite of all human weaknesses. Leadership is about changing with the times while holding on to unchanging