A LEADERSHIP DEFINITION

UNA DEFINICION DE LIDERAZGO

By Ken Valenzuela, BeALeader.Net Chief Editor

If you want to do or understand something, you start by learning what it is.

Si tú quieres hacer o entender algo, empiezas por aprender lo que es.
Leadership is no exception. After reading several books on the subject, I think that
Liderazgo no es la excepción. Después de leer varios libros en el tema, yo pienso
que
the best starting definition of leadership you can use is:
la mayor definición de Liderazgo que se puede usar, para comenzar es:

"Leadership is the ability of developing and communicating a vision to a

group of people that will make that vision true." Liderazgo es la
habilidad de desarrolar y comunicar una visión a un grupo de personas
que haran esa visión realidad.
I know this may sound simplistic but to me is a great point to start reviewing and
looking to leadership
Yo se que puede sonar simplista, pero para mí es un muy buen punto para
comenzar a revisar y mirar al Liderazgo.
Who's a Leader then? Quién es el líder entonces?
Someone who has a vision can communicate it and make it happen.
Alguien quien tiene una visión la puede comunicar y hacer que suceda.
I like this definition because is concise and practical. Almost everybody
Me gusta esta definición porque es concisa y practica. Casi todos la
understands it and can grasp the essence of leadership.
Entienden y pueden agarrar la esencia de lo que es Liderazgo.
One of the key concepts behind leadership is ACTION. A leader has to develop a
Uno de los conceptos claves detras de lo que es Liderazgo es la ACCION. Un lider
vision, has to communicate it and has to achieve it. Action is in the very essence of
tiene que desarrollar una visión, comunicarla e inclusive lograrla. La Acción esta
the leader's existence.
En la misma esencia de la existencia del líder.
In order to achieve the vision (or goal) the leader has to master five practices, as
Para poder lograr la vision (o gol) el líder tiene que MASTER cinco practicas, tal
Barry Posner and Jim Kouzes state in "The Leadership Challenge, 3rd Edition". The
Y como Barry Posner y Jim Kouzes lo declaran en “El reto del Liderazgo, 3era
edición”
practices are:
Las practicas son:
1. Challenge the Proces Retar el proceso
2. Inspire a Shared Vision Inspirar una visión compartida.
3. Enable others to act Lograr que otros actúen.
4. Model the Way Modelar el camino.
5. Encourage the Heart Alentar al Corazon.
In every single practice mentioned there are commitments that the leader has to
work on. En cada una de las prácticas mencionadas, hay commitments en la que
los líderes tienen que trabajar.
Those are: Estos son:
To Challenge the Process, the leader has to search for opportunities by seeking
innovative ways to change, grow and improve. He has to experiment and take risks
constantly.

Para retar al proceso, el líder tiene que ir en busca de oportunidades _ maneras

innovadoras para cambiar, crecer y mejorar. El tiene que experimentar y tomar
riesgos constantes.

To Inspire a Shared Vision, the leader has to envision the future imagining
exciting and ennobling possibilities. He also has to enlist others in a common
vision by appealing to shared aspirations.

Para inspirar una visión, el líder tiene que visionar el futuro imaginando y
ennobling/ennobleciendo posibilidades existentes. El también tiene que enlistar a
otros en una visión común, apelando a aspiraciones compartidas.

To Enable others to Act, the leader has to foster collaboration promoting

cooperative goals and building trust. The leader has to strengthen others by
sharing power and discretion.

Para ayudar a que otros actúen, el líder tiene que FOSTER la colaboración,
promoviendo metas cooperativas y construyendo la confianza. El líder tiene que
reforzar a los otros compartiendo el poder y la discreción.

To Model the Way, the leader has to clarify his personal values and set the example
aligning actions and shared values.

Para modelar el camino, el líder tiene que aclarar/clarificar sus valores personales
y dar el ejemplo alineando las acciones y valores compartidos.

To Encourage the Heart, the leader has to recognize contributions by showing

appreciation for individual excellence. The leader has to celebrate the values and
victories by creating a spirit of community.

Para ENCOURAGE el corazón, el líder tiene que reconocer las contribuciones

mostrando aprecio por la excelencia individual. El líder tiene que celebrar los
valores y victorias

Credibility
After twenty years of research Posner & Kouzes found that people want leaders
who are credible. If there's no credibility there's no leadership. The authors state
that credibility is the foundation of Leadership.
They also state that there are four characteristics that a leader must have to be
credible: honest, forward-looking, competent, and inspiring. They found that when
there's a high degree of credibility you can expect to see the following behavior:
a) People is proud to tell others they're part of the organization.
b) They Feel a strong sense of team spirit.
c) They see their own personal values as consistent with those of the
organization.
d) Feel attached and commited to the organization.
e) Have a sense of ownership of the organization.

Leadership and Change

Leadership is most often recognized where changes take place. In changing times,
is when leadership or the lack of it is evident. This opens up the question: Do we
need leaders?

If leadership (or lack of it) is evident in changing times, then is no surprise that
more than ever we need leaders. We are living in this fast paced society, w ith even
faster changing habits and trends, with uncertainty all around us. Many great
 leaders recognized this lack of leadership in this world, and current events (War
conflicts, Global Warming) make this issue more relevant than ever.

A Model for Understanding Leadership

Just as I have mentioned, leadership has four elements: Vision, Communication,

Achievement, and lying under them is CREDIBILITY. It's impossible to
understand or even imaging leadership without any of these. In the next weeks I'll
jump into each of the components of Leadership to explain them in detail.
Summing up
To become a leader, you have to develop a vision, be able to communicate that
vision, and inspire the group you'll work with to achieve it. You must have cre
dibility. You have to build that credibility before you can lead. Do not comprom ise
your honesty, be competent in whatever you do and be aware (forward-looking) .
Change is everywhere, everyday you must face it and be flexible enough to adap t
yourself to lead.

Your Call
Do you think we need leaders?
Why do we need them?
What is your vision? How do you communicate it?
Are you modeling the way to achieve your vision?