Leadership 101 Series: A Leadership Framework

Back in 1978, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian James MacGreggor Burns stated that leadership is the most observed and least understood phenomena in our culture. Nearly 50 years later, leadership is still misunderstood.

At its most basic level, leadership is simply what arises at the intersection between a situation that requires and leader and a follower.

Leadership = Situation + Leader(s) + Follower(s)

As a basic leadership framework, this is it.

What is the Value of this Basic Framework?

The value in bringing this simple equation into your leadership tool kit is the ability to closely examine the individual parts of the equation and ask, “what is needed now?”

Most of us work inside organizations with hierarchies, and those hierarchies formally dictate our technical roles of “leader” or “follower;” however, they don’t dictate “leadership.”

If leadership is so misunderstood, it is likely due to our view of “leader” as the source of “leadership.” Leadership arises due to a situation that involves a leader and follower in a situation.

How to Find Leadership

To find “leadership” within a group, the questions to ask are:

• What is the situation calling for?

• What is needed now?

• Where are we headed?

• How can we get there?

• Are our roles clear?

• Are we all committed?

Summary

A simple, basic framework can help us to quickly understand a situation that calls for leadership and ensure that the group is asking the questions that allow for leadership to emerge.