Leadership What Is It Part 1

Tonight, while we're painting the classroom, I would like our scouts to think about leadership.

We'll have a five question survey to complete before everyone heads home. It asks the following questions:

* Name five people that you consider to be leaders.
* List some reasons why you picked these five people.
* List attributes/qualities/characteristics that you see in these people (or any other "leader") that set them apart as leaders (they're more likely to..... than most people, OR they're less likely to....... than most people, etc.)
* Can you think of any verses in the bible that discuss leadership or the attributes of a good leader (or name people from the bible who were leaders not already mentioned above?) [NOTE: you don't have to be "Christian" to be in scouts, but in our troop, we share a common faith and frequently discuss our faith in the light of our scouting activities]
* What would you like to learn about in our talks on leadership - is there anything in particular that you want us to cover?

I think that the exercise will help each scout bring their own thoughts about leadership into focus, and we'll have a place to launch our discussion as we head into "troop leadership training" curriculum later this year.

Lastly, I'd like to share some of my favorite quotes on leadership:

* "The servant-leader "is" servant first... It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve "first". Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is "leader" first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions...The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature...The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people's highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, "while being served", become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? "And", what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?" - Robert K. Greenleaf
* "Leaders do not avoid, repress, or deny conflict, but rather see it as an opportunity." - Warren Bennis
* "It's true that charisma can make a person stand out for a moment, but character sets a person apart for a lifetime." - John Maxwell
* "A great leader's courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position." - John Maxwell
* "It's hard to beat a person who never gives up." - Babe Ruth
* "Leaders are visionaries with a poorly developed sense of fear and no concept of the odds against them. " - Robert Jarvik
* "People don't mind being challenged to do better if they know the request is coming from a caring heart." - Ken Blanchard
* "Good leaders make people feel that they're at the very heart of things, not at the periphery. Everyone feels that he or she makes a difference to the success of the organization. When that happens, people feel centered and that gives their work meaning." - Warren Bennis
* "The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant." - Max DePree

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