Learning to Differentiate Leadership from Managerial Position

Authors

  • John B. Washbush

Abstract

This paper describes a rationale for the development of individual leadership abilities and skills in manners contrary to traditional approaches to instruction in leadership theory. Traditional leadership perspectives reflect mechanistic and bureaucratic concepts that portray the organization as an authority hierarchy with influence flowing down from the top. Leadership is thus an executive function and prerogative. Although individual leadership theories often say, in passing, that anyone can be a leader, preoccupation is with authority-figure performance. However, educators need to become concerned with teaching students and members of organizations how to recognize and act on opportunities and responsibilities to exert influence without the benefit of managerial position. The paper also discusses an attempt to use these concepts at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater during the Spring, 1996 semester. Analysis of student performance indicated that teaching people to comprehend and experience leadership from a non-positional perspective may not be done easily for some types of individuals.

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Published

1997-03-06