Horizontal Leadership

What do most people think of when they hear the word “leadership”? Some of the answers I received when I asked over 300 people at Lindenwood University this very question were, “strong, powerful, the boss makes decisions, likeable, and courageous.” People tend to associate a leader as a person who is over a group of people.

Leader
Followers
Followers
Leadership as defined by the dictionary is to influence people’s actions, beliefs, and/or decisions.

Leadership in the most common understanding takes a (visually) vertical approach. Kouzes & Posnes in their book Leadership the Challenge state, “The climb to the top is arduous and long.” Many people describe a leader as someone who, “is at the top of the ladder.” They make take charge. Leadership is recognized as the person who has the most influence, therefore recognized at the highest point in a group.

Horizontal Leadership
I’m here to tell you that leadership is not at the top (visually) or at the bottom (visually, as in servant leadership). Leadership is horizontal. What does this mean?

Followers Leader Followers


True leadership (influencing people’s actions, beliefs, and/or decisions) can only happen if the leader is seen on the same level as the rest of the people in the organization, group, or association. They share the same values, ideas, and beliefs. When people who are peers feel at any time that they are below the leader, anxiety well be felt by the peer group, and they will ultimately be envious of the leader’s position.

This was very obvious this in 2005 when I was working with a campus organization at Lindenwood. There were about 35 people in our organization and many of them were very ambitious people. Paul was the president of the organization at the time.
Paul was a very effective leader.

He had this ability to help people reach their full potential, and in turn the organization grew leaps and bounds. One day I ask Paul, “how are you such a great leader?” his answer was profound he said, “I ask others for advise”

The goal of a leader is to help their peers understand that they are on the same level. A great leader truly and honestly appreciates the input from others. My idea behind leadership is that a leader organizes other people’s thoughts, beliefs, and ideas to be productive. A leader is not the first to go into a room, a leader is the person whose peers have the desire to find out what is in the room, and the leader organizes the trip.

How do you see leadership???

For Part 2 of Horizontal Leadership:  Click HERE