Leadership for Intelligence Professionals   

Summary of the Cyclical Nature of Leadership

(Added Mar. 2006)

When a Leader takes over an organization, it can usually be assumed, at least initially, as being in one of three general states or conditions. It may:

-face a real or perceived threat to its existence or well-being or to the existence or well-being of the larger entity that it supports, or

-have recently met and survived that threat but is exhausted, dispirited or in bureaucratic turmoil, or

-have eventually been restored to normal, but then has stagnated and is not performing as well as it should.

And, logically, most organizations would go through these three states in a cyclical fashion.

Each of those states brings with it a major task to be accomplished by the Leader. That major task may be Leading the people of the organization to:

-rapidly respond to the threat and perform at an extraordinarily high level and/or for an extended period, or

-overcome their exhaustion, low spirits and bureaucratic confusion and restore their own morale and the stability of the organization, or

-shake off the stagnation and accept the changes needed to improve their performance and that of the organization.

Each of these major tasks requires that, ideally, the Leader be one of the three types.

-To successfully Lead people to rapidly respond to a threat requires a Charismatic Leader.

--Charismatic Leaders emphasize the Inspiring qualities of their personality and personal reputation and cultivate an  image and behaviors to create a distinctive persona to which the people of the organization will relate on a personal level. But, Charismatic Leaders sometimes push the boundaries of common sense, regulations or laws with an attitude of  "Lets just do it and worry about the niceties later."

-To successfully Lead people to restore their own morale and the stability of the organization requires a Transactional Leader.

--These Leaders seek out, listen to and understand the personal desires and professional needs of the people of the organization and offer and work to meet them while continuing to guide the people carry on with the work of the organization.

-To successfully Lead people to accept change and improve their performance and organizational performance requires a Transformational Leader.

--Transformational Leaders emphasize a realistic Vision and use their Inspiring Communication qualities to get people to share that Vision.

 while also demonstrating their Integrity by continued commitment to the Vision and Caring for the people of the organization.