12 traits of great leaders

7/31/2019 12 Traits of Great Leaders

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Volume 17, Issue 3

A quarterly publication ofthe Ohio State University Leadership Center

LeadershipLinkOSU LEADERSHIP CENTER

www.leadershipcenter.osu.edu

By Paul T. P. Wong, Ph.D. C. Psych.,Proessor o Psychology and BusinessAdministration, Chair, Division o SocialSciences and Business Administration,Tyndale University College, Toronto

Love them or hate them, you cant live

without them. They can improve your lieand brighten your uture, or ruin your lieand destroy your uture with equal acility.They are the ubiquitous bosses and lead-ers in your lie.

Even though Thomas Carlyles greatmen theory o history is no longer invogue, one does not need to be a historianto realize that leaders at the top can makeall the dierence in the world or good oror evil.

Just ask yoursel a simple question:What kind o world would we be living

in had Al Gore been elected president othe United States instead o George Bush?Would the world be saer with Gore in theWhite House?

You may apply this mini thoughtexperiment to your own country, orga-nization, school, or church. You mightbe shocked to discover how a leadersstrengths and weaknesses, personal traits,and character aws can directly impactyour lie.

Given the serious consequences oleadership, we need to be very serious

about whom we vote into ofce. Bewareo any kind o popularity test, becausepopularity oten camouages a lack ocompetence and integrity. Dont all orempty promises and charming smiles. Toget to the heart o assessing leadership,we need to ask a tough question: Whatare the defning characteristics o greatleaders?

Who Are the Greatest AmericanPresidents?

Looking at the current feld o Ameri-

can presidential candidates rom bothparties, can we tell which one o them will

make a great leader? One way to answthis question is to look back to historyWho are the greatest American presidin the past? What makes them stand hand shoulders above the rest?

Several names consistently appear

among the ten greatest presidents accing to various rankings. George Washton, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin DRoosevelt typically ranked at the top othese lists. Thomas Jeerson, TheodoRoosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Andrew

Jackson, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D.Eisenhower, James K. Polk, John F. Kenedy and Ronald Reagan have oten branked in the top ten.

Not all o them were charismaticleaders, but they were all able to earntrust o the people because o their in

rity and character. The dark orces, wmight have destroyed lesser mortals, ally had the opposite eect o enhanctheir status and magniying their excetional qualities. They have substantialchanged the direction o the nation,uplited the spirit o the people, and lpositive and enduring legacy.

Without exception, these greatpresidents conronted huge oreignand domestic challenges with couragwisdom, vision, optimism, and a deepsense o responsibility. They not onlyovercame enormous difculties but a

achieved phenomenal and lasting success.

For example, Franklin Roosevelt hto ace the greatest economic depres-sion in modern history and the combthreats rom the Germans and JapaneHe rallied the country ater the disasto Pearl Harbor and created the arseo democracy to deeat the aggressoDuring all those years o titanic strugghis tired and rail body must have beesustained by some extraordinary innestrength.

Leadership

Accountability

7 |

Life and Leadership

Lessons from

Childrens Literature

9 |

Women Expand

Their Managerial

Role in the Farm

Business

11 |

Leading

with Character:Stories of Valor and Virtue

and the Principles

They Teach

by John Sosik

Reviewed by Debbie Blanton

13 |

New Resources15 |

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Similarly, Ronald Reagan had to simul-taneously tackle a ailing economy and ahostile evil empire. Eventually, he wasable to revive the economy while limit-ing government spending and he won acold war without bloodshed. He surviveda near atal assassination attempt withcourage and humor. His optimism and

winsome smile never let him even in thedarkest hour.

How do we know who will be thenext great president? How can we judgewithout the beneft o legacy and thewisdom o history? We cant, but we canstill learn something rom the greats in thepast beore casting our votes or the nextpresident or prime minister.

Who Are the Greatest CEOs?

Great CEOs are also in a league otheir own. They are the rare leaders that

money cannot buy. They are capableo turning a company rom the brink obankruptcy into a great, enduring organi-zation; they can transorm a toxic corpo-rate culture into something inviting andupliting. Again, we can learn preciouslessons rom these exceptional leaders.

According to Jerey A. Krames (2003)the seven greatest contemporary CEOsare: Michael Dell (Dell Computers), JackWelch (GE), Lou Gerstner (IBM), AndyGrove (Intel), Bill Gates (Microsot),Herb Kelleher (Southwest Airlines), andSam Walton (Wal-Mart). All seven are

household names. They all have achievedspectacular successes that beneft con-sumers. Each has a unique vision and aninnovative business strategy, but they allhave the courage to embrace change, thepassion to pursue their dream, and thecompetence to carry it out.

Jim Collins (2005), author oGoodto Great and co-author oBuilt to Last,has identifed the ten greatest CEOs o alltimes. Four criteria were used to winnowa pool o more than 400 successulCEOs: legacy (enduring success), impact

(great innovations), resilience (overcom-ing major crises), and performance(outstanding cumulative stock returns).Gates, Grove, Welch, and Gerstner wereexcluded because they have not been outo ofce or at least ten years, thereore,they cannot be evaluated in terms olegacy.

What a selection o diverse individu-als! Some o them were unlikely CEOmaterials. Katharine Graham steppedinto the position o CEO o the Washing-ton Post ater her husbands suicide androse to the occasion with extraordinarycourage and wisdom. William McKnight,creator o 3M, was a bookish accountant

who turned innovation into a system osuccess. Darwin Smith was told Youllnever be a leader by the Armys ofcer-training school. Yet, he turned Kimberly-Clark into the worlds No. 1 paper-basedconsumer-products company by sellingo all the giant paper mills and reocusingon a sideline product, Kleenex. CharlesCofn, the frst president o GeneralElectric, came rom the shoe businesswithout any engineering training; yet hecreated the frst research laboratory and asystem o creating a succession o brilliantscientists and great executives.

Some CEOs achieved greatnessbecause o their sense o social responsi-bility. David Packard made social respon-sibility o sharing wealth a cornerstoneo Hewlett-Packards corporate culture.David Maxwell turned Fannie Mae rombankruptcy into a great company; hisgreatest genius, according to Collins, wasto rame the rebuilding around a mission:strengthening Americas social abric bydemocratizing home ownership. JamesBurke courageously adhered to thecredo o Johnson & Johnsonproductsaety was more important than fnan-

cial concerns. George Merck put socialresponsibility above proft; he declared in1952 that: Medicine is or people, not orprofts.

Others became great CEOs becauseo their unique and timely vision. SamWalton reused to let his charisma get inthe way o his mission: to make betterthings ever more aordable to people olesser means. Bill Allen built Boeing intoa commercial success because he thoughtin bigger time rames and larger purposesthan his critics. One important lesson

Allen learned: Dont talk too much. Letothers talk.

What made these ten CEOs so great?They loom larger than lie, preciselybecause they gave themselves and theirtalents totally to serving a larger visionthan personal success. They all had di-

Leaders at the topcan make all the

dierence in the worldor good or or evil

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erent personal traits and talents, Yet ione thing defnes these ten giants, it wastheir deep sense o connectedness to theorganizations they ran, Collin wrote.They understood the paradox o leader-ship: Much depended on them, but itwas never about them.

Twelve Defning Characteristicso Great Leaders

What sets apart great leaders romthose who are merely good? The abovecase and the larger leadership literaturehave pointed to the ollowing twelvedefning characteristics. No one leadermay possess all these characteristics,but all great leaders must demonstrate atleast some o the ollowing strengths andvirtues:

1. Great capacity for productiveworkThey seem to possess bound-

less energy and thrive under stress.They are able to work indeatigablyor years on end in order to accom-plish an important project. Theirstamina and tenacity give them adecided advantage. They manageto work with great enthusiasm evenwhen they cannot get into a state oow. Their consistent productivityis based on their deeply ingrainedhabits o commitment and discipline.

2. Great vision for the right direc-tionThey can see things clearerand arther than others. They have

insight into just what is needed andthe oresight to see what will succeedin the long run. They can eel thepulse o the world which they inhabitand anticipate the world which is notyet born. Time and time again, theyprove that they have the right answer,even when conventional wisdomand tradition dictate otherwise. Theirvision is neither a grand illusion, norabstract ideal. Rather, it is a livingdocument that inspires, unites, andenergizes others.

3. Great intellect and knowledgeThey are intelligent, knowledgeable,and competent not only in theirspecialty, but also in the general areao humanities, social sciences, andbusiness administration. They have agood grasp o complex issues and theability to get to the crux o the matter.They have the genius o holding two

opposing views and the wisdom tonavigate cross-currents.

4. Great people skillsThey work wellwith all kinds o people rom dierentcultures because they have a deepunderstanding o human nature andbasic human needs that transcendcultures. They see both the bright and

dark side o people, without losingaith in the human potential or posi-tive change. They dont judge otherson the basis o belies, values, orother cultural characteristics, becausethey respect the basic human dignityo all people. Understanding andexibility characterize their leader-ship style. They know how to resolveconicts and oster harmony. Theyknow that dierent olks need dier-ent strokes, and they apply dierentmanagement skills to handle dierentsituations.

5. Great team-buildersThey do notsurround themselves with peoplewho are subservient and loyal onlyto them, but select competent andcreative people who are aithul tothe same vision and mission. Theywelcome diverse opinions and valuepeople who are smarter than theyare in various areas o expertise.They know how to put together andmanage an A-team to insure organiza-tional success.

6. Great motivatorsThey create a

supportive and meaningul workenvironment and make people eelthat they matter to the organization.They generate intrinsic motivation byinvolving people in the excitement odoing something signifcant and pur-poseul. They capitalize on peoplesstrengths and know how to unleashthese inner energies. They see thepotential in every person and wantto bring out the best in them. Theyempower workers to develop theirpotential to become great workersand leaders. They set challenging but

realistic goals. By setting an exampleo excellence in everything theydo, they make it the standard or allaspects o their operations.

7. Great heartTheir heart is bigenough to embrace the entire organi-zation and the whole world. They are

Twelve DefningCharacteristicso Great Leaders

1. Greatcapacityorproductivework

2. Greatvisionortherightdirection

3. Greatintellectandknowledge

4. Greatpeopleskills

5. Greatteam-builders

6. Greatmotivators

7. Greatheart

8. Greatcommunicators

9. Greatoptimists

10. Greatcourage

11. Greatsel-knowledge

12. Greatcharacter


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neither partisan nor petty. They reachout to those who do not agree withthem. They dont mind to be provenwrong or outshined by others; theirmain concern is the common good.They dont hold grudges; they arealways ready to orgive and apolo-gize. Their capacity or compassion is

equal to their understanding.8. Great communicatorsThey can

articulate a vision and tell compel-ling stories to rally people around acommon goal. They know how toinorm as well as inspire. Above all,they are good listeners. They under-stand peoples needs and eelings bytalking to them on a personal level.Their ability to resonate with others isbased not so much on communica-tion skills as on their deeply elt senseo connectedness with the organiza-tion and humanity.

9. Great optimistsThey stay opti-mistic even when circumstances arebleak. Their optimism stems rompersonal aith more than anythingelseaith that good will prevail overevil and persistence will eventuallylead to success. They know how toinspire hope through difcult times,while battling their own inner doubts.Their proven capacity to endure andovercome inspires others to be opti-mistic about the unknown.

10. Great courageThey have the cour-

age to conront their worst ears andrisk everything in order to remaintrue to their own convictions andother peoples trust. Courage is notthe absence o ear, but the abilityto persist and act in the presence oear. They know how to live with thecontinued tension between despairand hope, doubts and confdence,ear and courage. They grow strongeras a result o this constant opposition.

11. Great self-knowledgeThey knowwho they are and what they stand

or. They know that their strengthscontain the seeds o destruction (e.g.,over-confdence). They also accepttheir own weaknesses and limitationsas the essential conditions o beinghuman. They are willing to acceptnegative eedback in order to improvethemselves. They would not let their

ego get in the way o doing what isgood or the organization. Feelingcomortable in their own skin reducestheir deensiveness. Their humilitycomes rom their emotional maturityand sel-knowledge.

12. Great characterAbove all, theypossess integrity and authentic-

ity. They have the moral courageto stand up or their belies and dowhat is right, no matter how much itwill cost them. To them, integrity ismore important than success. Theirleadership is principle-centered andpurpose-driven, regardless o thepressure to make expedient. Theyare transparent and genuine; theysay what they mean and they walkthe talk. They accept responsibil-ity or their choices and would notblame others or their own mistakes.They do not steal credits rom others.

One o their greatest assets is theirreputational capital. Others canalways bank on their trustworthiness,because they serve as symbols omorality and ethics.

Conclusion

This list o exceptional qualities sug-gests that great leaders are made ratherthan born. A hunger or learning, goodwork ethics, character strengths, andpeople skills can all be cultivated. Natu-ral born abilities play an important role,

but most o the elements o greatness areacquired, oten through trials and tribula-tions.

To be a great leader one needs frstto become a positive person o sterlingqualities. When it comes to leadership,character counts more than competence,and what you are matters more than whatyou do. A great leader is not just someone with great abilities, but someone whohas a positive impact on a great numbero people. In the fnal analysis, it is notyour personal resume but your legacy thatdetermines your greatness.

Now, apply these twelve criteria tothe current presidential candidateswithten as the perect score or each leader-ship characteristic and zero as the lowestscore. Who will come out best on theseleadership measures? Hillary Clinton or

Natural born abilitiesplay an important

role, but most o theelements o greatness

are acquired, otenthrough trials and

tribulations


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Barack Obama? Rudy Giuliani or JohnMcCain?

More importantly, measure your ownleadership as a parent, a teacher, or aleader in your church or organization.What is your strongest quality? What isyour weakest link? What areas oer thebest hope or improvement?

It is never easy to be a leader, butsomeone has to do the leading in most sit-uations. This world will become a betterplace when more people aspire to acquirethe characteristics o great leaders.

Copyright 2007, Paul T. P. Wong.Used with permission. www.meaning.ca

Bibliography

Amabile, T. M., Kramer, S. J., Levinson,H., & Herzberg, F. (2007). Builda motivated workorce (2nd Ed.).

Boston: Harvard Business SchoolPublishing.

Bennis, W. G. (2003). On becoming aleader: The leadership classic. Cam-bridge, MA: Perseus Publishing.

Bennis, W. G., & Goldsmith, J. (2003).Learning to lead: A workbook onbecoming a leader. New York: BasicBooks.

Bennis, W. G., & Nanus, B. (2007). Lead-ers: Strategies or taking charge. NewYork: HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

Buckingham, M. (1999). First, break allthe rules: What the worlds greatestmanagers do dierently. New York:Simon & Schuster.

Buckingham, M. (2005). What great man-agers do. Harvard Business Review.Boston: Harvard Business SchoolPublishing.

Cherniss, C. (2000). Promoting emotionalintelligence in organizations. Alexan-dria, VA: ASTD.

Clarke, B., & Crossland, R. (2002). Theleaders voice: How communication

can inspire action and get results!New York: The Tom Peters Press andSelectbooks, Inc.

Clutterbuck, D., & Hirst, S. (2002).Leadership communication: A statusreport.Journal o CommunicationManagement, 4, 351354.

Collins, J. (2003, July). The 10 greatestCEOs o all time: What these extraor-

dinary leaders can teach todaystroubled executives. Fortune Maga-zine. Retrieved June 11, 2007, romhttp://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2003/07/21/346095/index.htm

Collins, J. (2005). The 10 greatest CEOso all time: What these extraordinary

leaders can teach todays troubledexecutives. New York: McGraw-Hill.

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Krames, J. A. (2003). What the best CEOsknow: 7 Exceptional leaders and theirlessons or transorming any business.New York: The McGraw-Hill Compa-nies, Inc.

Lee, G., & Elliot-Lee, D. (2006). Cour-age: The backbone o leadership. SanFrancisco: Jossey-Bass.

Lencioni, P. M. (1998). The ve tempta-tions o a CEO: A leadership able.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Lencioni, P. M. (2000). The our obses-sions o an extraordinary executive:

A leadership able. San Francisco:Jossey-Bass.

Locke, E. A. (2000). The prime movers:Traits o the great wealth creators.New York: AMACOM.

Maxwell, J. C. (1998). The 21 irreutablelaws o leadership. Nashville, TN:Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Maxwell, J. C. (1999). The 21 indispens-able qualities o a leader. Nashville,TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Maxwell, J. C. (2001). Developing the

leader within you. Nashville, TN:Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Maxwell, J. C. (2005). The 360 degreeleader: Developing your infuencerom anywhere in the organization.Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Pub-lishers.

Worden, S. (2004). The role o integrity asa mediator in strategic leadership: Arecipe or reputational capital.Journao Business Ethics, 46, 3144.



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Leadership AccountabilityBy David H. Holliday, Business Consultant

Being Proactive

Further, when something occurs thatis strongly disapproved o by stakehold-ers, including the public, the traditionalapproach has been reactive: the terms

downplay, cover-up, distance our-selves, and golden parachute haveall become amiliar terms or not beingaccountable. This attitude is not goodenough these days; proactive is theterm on peoples lips when discussing twohighly visible aspects o accountability:What are You doing to other people?and What are You doing to the environ-ment?

Actually, those are trick questions, butdelight the people who ask them. Whenbusiness leaders respond by denying anydoing that is bad, the implication is that

either were not doing anything goodor, worse, were indecisivenot a goodimage or those o us claiming to be lead-ers.

By ar the most conspicuous o thesetwo questions is the one concerningthe environment. Although the impacton individuals may be severe, its otenelt only locally rather than globally. Anorganization, however, can wreak envi-ronmental damage on a large scale simplybecause the organization has access totools and materials capable o doing so.

Its requently not even apparent that animpact on the environment has occurredand is negative until long ater the eventthat caused it has occurred. Whos nowresponsible? In other words, where doesthe accountability lie?

Demonstrating Accountability

To what lengths must a leader goto demonstrate accountability? Besidesthe conspicuous things to do and not todo, leaders must actively seek out eventhe slightest improvement to impactson people and the environment. Thisapproach, in turn, requires encouragingall members o the organization to do thesame, making them leaders as well.

This short article provides more ques-tions than answers, but the alternativeanswering themwould require not onlya book, but time to see how solutions to

Leaders chooseto actively take chargeo an organization and

reap the beneftso doing so; in turn,they are accountable

to all parties

This article was originally titled Lead-ership and Accountability, but uponreection I decided that the and impliedtwo disparate subjects that are conjoined.Not so.

To be a leader is to assume a roledierent rom the role(s) o those whoare ollowers, and a leaders role conse-quently entails responsibilities to thoseollowers. This characteristic o leadershiphas been understood and practiced orcenturies, sometimes defned and imple-mented in excruciating detail.

That a leader might have this burdenor obligation to ollowers did not alwaysmean that accountability resulted. TheDivine Right o Kings, and their subor-dinates, conveniently allowed the applica-tion o vices alongside virtues, and the

ormer generally prevailed.

Leadership Responsibilities

Recently, especially in the limelight oconspicuous corporate scandals, imple-mentation o the Sarbanes-Oxley act, andgeneral changes in social ocus, leader-ship accountability has taken center stage.And, its not just about a leaders beingresponsible to ollowers, the people inthe leaders organization. The leader isresponsible also or the organizationsactivities and both the internal and exter-

nal eects o its actions.And therein, I believe, is the crux o

the matter: not that accountability needsto be considered part o leadership, buthowthat accountability is perceived andimplemented.

Traditionally, businesses as the pri-mary organizational structures todayhave observed the letter o the lawnot so much by doing good, but rerain-ing rom doing badalthough the badwas mostly concerned with other busi-ness entities (including individuals) in

terms o deceit, orce, and downrightraud. By maximizing profts, it has beencontended, business is helping societydirectly through creating and distributingwealth and incidentally through sel-inter-est.



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business-specifc questions are identi-fed and (successully) implemented.

The message is that leaders chooseto actively take charge o an organiza-tion and reap the benefts o doingso; in turn, they are accountable toall parties or maximizing the positiveimpacts and minimizing the negative

impacts o the organization, and o

themselves.All people can and should beaccountable leaders.

David H. Holliday is an independentbusiness consultant residing in Bellevue,Washington. Known or his processexpertise, he may be contacted via e-mailat: [email protected].



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Lie and Leadership Lessonsrom Childrens LiteratureBy Connie Miley, Middle Level Coordinator, Ohio Association o Student Councils

the book aloud as many times asnecessary or you to be sure o yourdelivery.

The atmosphere o the room isimportant. Lighting, seating, andsound must all be taken into consid-eration.

Props can be eective, but be surethey enhance the environment and/orthe story and that they will not inter-ere with your presentation.

Background music adds a greatdeal, but you should be careul toselect something that will set thetone you wish. Instrumental moviesoundtracks provide some wonder-

ul options. Two o my avorites areThe Forrest Gump Suite and CaspersLullaby rom Casper. Also, be sureyou practice reading the story withthe music so that timing is in sync.Finally, make sure the music doesntoverpower your voice. It is importantthat volume levels be tested beoreyour presentation.

Unless you are reading to a smallaudience, dont bother trying to showthe pictures. It is disruptive to theow o the story and they wont beseen, anyway.

Some sort o small token that corre-sponds to the book is a great way tomake sure your point is remembered.Plan ahead in determining how thesewill be distributed so as not to causea disruption. Be creative. The tokensdont have to be costly or time con-suming but they will be treasured.I still have my jingle bell necklacehanging in my bedroom.

Be sure to decide how you willprocess the story and be prepared orthat. Your comments should be brie

and to the point, but dont overlookany o the lessons to be gleaned romthe story.

I have spent many hours in thechildrens section o bookstores, simplylooking or the next book to add to mycollection. Following is a partial list o

A room flled withnearly 500 adultssat motionless and

completely enthralledby the story o the littleboy who took a magical

train ride that taught

him to always believe.

Childrens books are an outstand-ing resource or teaching or reinorcingvaluable concepts or everyday lie aswell as qualities or eective leadership.

I have ound that whether my audienceis a group o middle school kids or adultcolleagues, I am always able to grab andhold their attention rom the frst page tothe last.

For me, the power o childrensliterature became evident while attend-ing a conerence in Jacksonville, Florida,in 1992. As the closing activity, a manappeared on stage in a nightgown andcap, carrying a teddy bear, and pro-ceeded to sit down in a rocking chair. Thehouse lights were dimmed, and a single

spotlight shone on the man as he pickedup a book rom the small table sittingbeside him. Instrumental music beganplaying sotly in the background, andhe read the title, The Polar Express. Forthe next 10 minutes or so, a room flledwith nearly 500 adults sat motionless andcompletely enthralled by the story o thelittle boy who took a magical train ridethat taught him to always believe. Whenthe story concluded, each o us receiveda small silver jingle bell tied on a pieceo yarn as the man reminded all o usthat we are the lucky ones who can still

hear the bell ringing that we haventstopped believing. I went to a bookstorethe very next day and purchased my owncopy oThe Polar Express, and thus beganmy collection o childrens literature,which now includes over 100 books.

Making the Most o the Moment

From my experience that night inJacksonville, I learned that with the neces-sary preparation, the simple act o readinga childrens book can make a signif-cant impact. Here are some suggestions

that will help you make the most o themoment.

Be comortable and confdent withyour reading o the book. Dontassume that, since its a childrensbook, there will not be challengingwords. This can especially be true omany Dr. Seuss books. Read through



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those I have successully incorporatedinto my workshops and seminars.

There is an old adage that states,Theres no need to reinvent thewheel. These books have alreadybeen written and are just waiting to beused. They oer a un, creative, and

widely appealing method to help youmake a point. They may have been origi-nally written or children, but they containlessons and concepts we can (and shouldpractice throughout our lives.

Happy reading!

Title Author Theme

Big Sneeze, The RuthBrown SmallActions,BigEects

Charlie the Caterpillar DomDeLuise Friendship

Crayon Box That Talked, The ShaneDeRol Acceptance,Tolerance

Eagles Gift, The RaeMartin Joy,Appreciation,Family,Community

Giraffes Cant Dance GilesAndrede Dreams,Inspiration,Sel-Esteem

Giving Tree, The ShelSilverstein Giving,Generosity

God Bless the Gargoyles DavPilskey Acceptance,Tolerance,Security

Guess How Much I Love You SamMcBratney UnconditionalLove,SecurityHow Leo Learned to Be King MarcusPfster Leadership

I Knew You Could CraigDorman Achievement,Recognition,Inspiration

I Love You the Purplest BarbaraM.Joosse UnconditionalLove,Sel-Esteem,Individuality

Kissing Hand, The AudreyPenn Love,Security

Lauras Star KlausBaumgart Friendship,Giving,Sharing

Love You Forever RobertMunsch UnconditionalLove

No Matter What DebiGliori UnconditionalLove

Oh, the Places Youll Go Dr.Seuss Achievement,Recognition,Inspiration

Polar Express, The ChrisVanAllsburg Faith,Belie,Dreams

Prayer for the Twenty-First Century JohnMarsden Hope,Faith

Rainbow Fish to the Rescue MarcusPfster Acceptance,Tolerance,Friendship

Rainbow Fish, The MarcusPfster Friendship,Giving,Sharing

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble WilliamSteig BeYoursel

Velveteen Rabbit, The MichaelHague UnconditionalLove

What Newt Could Do for Turtle JonathanLondon Friendship,Sel-Esteem

Why Christmas Trees Arent Perfect

RichardH.

Schneider Friendship,Giving,Sharing

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge MemFox Memories,Friendship

Yay, You! Moving Out, Moving Up, Moving On SandraBoynton Achievement,Recognition,Inspiration

Yertle the Turtle Dr.Seuss Leadership



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Women Expand Their ManagerialRole in the Farm BusinessBy Julia Nolan Woodru, Extension Educator, Agriculture & Natural Resources andCommunity Development, Ohio State University Extension, Ashland County

o women who are part o a manage-ment team. More women have assumedthis position or a variety o reasons. Forexample, some women has taken respon-sibility through inheritance, either romparents or a spouse, more young girlsare encouraged to consider arming as acareer, and others have chosen arming asa second career ater retirement. Womenare more oten primary operators osmaller arms that are ruit and vegetableor livestock-based operations.

As a result o an increase in thenumber o women in arm managerialroles and other agricultural proessions, aneed has been recognized throughout the

United States to provide more agriculturalprogramming geared toward women. Thatneed has been answered by several statesthrough women in agriculture organiza-tions, conerences, and/or web sites thatcontain a wealth o inormation.

Annies Project

Programming has been developedto not only target womens educationalneeds related to their roles within thearm business, but to also create a net-work o support or women involved in

the world o agriculture. Annies Projectis a program that has achieved this mis-sion quite well over the past ew years. Itbegan in Illinois and spread throughoutthe Midwest reaching over 2,000 womenin nine states since 2003. Ohio and Okla-homa were added to the list during thewinter o 2007.

Annies Project was held in Wood andDelaware counties this past winter. Theclasses were flled to capacity with 47women completing the course. Everyonewho completed the class had positivecomments to share on their fnal evalu-

ation. One participant rom DelawareCounty commented, This class hasopened my eyes to a new side o arm-ing and encouraged me to take a biggerrole in our operation. Another Delawareparticipant continued, This class willenable me to help the arm be more pro-itable now that I understand how to take

The 2002 Censuso Agriculture ound

the number o emaleoperators in Ohio had

increased by almost 30percent rom 1997

to 2002.

The apron-clad arm wie o ourgrandmothers era is a woman o the past.Farm womens major responsibilities areno longer cooking or the men, caring orthe household and children, and runningerrands. Although these are still importantresponsibilities that many arm womeninclude on their to do list, their rolein the operation o the amily arm hasgreatly expanded over the years.

Many women ulfll the role o armaccountant, commodity marketer, andhuman resource manager. Women alsoadd manual labor tasks, such as eedinglivestock, caring or young stock, andmilking cows to their list o arm activi-

ties. Machinery operation is also ound onmany o their lists as well. Women otenenter these roles with no ormal train-ing and in some cases no previous armexperience.

O-arm employment has beenincreasingly important to the bottom lineo many arm households. According toa survey o 1,209 Illinois arm amiliesenrolled in the Illinois Farm Business FarmManagement Association, amily livingexpenses averaged $52,743 in 2005. Overhal o the amily living expenses are con-tributed by o-arm employment. In manycases, it is the arm wie who works awayrom the arm. Thus, she plays a muchdierent role in support o the amily armas compared to the past. Her o-armemployment not only adds a signifcantcontribution to the amilys income, butoten provides health insurance coverageor the amily. Both are vital aspects tomany amily arm businesses.

Women as Primary FarmOperators

Another trend that has been identifed

is the growing number o women whoare the primary operators o the arm.The 2002 Census o Agriculture ound thenumber o emale operators in Ohio hadincreased by almost 30 percent rom 1997to 2002. The increase o women in mana-gerial roles is actually higher, because thecensus numbers dont include the number



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care o the paperwork. A Wood Countyparticipant said, I believe these classesmade us realize the importance o takingcare o insurance, liability and working onmarketing besides just concentrating onplanting and harvesting.

Women play an important role in theamily arm business and Annies Project

will help them improve their managementand communication skills. Specifc topicsinclude the ollowing: fnancial recordkeeping, understanding basic fnan-cial statements, fnancial managementtools, goal setting and mission statementwriting, commodity marketing basics,crop insurance, amily communication,retirement planning, and learning aboutindividual personality types and charac-teristics through the Real Colors program.The class also provides the opportunityor women to network with other women

in similar situations and to learn rom oneanother.

The class meets one evening a weekor six consecutive weeks, and will takeplace in six Ohio counties in the wintero 2008. The Ohio Annies Project is aresult o unding by a North Central RiskManagement Education Center grant. The

host counties or 2008 include: Ashland,Ashtabula, Auglaize, Defance, Erie, andWood.

The registration ee is $60 and classspace is limited. For registration inorma-tion, contact the host county or projectcoordinators: Doris Herringshaw (OSUExtension Educator, Wood County) at419-354-9050 and Julia Woodru (OSUExtension Educator, Ashland County) at419-281-8242.



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Leading with Character:Stories of Valor and Virtue andthe Principles They Teachby John Sosik

Reviewed by Debbie Blanton, Penn State University

Charismatic leadershipincludingthe power to exert strong inuence onothershas been studied extensively,but a Penn State Great Valley researchersays there has been little attention paidto authentic leadership, particularly thesubstance o leadership, including values,virtues, and character strengths, that are atthe core o truly great authentic leaders.

When developing a course or themaster o leadership development pro-gram at Penn State Great Valley graduateschool, I ound that the media tended

to ocus a great deal on charisma, but Icould not fnd much on the virtues andcharacter strengths as applied to authen-tic leaders, said John J. Sosik, proessoro management and organization, andauthor o a new book, Leading with Char-acter: Stories o Valor and Virtue and thePrinciples They Teach.

Right now, with all the attention paidto Enron and other phoniness in business,people need to know what the authenticleader stands or in terms o his or hervirtues and character. When what you say

is what you do and youre true to yoursel,then you are an authentic leader.

Personifcation o Character

Sosik took a novel approach toillustrate 23 principles o leading withcharacter strengths and virtues, usingwell-known individuals who personiyeach. Some are obviousthe courage oMartin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, thehumanity o Princess Diana, the patienceand commitment o Nelson Mandela.Others are subtle and not the expectedleadership typesTVs Andy Grifth,poet Maya Angelou, and NFL star-turned-Army-recruit Pat Tillman. Through theselatter examples, Sosik made people real-ize that good leaders do not have to besaints, and they do not have to be peopleelected to high ofce.

What makes the book particularlyinteresting is the varied lineup o people

Sosik, J. J. (2006). Leading withcharacter: Stories o valor andvirtue and the principles theyteach. Charleston, NC: Inor-mation Age Publishing.

eaturedrom spiritual leaders MotherTeresa and Pope John Paul II to musiciansBrian Wilson and Johnny Cash to highlysuccessul business people Herb Kelleher,Anita Roddick, and Warren Buet, tochildrens television legend Mr. Rogers.The book includes more than two dozenprofles o leaders o character.

Mr. Rogers is not your typical char-ismatic leader, but he tried to take everychild and make them eel special, build-ing the sel-esteem that is critical or childdevelopment and also critical or business

leaders in empowering their associates,said Sosik. Brian Wilson proved thateven when youre at the height o yourcreative success, you must innovate. Hiscritically acclaimed album with the BeachBoys, Pet Sounds, was very innovative,and it raised the bar or the Beatles,who went on to do the classic SergeantPeppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. Thesame is true with companies like GeneralElectric, which has always been highlyinnovative.

Charisma and Authenticity

While charismatic leadership, or theability to crat and deliver a message orvision to inspire ollowers, is incrediblypowerul in spurring ollowers to helpulfll organizational objectives, authenticleaders who provide an accurate pictureo who they are and what they standor and who lead by example are ableto elicit great loyalty among those whoshare similar values. Those who are ableto combine the best o charisma andauthenticity can become transormationalleaders o the highest order and carry

their organizations and ollowers to thegreatest heights.

Joe Namath is a fne example osomeone who led with absolute convic-tion and authenticity, said Sosik. Whenhe came to the Jets there was some racialunrest in society and on the team, but



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he made it clear in no uncertain termsthat the team needed to be united i theteam was to be successul. Namath knewwhat he stood or and also knew what hewould not stand or. Super Bowl III wasthe result o his authentic transorma-tional leadership and the way he inspired

his teammates to work together or acommon purpose.

Contact: Debbie Blanton, [email protected]

Printed with permission o John Sosik,http://www.personal.psu.edu/jjs20

When what you say iswhat you do and

youre true to yoursel,then you are anauthentic leader.



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Organizational Culture andLeadership, 3rd ed.

Edgar H. Schein, 00, San Francisco:Jossey-Bass

Schein updates his inuential under-standing o culturewhat it is, how it iscreated, how it evolves, and how it canbe changed. Oers new inormation onthe topic o occupational cultures, and

demonstrates the crucial role leaders playin successully applying the principles oculture to achieve organizational goals.Also tackles the complex question o howan existing culture can be changed.

Value Leadership: The 7 Princi-ples that Drive Corporate Valuein Any Economy

Peter S. Cohan, 003, San Francisco:Jossey-Bass

With consumers and investors losingconfdence in corporate America, execu-

tives are under heightened pressure toperorm. As the risk o ailure grows evergreater, executives scramble or solidprinciples to help them prosper. I youare an executive, you want to know howto create higher levels o value or youremployees, customers, and communi-ties. You want to power your organiza-tion to superior proftability in bad timesand good. These principles are: valuinghuman relationships, ostering teamwork,experimenting rugally, ulflling yourcommitments, fghting complacency, win-ning through multiple means, and giving

to your community.

7 e-learning Activities: MakingOnline Learning Interactive

Ryan Watkins, 00, San Francisco:Peier

Provides e-learning activities that canbe used to increase interactivity, engagelearners, accomplish learning objectives,develop online relationships, promoteactive learning, and create learning com-munities.


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12 traits of great leaders

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