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LEAD Blog Blog Home Post Categories Community General Leadership |
Leadership By: Tony Pantello | May 16, 2010  There's an age-old debate on the difference between leadership and management tasks. And the argument is valid. Each requires a distinct set of professional skill sets. But contrary to popular belief, both are equally important for an organization's or community's success. An exploration into their differences indicates why this is the case.The DifferenceWarren Bennis, author of Becoming a Leader, describes the difference between leadership and management better than I ever could. He says this: ... Read More »
By: Tony Pantello | May 10, 2010 After listening to the stories and advice of the recent leadership panel in LEAD Session 5, I think it's pretty clear that there is no one right way to lead others. We all have different strengths, different talents, and different passions that influence our leadership style. Conversely however, I also learned that there is one thing that all leaders, regardless of personality or industry, simply cannot do if they want to effectively lead others. In other words, while the reasons and methods that make leaders successful are very different, the reasons why ineffective leaders fail to gain a following are very much the same. Think about the most influential leaders you know or have read about. Think about what we recently heard from a few of East Central Indiana's most respected leaders. In my opinion, the one thing that they've all refused to do, more so than anything else, was to consider themselves more import... Read More »
By: Tony Pantello | April 17, 2010
The most ironic thing about Martin Luther King Jr's famous "I Have a Dream" speech is the first word in its title. Far-reaching and powerful visions like Dr. King's are not fueled by a single person; they are embraced by a crowd of like visionaries.
LEAD Session 2 reaffirmed this truth for me. As we split up into groups and discussed our visions for an improved East Central Indiana, it was encouraging to see that each of our groups' visions shared a common theme. We may have had different methodologies on how to implement them (as evidenced by our Van Gough like masterpieces), but I was thrilled that we were motivated to pursue a common vision together. Here's why:
It is at this "buy in" stage of any project or social movement that is most critical in propelling a vision forward. An effective team of individuals does not just "agree" with a vision propose... Read More »
By: Tony Pantello | April 12, 2010 Just after Abraham Lincoln won the Presidential nomination in 1860, he did something unprecedented in political strategy: He invited individuals with vastly opposing political viewpoints to join his Presidential cabinet of advisors. And not only did these individuals have opposing views on government; they had a genuine dislike and disrespect for the newly elected President himself.
Why would Lincoln do this? In today's context, that would be like President Obama inviting John McCain to be his right hand man in office. It turns out that Lincoln knew exactly what he was doing. And after LEAD Session I, I'm beginning to see what our sixteenth president realized years ago.
I don't think it's much of a stretch to claim that Lincoln's cabinet members had varying learning styles. Whether or not learning styles directly correlate with certain political views is a subject beyon... Read More »
By: Richard Crist | March 27, 2010 How important is trust when it comes to leadership? Some might make the assertion that as long as you have authority, trust isn't that important. I like what author John Maxwell has to say about the subject in the "Law of Solid Ground" from his book, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. He states that "
Trust is the Foundation of Leadership and to build trust, a leader must exemplify competence, connection AND character. Character makes trust possible and trust makes leadership possible."
Trust is much more than being a pushover and the nice guy. It's about conducting yourself in a way that is worthy of being followed. People only want to follow a leader who has the character to believe in and the competence to lead them somewhere of significance.
If you exercise authority as your primary expression of leadership, people will on... Read More »
By: Richard Crist | October 13, 2009 This past Tuesday the LEAD class heard from our Community Leadership Panel consisting of Gail Chesterfield (Ivy Tech), Gary Chenault (United Way), Mark Hardwick (First merchants Corporation) and Jeff Daniels (Toyota of Muncie). Good Q&A took place between our participants and the panel. There were several comments in particular I though I would share. Jeff encouraged everyone to form a "personal board of directors" by surrounding yourself with individuals who add value to your life and will hold you accountable. Gary shared advice he heard from his mother growing up, "Always be respectful, but never be intimidated." Gail shared that she has learned as much about leadership from poor examples (what she didn't want to do) as much as she has from good examples. Mark gave everyone a saying to remember, "You can make up for what you don't know as a leader by doing what's right!"
The panel, while having unique... Read More »
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