Leadership: how do you define such a word? The readings mention the fact that everyone defines it differently. As this is a personal reflection on my relationship with the idea of what leadership is, I found that it got me thinking about a lot of things. Personally I have experienced both “leaders” and “managers.” The reading also goes into depth on the differences so I will save you the summary. Personally I have found the difference to be relating more to initiative and a means to meet the goals of an initiative.
There are many people out there that take on leadership roles, but know little about what they are doing there or a direction to take their group. Within the word leadership is the verb, lead. To lead, to move forward, to create stable change is the role of a good leader.
The old saying comes to mind with this definition, “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it to drink.” Those are important words when talking about leadership. When leading a group of people, you can have many great ideas, but you also have to have the knowledge or abilities to have the people beneath you understand those goals and help to obtain them. A head without a body is only a head. (It seems that I am full of sayings today, or maybe it is just the fact that I am blogging for the first time in ages)
In my reflections on leadership the history of leadership also came to my mind. Leaders throughout history, that I may not have personally experienced, provide a distinct example of what leadership was, and to some extent still is. Nigel Spivey in his book and video series, How Art Made the World, has an episode dedicated to the art of persuasion. In this episode he describes how throughout history, man has used simple visual tricks to provide an air of superiority. As the readings got into the “natural leader,” this art of persuasion came to mind. It is always important to note the base instinct of a population, even in a postmodern society still holds an impact on what we consider a leader. I believe it is important to take these factors into strong consideration when coming to an understanding of why someone might be considered a leader.
About Me: Josh Yavelberg
I hold a Masters Degree in Art History from Pratt Institute where I also managed a small fraternity with a lot of investment. Needing to get away from the books and back to art, I moved down to DC from New York after a stint in a PhD program at CUNY. After about 6 months of working as an assistant to a sculpter in DC, I landed a job at the Art Institute of Washington teaching foundations art courses. Since becoming an instructor, I have been asked to teach a wide variety of courses and gained a lot of insight into the higher education process on many levels.
I quickly became very excited about the possibilities of this new career and have found a new direction in which to extend my knowlege. I was quick to volunteer for various committees and activities, taking a leadership position in many of these. I became the chairperson for the gallery, I was asked to lead new instructors through teaching courses, I even chaired the graphic design department at Westwood College for a brief period of time.
My roles in leadership positions are limited as my experience is still fairly limited. The initiative and problem solving abilities I have taken to many tasks is what I bring to the leadership table.
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