What makes a leader? #leadershipchat

Last night, I participated in my first leadership chat, thanks to Steve Woodruff @connectionagent. Last week, he announced his newest project with @LisaPetrilli – Tuesday night tweeting with the stars, under the #leadershipchat hashtag. According to Steve, the point was: “So YOU get to be the stars as we all chat together about Leadership topics each week. While these one-hour Twitter chats will be free-flowing, there will also be thought-provoking themes, which we’ll introduce on our blogs beforehand each week”.

And this weeks topic was Leadership and Power based on Jeffery Pfeffer’s interview about his latest book, “Power: Why Some People Have It and Others Don’t”. First Lisa and Steve shared their thoughts about the article and Power on their own blogs…Lisa believed that it can depend on which lens you view power through, and Steve’s video says it all…Then tonight, the flood gates opened and worlds collided – #leadership chat was amazing. Thoughts and ideas were flying way to fast to keep up with everything, but there was definitely a lot of agreeing and disagreeing.

Some of the best of the best tweets (in no particular order):
bettinadeperez: Effective leaders have innate stamina & focus, that allows them to persevere thru obstacles that exhaust & defeat others

@Starbucker: And, above all else, you have to love to lead, consider it an honor to do so, and have a passion to serve

@lizstrauss: Great leaders are always learning from the people they serve.

BrandRanter: @TomMoradpour AGREE: To be successful you have to know your “magic power”… That thing you are better at than anyone else

thekrg: Leaders set people up for success and then leave them alone while they reach that goal. No micromanaging.

@DaveMurr: Something I heard today: All leaders know how to win, but they can only be great if they have experienced great failures

swoodruff: @LisaPetrilli I agree that power is achieved to some extent via networking. I do question the “manipulation” aspect (me, me)

@CarlSorvino: You may perceive yourself as a leader but if no one else does, then you’re not,.. It’s about contribution.

MackCollier: @kirstenwright @jonathansaar So what about empowering those below to come up to your level? Being teacher even? Merit?

SeeboldMarCom: @swoodrufff leadership without hierarchy demands practicing what you preach and becoming/remaining the leader by example

What I saw as the overall theme is that leadership and power must be earned – and not so easily given based on the perceived value of a persons rank. My biggest belief is that your reputation should be earned, and leading has to be proven through how you handle trials and failures. We all believe that for a leader to really be a leader, they must be fair, just and deliver something that is worthy of following. Power does not a leader make, but most top leaders do have a lot of power.

If you have a solid hour (or can browse quickly, as there is over 40 pages of them) I suggest checking out more of the #leadershipchat tweets.

What do you think about leadership & power?

Related posts:

1. How can a leader fail?
2. What makes writing so important?
3. What makes words so important?