“Collaborative Leadership: How Citizens and Civic Leaders Can Make a Difference”, Reaction Paper Example

Leadership is more than just a process; it is a way of life. This is how Chrislip and Larson defined leadership through their authored reading entitled “Collaborative Leadership: How Citizens and Civic Leaders Can Make a Difference”. From this reading, the authors pointed out that good leaders are mostly the individuals who know how to put the right people to address specific rightful situations that they are able to face. Focusing on public officials, these authors presented how the leaders who represent the community could actually turnaround situations and make a great impact on how to change the attitude of the public towards a particular chaotic situation. Imposing on how public leaders should consider the worth of social movement as an effective solution to community-wide problems, this book is considered as a useful tool that could better the quality of leaders as they face the most pressing situations related to their responsibilities.

Based on the situational approach in leadership, this book provides a clear definition on why good leadership actually falls on the basis of results. The need to analyze the situation and find the right people to respond to the problem altogether is a firm force that makes practical leadership a course of living rather than a role that one plays in the community. This is especially true when the people involved are public servants. It should be analyzed that people taking the position of public servants should know how to work around situations. It is only through applying such skill that a leader becomes a valuable member of the administrative board.

In pointing out the possible failures of public leadership in addressing public issues, the authors of this book specifically noted that some public officials seem to forget that proper direction of situations towards the proper solutions come from respective analysis that one makes regarding the matter in concern. The aspect of seeing how the focus of the leaders tend to be political rather than social even makes their leadership contradictory towards their sworn responsibilities. It is then imposed by the authors that good leadership could only be gained from one’s personal understanding of what really is their leadership about and how it is supposed to affect the people they are leading.

Personally, I can see that this authored reading mirrors the practical and correct process of applying the principles of leadership especially in considering community issues. Noting how to motivate others, the authors were able to make a definite impact on how public officials could create a remarkable change in the community through the recognition of proper focus in to the matter. Problem solving is a common matter when it comes to defining leadership issues. In line with such matter, a leader ought to know how to place himself or herself as the guide towards the society and not as the leader who commands. The proper conditioning of the society is what good leadership should be based into. Getting the attention of the society and motivating them to work towards the most comprehensive issues concerning their community and solve the matters accordingly should be the primary aim of every public leader. Notably, with the course of refining proper leadership into becoming more social-centred rather than politically directed, the authors of this book were able to create a clear picture that makes it easier for public leaders to redefine their paths of guiding the society towards the solutions needed to be applied in the community today.

Reference:

Chrislip, D. And Larson, C. (1994). Collaborative Leadership: How Citizens and Civic Leaders Can Make a Difference (J-B US non-Franchise Leadership). Jossey-Bass; 1st edition.