Obama pushes deep into Republican turf (Reuters)

Reuters - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama pushed deep into Republican territory in North Dakota Leadership Training Thursday, saying he saw the potential for a significant political realignment in November's election.

Americans in 2008 are faced with the decision Leadership Training who will be our next commander and chief. Specifically, among all the well groomed, educated, and eloquent speakers, who stands out as the most effective leader?

We must first define a leader.

In my research of the qualities of "good leadership", one stands out above the rest. The ability to INSPIRE.

Then arose the question ,"Is a good leader and a good manager the same thing?". One of the differentiating factors between Management and Leadership is the ability or even necessity to inspire. A leader should instill passion and direction to a group.

Management is a kind of leadership in which the achievement of organizational goals is paramount

Management involves power by position.

Leadership involves power by influence.

The American founding fathers recognized these differences so they split the authority and management into three powers: Legislative, Executive and Judiciary.

Under the American theory, the authority of the leadership derives from the power of the voters as conveyed through the electoral college. Many individuals share authority, including the many legislators in the Senate and the House of Representatives.

When thinking of leadership "the ability to inspire", there may be two categories:

The charismatic leader

The conscious leader

Those who seem to be "Natural Leaders" and effectively inspire groups without really knowing the strategies or tactics used are considered Charismatic Leaders. The conscious Leader on the other hand applies a variety of psychological tactics that affect the "reactions" of a group to the environment they exist in.

Three (certainly not all inclusive) Charismatic leaders that seemed to be Conscious leaders, as well:

Jesus, the Christ

John F. Kennedy

Martin Luther King

These three men (as Leadership Training know men) were definitely charismatic, had the ability to inspire and, I'm sure, were conscious of the psychological tactics. I am certain all three were effective managers, but they delegated that authority to others.

We cannot conclude this thesis without mentioning the true leaders ability to have vision.

Abraham Zaleznik (1977), described differences between leadership and management. He saw leaders as inspiring visionaries, concerned about substance; while managers he views as planners who have concerns with process.

Warren Bennis (1989) further explained a difference between managers and leaders, in his twelve distinctions between the two groups:

Managers administer, leaders innovate

Managers ask how and when, leaders ask what and why

Managers focus on systems, leaders focus on people

Managers do things right, leaders do the right things

Managers maintain, leaders develop

Managers rely on control, leaders inspire trust

Managers have a short-term perspective, leaders have a longer-term perspective

Managers accept the status-quo, leaders challenge the status-quo

Managers have an eye on the bottom line, leaders have an eye on the horizon

Managers imitate, leaders originate

Managers emulate the classic good soldier, leaders are their own person

Managers copy, leaders show originality

In conclusion, the decision I have to make of our next commander and chief will be based on the premise of these two findings:

1. Will the candidate Inspire?

2. Will the candidate have vision?

Daniel Huffman healthysprings.info healthysprings.info