LEADERSHIP IS A FEELING OF DOING MORE: Leadership is a feeling of doing more; a leader is only as good as is that word he or she works towards."
The image at left is an attempt to define leadership in a single photograph. Its subject is an example act that can inspire other people to be better. Everyone is better when everyone does their part to help others. Selfless acts are efforts everyday people can undertake. The Application section of this resource provides more examples of how everyday people can make a difference.
It is the goal of this open education resource to inspire everyone to invent their own selfless act. New ideas are still very much possible in today's world. That said, new ideas are not necessary to make a difference in the world. History provides a template for people to make a difference. Documented instances of individuals volunteering their time, donating unused goods, protecting those in need are all examples of actions that are not original, but should certainly be repeated. The moral compass is the real thing that matters in one's attempt to make the world a better place. New ideas are great; repeated acts of kindness are perfect.
Inspiration is an idea. It is an idea on a realistic course of action one can take to reach a novel goal. Ideas are distinct from emotions. Emotions arise from ideas. While emotions can generate ideas, the ideas resulting from emotions are rarely clear ones. Ideas that generate productive emotions, however, are often clear ones.
There are many ideas to be documented from history, leaders, theories, skills, and application. These ideas will lend themselves to realistic courses of action that will help people reach novel goals.
This resource could not include everything on the subject of leadership. Therefore, it has chosen to spotlight what tends to be missed.
THE DEFINITION IS A LIFETIME PURSUIT: Some words introduce searches. There are such words that force people to reflect often. One searches for meaning, for examples, and for definition. The pursuit is always worthwhile because the most important words in life are complex. Such words defy single meaning, examples, and definition. Honor is an example. One could spend a lifetime searching for honor. It is a word to work humbly towards, a concept that brings out the very best in a person. The person can glimpse it at times. That glimpse can come in the most unexpected places, places such as tragedy, challenge, and even promotion. It is a glimpse that reveals an ideal character. One realizes in a glimpse the correct code of conduct. One finds a reason to move forward, a reason to problem solve, and a reason to forgo ego. Some words cause the noblest actions. There is also the word respect. Respect is often a moment when someone chooses equal treatment. Equal treatment means someone chooses to treat another as his or her equal. There is a way of acting that mirrors how each person wants to be treated. There is a gracious acceptance of shortcoming; there is a quiet patience in listening. Respect is how people choose to act when there is the option to be unkind, impatient, or judgmental. As with honor, one can spend a lifetime searching for respect. It is a word that can mean different things to different people; however, it is a word that compels people to be at their very best. Another example word that one spends a lifetime searching for is leadership. It is a word that causes people to be great, a word that prompts people to take charge, a word that compels people to face legacy. This essay will outline this complex word using the rhetorical modes of definition, narration, process analysis, comparison, classification, argument, description, and cause analysis. The opening paragraph of this essay is an explanation of cause analysis. One finds that leadership causes people to search. It is a word that motivates people to work harder. Leadership is a feeling of doing more; the most important words in life bring out the very best in people because those words inspire lifetime pursuits.
Leadership is often seen as theory. That definition makes sense. Leadership is an idea on how a person should act. It is an idea on how a person is called to be more. Leadership is also seen as an individual. As such, everyone can picture a model of leadership when the concept is discussed. Everyone carries with them a role model, a hero, a historical figure who motivates them to act in higher regard. Leadership can also be understood to be a skill. It is a character strength that one improves on. Every meaningful challenge, in fact, becomes an opportunity for one to grow his or her leadership skill. It is a skill honed over years of hard work, setbacks, and triumphs. Leadership can also be seen as action. It is a positive act one exercises when the world needs it most. It is a process that only means something when a person is able to improve his or her community. Then, there is the definition of leadership that this paper supports. Leadership is the feeling of doing more. The significant word in this definition is feeling. It is new to see leadership as a feeling. It also makes sense. Leadership is that feeling a hero looks to experience again and again; it is that feeling a person looks to live again and again in his or her everyday life. It becomes a positive addiction, an emotion that drives people to do more in their lives.
It is time to see leadership as an emotion. The classification helps people appreciate it that much more. The characteristics of leadership become clear when one fits leadership into this unique box. Leadership is understood to be something that must be recaptured. It is not a mindset that lasts forever. Leadership also shares a lot in common with other emotions; it has more in common with some than others. As an emotion, leadership shares a lot of the same attributes as curiosity. Leadership shares a lot of the same attributes as joy. Happiness is an emotion grown from pursuing moments that matter. The same is true for leadership. Leadership can also be seen as humility. It is a humble thought that compels one to act in harmony with others. For these many many reasons, leadership must be classified as an emotion. It has all the same characteristics as the most positive emotions one can experience in a lifetime.
One has undoubtedly experienced the feeling of leadership. The moment is one each person can picture vividly. It is the experience of a student. He or she is seated during a lecture. The class is early in the morning. The other students appear to still be waking up. One of them has at least shaken himself awake twice. The instructor, meanwhile, is energized and is looking to strike up a conversation with the class. The instructor is verbally nudging everyone to speak their mind. No one seems ready to tackle the instructor’s questions. One of the questions is, “How would you react to this conflict?” The student who has observed the others carefully now forms a thought for the entire class. He or she is reluctant to speak up but finally elects to do so. The individual feels the emotion of leading as the response is formed and finally spoken. Everyone turns and gives a thoughtful smile, as they are all in admiration of the student who spoke up. The feeling of leadership is experienced by everyone. The teacher smiles as well. Someone had the courage to speak up.
Leadership, in many ways, can feel like a desire to transcend the status quo; it can be compared to resistance, a feeling of standing strong in the face of movements that have no clear benefit. Trends, followers, and the desire for social acceptance often steer one away from the authenticity of leadership. Authenticity is a radical acceptance of oneself and the confidence to embrace that acceptance, regardless of social pressure. In contrast, the status quo provides an obstacle to that authenticity. Marketing trends, for example, utilize the insecurity of an audience in order to sell a product or idea; social media thrives on negative language and emotion to gain reactions; meanwhile, political and social groups divide followers into camps where members are pressured to conform to stated or implied ideals. It is tempting, then, to fall in line and act in the expected way; however, leadership requires one to press into themselves and out of the various molds set for them.
One should have in mind an ideal social media post for promoting leadership. Too often social media is used for posting pictures that highlight an individual’s personal life. People often use their social media platform for pumping up themselves—and, often, that is needed. Each of those posts in which one is flashing his or her smile is needed. It reminds one again and again to be positive and to enjoy life. However, posts that rely on words to encourage more thought and action in society are also worthwhile. The post is one that people can picture clearly. It is a post of a stranger helping another. It is a post of an individual waiting patiently in traffic instead of losing his or her cool. It is a post that shows someone experiencing the feeling of doing more. Everyone can picture these posts. It is time for more of them.
It is worthwhile to explore the process by which a leader is born. The process begins with a feeling that one has lived up to his or her potential. One has experienced a good deed that he or she was not recipient of, but the orchestrator of. In the aftermath, the person soon takes more and more steps to orchestrate selfless acts. The person soon takes the steps needed to improve his or her community on the weekends. The person volunteers time for cleaning dishes at the local church, or picking up litter in the neighborhood. The steps have been put in place of the leader to experience the feeling of stepping up.
How should one cultivate the feeling of leadership? The idea is to do more. Everyone can introduce opportunities to do more into their everyday lives. Everyone must do this. The feeling of leadership must never be seen as a rare celebration; leadership must never be seen as an infrequent, elusive emotion. While leadership is an emotion that one must capture again and again, it is a feeling one should find daily. Just as one must find happiness daily, one must find the feeling of leadership daily. The world is the beneficiary. There is a moral good in leading that, above all, fosters other feelings that people need to fight more. People need to fight for joy; people need to fight for leadership.
