Just off the top of my head, John, I am thinking that people who aspire to leadership roles because they want to shape (control?) how power is used are not the kind of leaders I think human collectives (such as organizations) need. If someone is attracted to power, I don't see how they can really be leading: what they are really doing is following their passion for power, although they might very well suppress this motivation even inside themselves. The tricky part is that so many people suppress their inner attraction to power, presenting themselves to the world as the person with the right ideas or the person who cares.
The leader who is attracted to the power of their own ideas and beliefs and thereby attracts other people to them because others are interested in their ideas and beliefs are what I think of a natural leaders. Someone who is called from within to build their ideas and share them are the kinds of leaders I want to see in the world. Such a person is a leader even if they do not attract followers. Applying my underdeveloped idea to the American presidential race (with apologies from folks in other nations), I think both the major party candidates are motivated by their attraction to power. Nader, while not a purely quixotic figure, is, in my opinion, motivated by a compelling inner drive rooted in the power of his ideas. The leaders who garner my attention and respect are people lit from within, people who build their lives around their own inner impulses. _________________________________________________________________ Get ready for school! Find articles, homework help and more in the Back to School Guide! http://special.msn.com/network/04backtoschool.armx * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
