Leading Starts in the Mind (El-Meligi, 2005)

Leading Starts in the Mind (El-Meligi, 2005)

A. Moneim El-Meligi
This book offers a refreshing view of leadership as a psycho-social phenomenon. Attention is drawn to the conceptual muddle which underlies much of managerial practices, particularly in the selection and development of future leaders. Also demonstrated is the conceptual muddle through semantic analysis of the vocabulary used in defining leadership in different languages. The concept of leadership from four different perspectives is examined in detail: leadership as a universal and natural phenomenon; membership and social roles; leadership as a collective process; and conceptual models. In addition to the theoretical models, the author discusses patterns of influence and use and abuse of power. Consistent with his emphasis on the reciprocal nature of leadership, he complements his analysis of leading behavior by insightful analysis of the phenomenon of obedience: the psychological and cultural foundations of obedience; patterns of obedience; the collusion of leaders and followers in the abuse of power.

The author's conceptualization of leadership challenges much of our conventional wisdom and traditional notions. He questions, for example, the universality of intelligence, dominance, aggressiveness and extroversion as predictors of leadership potential. Instead of imposing an ideal model of leadership, he lays the philosophical foundations that allow institutions to make their own choice of the model (or models) best suited for their values and unique historical circumstances. As such, the book can best be described as an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural guide for policy makers, particularly those concerned with the selection and training of leaders.

viii For the last twenty years, more than two thousand managers from various institutions in Singapore participated in my seminars.

p.17 I believe that this book will equip readers with the conceptual tools that will enable them to counteract the onslaught of information. It will... reveal the underlying assumptions that drive our decisions, policy making and interactions with other fellow human beings.

p.61 The fact that an organization is called organization does not necessarily mean that it is optimally organized, or that it will always be able to sustain current levels of organization. Forces of growth and decay coexist in any living system. An organized state is nothing other than a state of dynamic equilibrium, a balance between opposing forces of order and disorder.

p.67 The senses receive, register, reach out, inform, thus allowing the organism to thrive as a force capable of orienting itself in the world beyond its skin.

p.70-71 The mission serves as a guide for designing and managing the development effort. It helps to determine the choice of strategic options.

p.71 A mission has to be justified by a set of values that serve as regulator of our activities. But what values? The values that help members of the organization make human sense out of the organization's efforts. Values are set of norms of conduct that guide our exchange processes with clients, the public, or personnel.

p.99 The organization is a complex and evolving system with identifiable structure and dynamic interactive components.

p.148 Delay of action, no matter how brief, allows the person to orient himself prior to action.

p.156 The most effective source of learning in the job of leading is the errors the leader makes. It follows that the fear of making errors inhibits learning and ends by stagnation. Denial of errors is another inhibiting force. But what kinds of errors do a leader learn from? They are not necessarily the big mistakes.

p.171 It is as if each concept has intrinsic magnetic force that pulls out of the mind other concepts. This is what scientists call the "heuristic" value of a theory, namely the power of the theory to raise questions or suggest fresh hypotheses leading to new avenues of inquiry.