Intention

Leadership is about intentions. On Wednesday the 9th, we had our second class. The purpose of that class was to teach us about the importance of leaders and what it takes to be a leader. During that class, a number of people tried and failed to take on the role of leader. They would stand up and try and give us a reason why we should follow them and why they would make a good leader. All of them failed. The next class, Feinberg talked about one reason this occurred: these people could not convince the rest of us why we should follow them. In other words, they could not establish credibility. Having begun the book for the class and after considering the material discussed in class, I have reached the pivotal conclusion that a good leader must have true intentions...This is not really a pivotal conclusion, it is actually a rather obvious one to most people.

When you think about classic examples of leadership, it's simple. Martin Luther King, Jr. wasn't out to make a name for himself, he was working for a cause. Many people who call themselves leaders are in it for self-gratification as opposed to serving others, bringing about change, or solving problems. They want to "make it" and leading is simply a means to an end, a vehicle to move up the food chain. That is not true leadership. One must be able to convince people that they truly believe in a cause and they're not just in it for the glory. The book talks about qualities that people look for in leaders that they would willingly follow. The key word, it says, is "willingly." One of these traits is honesty. Honesty and integrity are at the root of one's intentions. Someone who lacks these traits will almost certainly be lacking of good intentions which means constituents will not trust them enough to follow them.

Page 6 of the book: "They understood that Dick was there because he wanted to be there, not because it was on some career path to a higher position." When you have admirable intentions, people will follow.