Tuesday, December 09, 2014

JROTC and Leadership Theory

It's quite ironic for me to be reviewing leadership theory with my son for a JROTC test, since I've mainly encountered this material as part of the Seminary Leadership course. He's learning things like:
  • Trait theory is about 100 years out of date--the idea that leaders are only born, not made.
  • The two key behaviors of a leader, at least in the behavior theories of the mid-twentieth century, are relationship and structure.
  • The prevailing theory of the last fifty years has been more contingency theory. Good leadership doesn't presume just one set of skills or approach but requires the ability to wed one's individual strengths to specific types of situations.
I found it hilarious that he's learning sentiments from Peter Drucker (e.g., you're not a leader if no one's following you). He's learning that direction, motivation, and purpose are the three domains of leadership.

Fun stuff!

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