Leadership Cube (TM) to Contextualize Leadership
Written by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Copyright 1997-2008.
Great Confusion About the Term "Leadership" Today
Discussions about leadership today have become so frequent and impassioned, that they have become almost evangelical in tone. Leading is a very human activity -- everyone's human -- so everyone's got advice about leading. We associate any desirable trait to what leaders should be. People exhort others to become better leaders, to more effectively manage change, etc. Students find it fascinating to read about leadership, to research aspects of leadership, etc. Current publications about organizations often have the term "leadership" in the title.While this trend has reminded us of the critical importance of leadership and sometimes greatly inspired us on to greater achievements in life and work, it also has diffused the concept of leadership to the extent that the term has become almost useless in really helping people to become more effective in organizations.
Leadership Cube (TM)
Different people tend to talk about leadership from many different perspectives and not even realize that they are doing so. It is very simplistic to generalize about leadership as if the term applies the same way in every situation. Understanding the concept of leadership requires more than reading a few articles or fantasizing about what great leaders should be. To really understand leadership, one must understand "Leadership Cube." The Cube represents at least 20 different perspectives on leadership.
The Cube includes the following dimensions:
1) five domains of leadership
2) two contexts of leadership
3) two orientations of leadership
Imagine each of these 3 dimensions along one side of a box, or cube. That would produce a cube with 20 smaller cells (5 times 2 times 2 = 20). Each of the 20 cells represents a unique perspective on leadership. You might consider some or all of the cells the next time that you use the term "leadership" in your studies, writings, research, discussions, etc.
Five Domains of Leadership
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| Leading yourself | Time management, stress management, assertiveness, etc. |
| Leading other individuals | Coaching, mentoring, delegating, etc. |
| Leading other groups | Meeting management, facilitation skills, etc. |
| Leading organizations | Strategic planning, Balanced Scorecard, etc. |
| Leading communities, societies, etc. | Community organizing, political skills, etc. |
Two Contexts of Leadership
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| Roles | Board Chair, Chief Executive Officer, executive roles, etc. |
| Traits | Charismatic, influential, ethical, etc. |
Two Orientations of Leadership
(see NOTE 1 below)
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| Results-oriented | Timeliness, efficiency, work direction, authority, etc. |
| Relationship-oriented | Participation, empowerment, relationships, etc. |
NOTE: The orientation of leadership is adapted from the Hersey-Blanchard situational model of leadership in "Management of Organizational Behavior: Utilizing Human Resources", Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1982.
Return to Overview of Leadership in Organizations
For the Category of Leadership:
Related Library Topics
Recommended Books
For Leading Yourself, See
Personal Development -- Related
Books
For Leading Other Individuals, See
Supervision -- Related
Books
For Leading Teams, See
Facilitation and Teams -- Related
Books
For Leading Organizations, See
Organizational Development
-- Recommended Books
For Management, See
Management -- Recommended Books
Basics and General Information
Field
Guide to Leadership and Supervision in Business
- by Carter McNamara, published by Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Provides step-by-step, highly practical guidelines to recruit, utilize and evaluate the best employees for your business. Includes guidelines to effectively lead yourself (as Board member or employee), other individuals, groups and organizations. Includes guidelines to avoid burnout -- a very common problem among employees of small businesses. Many materials in this Library's topic about staffing are adapted from this book.
Field
Guide to Leadership and Supervision With Nonprofit Staff
- by Carter McNamara, published by Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Provides step-by-step, highly practical guidelines to recruit, utilize and evaluate the best staff members for your nonprofit. Includes guidelines to effectively lead yourself (as Board member or staff member), other individuals, groups and organizations. Includes guidelines to avoid burnout -- a very common problem among nonprofit staff. Many materials in this Library's topic about staffing are adapted from this book.
The following books are recommended because of their highly practical nature and often because they include a wide range of information about this Library topic. To get more information about each book, just hover your cursor over the image of the book. A "bubble" of information will be displayed. You can click on the title of the book in that bubble to get more information, too.
