Leadership Lessons- Part VIII: Interdependence

(Originally Posted: 29 July, 2009) Welcome to Part VIII of the series on leadership. To date, I have covered Focus, Urgency, Initiative, Competence, Communication, Politics, and Intellectual Honesty. Each of these can be found in their own discussion earlier in this blog. Today's topic is Interdependence, or the quality of being mutually dependent on each other. Interdependence can be either a great strength or a fatal weakness. If this is to be a strengthening quality of one's leadership, one must always permit the individual to strive within an environment of mutual dependence. Otherwise, the loss of the individual will more often than not become a fatal weakness- an Achilles' heel. In order to employ interdependence as a strengthening quality of leadership, the following guidelines are important:

• Whenever a distinguished leader suddenly begins to behave erratically, in a way contrary to both his past record and to the well-being of the group, there is usually a misguided rationalization for it. However, as he has served honorably in the past, it is noble to help him work through his personal crisis.


• Knowledge is power, but withholding information from those who should rightfully posess it is a personal weakness, one that others often pay a heavy price for as a result.


• It is every leader's duty to freely exchange his knowledge, not through intellectual superiority, but as a means by which one helps to resolve problems and make better decisions.


• On becoming a leader,one does not gain the authority to act independently of established rules or regulations. However, leaders should be duty-bound to abide by and uphold the policies and orders of higher command as they set the examples that others imitate.


• Every member of a group has the right and duty to make meaningful contributions to the group as a whole. However, no one has the right to use the group's resources as a means of pursuing a personal agenda.


• Extrme care should be taken to preserve the "individual" that exists in all who serve under one's leadership. Simply put, one's individualism- found in specialized abilities and knoweldge- is a key asset that contributes toward the achievement of common goals.


• A leader who asks for the assistance of others, in order to accomplish a task or to succeed in achieving his goal, is not weak, but wise. A leader who provides assistance to another is not an intruder, but a friend.


• There are times when virtually everyone will become sceptical of those in positions of higher authority. However, this scepticism neither justifies withholding information, nor does it condone taking independent action.


• Sometimes the behavior of great officers crosses over the line of propriety, and must be reigned in by a more steadfast leader.


• Everyone has the right to expect that all leaders will make good on their oath of office. In otherwords, a leader should be reliable, dependable, trustworthy, and mutually supportive of those that serve under him. The moment that a leader goes against his oath of office he loses his value to the group.

in conclusion,

• One good leader sometimes makes the difference in whether the group succeeds or fails. However, it is the cooperative, collaborative, and corroborative effort of the entire group that will be more likely to lead to success.

As an effective leader, one will never have a more satisfying assignment than when serving among others with whom there is a shared mutual dependence-or even a symbiotic relationship.

(Next: Lesson IX- Resilience)