Leaders Eat Last (Leadership in Jediism)

JamesSand wrote:

Kit wrote:

JamesSand wrote:
I am good at spreadsheets. My job is spreadsheets. Your job is mopping floors. We have our spots, and we do our duty, but that duty varies.

This is being a manager, not a leader. Managers deal in results, leaders deal in people.

Hence my paragraph that followed

Being a "Leader" doesn't necessarily require "doing the same task as your followers", as put forward by a Dead Guy Quote - I know it sounds romantic, gung-ho, and appeals to an "equality" that some people want in leaders.
I see it as meaning your followers know you contribute to the Team, and are willing to contribute as well.
It's about them wanting to Invest in You because they know, and respect your Investment in Them.

I apologize for just taking that snippet but all of your examples in that post were possibly managerial, more likely co-worker/peer responsibilities.

Contributing to the team effort is peer responsibilities. You're not doing anything more than anyone else is. You're just contributing to the product, and no more.

So I guess this brings the question of definitions.

What the differences and responsibilities of a leader, a manager, and a peer?

Loudzoo wrote: Great videos - thank you for sharing Kit and Cayce

There is much to take on board and I think the parallels between the selflessness of a good leader and the selflessness of the Jedi Way are quite clear. This notion is a current running right through our doctrine - especially the creed:

I shall never seek so much to be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

This could be as much a formula for good leadership, as it is the creed of the Jedi.

I never thought about the creed in that way! I like it!

Kit wrote: What the differences and responsibilities of a leader, a manager, and a peer?

Leadership is a Quality.

Manager and Peer are roles.

I have Managers, Peers, and Pawns (I'm sure there's a better word, but I can't for the life of me remember what the seminar told me to call them) who I consider Leaders.

I have Managers, Peers, and Pawns I consider Deadbeats.

Oftentimes I find leadership in people who "work for me", as a quality of their character, not because of some god-given right, comparison of salary, or level of qualification.

Plenty of people are "The Alpha" in a team, without necessarily being "The Boss/Manager"

(I have a Peer who has this privilege - The Boss will make a Decision, but until the Alpha consents, no one acts on it)

JamesSand wrote:

Kit wrote: What the differences and responsibilities of a leader, a manager, and a peer?

Leadership is a Quality.

Manager and Peer are roles.

I have Managers, Peers, and Pawns (I'm sure there's a better word, but I can't for the life of me remember what the seminar told me to call them) who I consider Leaders.

I have Managers, Peers, and Pawns I consider Deadbeats.

Oftentimes I find leadership in people who "work for me", as a quality of their character, not because of some god-given right, comparison of salary, or level of qualification.

Plenty of people are "The Alpha" in a team, without necessarily being "The Boss/Manager"

(I have a Peer who has this privilege - The Boss will make a Decision, but until the Alpha consents, no one acts on it)

Leadership is a choice, something that can be learned and practiced. It's not a trait that people just are born with. It's a leader's responsibility to care for their people as well as the mission. These kind of people tend to have the heart of "Take care of the people, and they'll take care of the mission". They take a personal interest in their people and their growth. Offering their time and experience to them. And time is key.

Managers are in it for the numbers. Being a good manager is important for a leader to understand, but a manager is simply one who uses people as the means to the results. They don't care how the people feel or if they're growing, only to get the mission done.

Peers are those you work along side, who contribute to the team effort to get the mission done. Peers can be leaders, the "alphas" you mentioned, are leaders amongst their peers.

I finally got to watch this video. Really well done. Thank you Kit for presenting this for us.

"How important is leadership to you in your path as Jedi or Jedi Adjacent? Both to be the good leader for others, and to be a good follower? Do you feel this is an important aspect that should be taught? How does it apply to your life and your path?"

Leadership is vital in my life. I have been in the military for a very long time. I have led, I have followed. Once I was Knighted, I took my lessons learned here, the insight gained here, and put them in action. I used them with my Sailors and Marines. I walked as a Jedi Knight and used the skills I learned here to be the best Leader I could. It had an amazing and wonderfully positive affect on my unit and others who came in contact with my unit.

One of the things talked about in the video was how leadership by email was ineffective. That makes our challenge here very difficult. We are an Internet, email/posting/chat room Temple. The physical interaction of the membership here is almost non existent. it makes the challenge of being a leader in this community that much harder to overcome. I spend on average two to three hours a day here at the Temple reading, monitoring, working on lessons, guiding, learning. Who sees that I do that? Only me. We are not visible to each other. We cannot come and see each other in our Temple like we can in the physical world.

So it makes this a challenge for all of us. We see it in some of the escalating topics and posts on our forums. We do not always feel the bond, the safety while we discuss things that are very sensitive to each other. Our feelings get hurt. We lash out at each other, regardless of our trying not to be emotionally vested in the topic.

Your next question was: "We've seen those good leaders and those bad leaders. You can learn as much from one as from the other. What is it that you look for in a leader? What makes you dedicated to them? What makes a person a bad leader?"

In my time growing and becoming the leader I am today. I chose the traits I liked and discarded the traits i did not like in the leaders I saw. You may be surprised to know that in all my years of military service, I can count on one hand the number of good leaders I met.

To be a good leader, I strove to genuinely care about my people. I knew about them and their lives. I did not sit in an office. I went out to where the people were and talked with them. Worked with them. I ensured to the best of my ability that communication was clear and concise. Answered questions when I was able. Provided direction where needed and provided course correction when needed.

Everything is as real as we make it. No more, no less. Be real. People know when you "fake" it. Be the example. Strive to be better than you were the day before.

People are not going to do things if they do not think you are willing to do them yourself. Lead from the front, not from the back. When the bullets started to fly, I ran towards the danger, not away from it. My people knew that my goal was to ensure that everyone got home.

We are all peers, leaders and followers alike. Peers are the Team. Working together performing different roles to create a positive outcome for the benefit of all.

Thank you Loudzoo for showing us the creed in this light. It truly does help to guide us all towards good strong leadership.

Kit wrote: This excellent video by Simon Sinek was shown to us in my NCO Enhancement Seminar, a week long series of classes I got to attend recently.

It's 45 minutes long but well worth every minute. (The book has so far been excellent too)

This was bloody brilliant! Watched it twice, I did! Thank you!!