My view is that leadership is not about position - you can lead very well with no one reporting to you in a hierarchy and you can lead quite poorly with many people below you in the traditional chain of command. Leadership is about mobilizing people toward valued goals, and anyone can do this, in any aspect of life.
Stewart D. FriedmanBusiness schools must make the issues of leadership, teamwork, and culture a clearly visible priority if we are to maintain legitimacy and credibility as a source of knowledge for successful practice in today's global economy.
Stewart D. FriedmanIn my talks in organizations around the world I ask, "What kind of leadership do we need now?" The most common responses are "adaptable," "flexible," and "innovative." This isn't surprising, in light of how fast and overwhelming is the pace of change in our world.
Stewart D. FriedmanMy research and practice indicates that people need to be doing work they love and to love the work they do. They need to feel that their efforts matter for the people and causes about which they really care. Further, they need to be doing work with people they respect and enjoy. Finally, they need to feel free to choose where, when and how it all gets done. It's not easy to put these conditions in place, but it is certainly possible to do so, as I have seen and shown in my work in organizations and communities using the Total Leadership approach.
Stewart D. FriedmanWhen employers no longer offer secure full-time employment with benefits, then it's hard to expect employees to be loyal, engaged, and maximally productive.
Stewart D. Friedman