Dickson defines leadership as “the art of inspiring others in a team to contribute their best toward a goal.” Dickson explains that leadership is hard for some to grasp because it is more of an art than a science. Art forms are characterized by flexibility and intuition. The second part of leadership is that it is fundamentally about others. Dickson says the third aspect of leadership is that it is oriented toward a goal. Dickson says the 4 tools of a leader are ability, authority, persuasion, and example.
Most KIDS HOPE USA directors believe and practice the second and third aspects of leadership listed above. Inspiring others is a skill some of us have developed and others struggle with that. KHUSA Founder, Dr. Virgil Gulker, has often said that if we tell the stories of how children and their mentor’s lives have been transformed through mentoring, people will be inspired.
The 4 tools are also not always equally distributed among those who lead in KIDS HOPE USA. I personally have certain abilities and chose to lead others by example. Dickson says that not all 4 are equally important and we should certainly lead with our strength. Building a leadership team that embodies all of these attributes is certainly an effective way to capture all these skills and share the responsibility of leadership.
Next week we will discuss my favorite chapter on Common Sense – the logic of humility.