As we approach Election Day, it is important to evaluate each candidate and make your own decision as to who will be an effective leader while representing the wants and needs of local constituents. At the same time, just because you may not be running for a political office, doesnt mean that your personal leadership skills could not be valuable to local organizations or service groups, and maybe this time of year sparks an interest is serving in your community.
The goal of the effective leader is to have leadership flexibility and a good leader knows how to involve people by structuring their ideas toward task accomplishment. An effective leader must also be adept at assessing the situation and choosing the most appropriate leadership role.
A leader who learns how to involve other people, listens to their ideas, and learns how structuring ideas will lead to a common goal has learned the advantages and the skills of being a flexible activator. Rigid, passive, or unstructured leadership results in organiza-tional problems. The leader who knows when to involve, when to abdicate, and when to control is able to read a leadership situation and is able to meet its particular needs. These are skills that so many of our elected officials often overlook as they are going through the campaign season.
