10 Ds of Leadership + 20 Characteristics & 5 Practices

'Management is doing things right; 

leadership is doing the right things.'

(Drucker, 2003)

The Ten Ds of Leadership

Dictator or Diva

Both are controllers, as Western (2012) would describe. They use social and economic status to wield power. They employ any form or stratification from military rank to the class and caste system to exert social control. They use their authority from their positions in society. They use the carrot or the stick as appropriate.  They can be autocratic or coercive. Call it charisma or charm, they use their wiles to get what they want, even if it means brow beating or blackmailing. They use fear to control and control to create fear. They are the people who tell others what to do in a task orientated way providing appropriate reward in transactional terms. .

Doctor or Do-gooder

These leaders are from a therapeutic perspective (Western, 2012). They don't have to wear white coats to want to provide remedies and fix things. They want everything and everyone to be better. Holt (1976) advocated 'helping people do things better' instead of education in its traditional state. These leaders want people to be happy because happy people are productive people. They believe in coaching not coercion, compulsion or conformity.

Diplomat or Director

These leaders believe in social and shared responsibility, in connectedness and sign posting between organisations and in building relationships. They negotiate and delegate easily and have wide networks and teams they can call upon in the community. These leaders use democratic decision making strategies and promote voluntary participation. These are transformational leaders who believe in the power of communication, conversation (Friere, 1995) and process over product (Smith, 1982).

Developer or Dreamer

These leaders are creative and imaginative and innovators. If there isn't a solution to a problem they will invent one. Or they will think outside the box or see an inside the box aspect so obvious no one has recognised before. They will give Ted Talks and spark ideas. They will motivate and inspire.They are more inclined to work from a humanist point of view with an ever 'changing though learning' perspective which promotes emergence and organic ways of working. They are transformational and  culture changers and are people who don't mind making mistakes or taking risks because they learn so much from them.

Deity or Devil

These leaders can come from a Messiah discourse in a quasi-religious sense (Western, 2012). They are also the Good Cop/Bad Cop wanting the same outcome and finding different means to achieve it. They can be philanthropists, religious leaders, charity leaders offering psychological salvation or damnation.  People will do what they say to save themselves, avoid moral judgement or out of guilt. Again fear is used to control. The difference this time being the rewards and punishments are physchological and emotional rather than economical or physical.

How are do these leadership styles come about. Are they born or bred? Nature or Nurture?

There will be those who say leaders are born with the inherent traits of leadership, others who see leadership from a behaviourist perspective, learning leadership skills in functional terms, learning then leading (Adair, 1973) and others learning and adapting their leadership style to the situation (Hershey and Blanchard, 1977) or 'blending' styles as appropriate (Collinson and Collinsorn, 2012).
 
Spencer (1896) tells us, 'you must admit that the genesis of a great man depends on the long series of complex influences which has produced the race in which he appears, and the social state into which that race has slowly grown....Before he can remake his society, his society must make him.'

Twenty Ideal Characteristics of Leaders in Order of Priority (Kouzes and Posner Survey, 2007)

1. honest
2. forward looking
3. competent
4. inspiring
5. intelligent
6. fair minded
7. broadminded
8. supportive
9. straight forward
10. dependable
11. co-operative
12. determined
13. imaginative 
14. ambitious
15. courageous
16. caring
17. mature
18. loyal
19. self controlled
20. independent

 The Five Practises of Exemplary Leaders (Kouzes and Posner, 2012)

1. Model the way
2. Inspire a shared vision
3. Challenge the process
4. Enable others to act
5. Encourage the heart

Kouzes and Posner Leadership Challenge Website

Whatever the theories and models people will find their own path to lead the way. As Strode (1903) wrote: 

'I will not follow where the path may lead, but I will go 

where there is no path, and I will leave a trail.'

References:

Adair, J.E. (1973), Action-Centred Leadership. McGraw-Hill, London. 
Collinson, D. and Collinson, M., (2012) 'Blended Leadership':employee perspectives on effective leadership in the UK Further Education sector in Preedy, M., Bennett, N., and Wise, C.(eds). Educational Leadership: Context, Strategy and Collaboration Milton Keynes, Sage/ OU 
Drucker, P.F. (2003) Essential Drucker: Management, the Individual and Society 
Freire, P. (1995) Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Harmondsworth, Penguin 
Hersey, P. and Blanchard, K. H. (1977) The Management of Organizational Behaviour 3e, Upper Saddle River N. J.: Prentice Hall. 
Holt, J. (1976) Instead of Education, Ways to help people do things better. Penguin Books Ltd, Middlesex 
Kouzes, J. M. and Posner, B. Z. (2012) The Leadership Challenge: How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations, 5th Edition, Jossey-Bass 
Smith, M. (1980, 1982) Creators not Consumers, NAYC Publications /Youth Clubs UK, Second Edition 
Spencer, H. (1896). The Study of Sociology, Appleton, New York.
Strode, S. (190) Wind-Wafted Wild Flowers in The Open Court: Devoted to the Science of Religion, the Religion of Science, and the Extension of the Religious Parliament Idea, Volume 17, Number 8, Section: Miscellaneous, The Open Court Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois.