Today's business literature is replete accident at work compensation claim models of leadership and an entire industry has grown up around coaching leaders. Leadership is arguably one of the most valuable of human activities, however despite the vast literature on the topic, many persons remain unable commercial van insurance identify the basic building blocks that define what leadership is. Intuitively we know that leaders possess the talent to bring persons together; to get them to work together effectively; to align them around a common purpose, goals, and objectives; to get them to co-operate and rely on every other; and to trust every other. We also know from the experience of observing leaders in action that the generic attributes of leadership described in the literature, and the actual role that a leader plays do not occur in a vacuum, but are embedded within specific historical contexts, business situations, and the organizational structures, systems, and culture within which persons lead (Elliot Jaques, and Stephen Clement, Executive Leadership, (Arlington, VA: Cason Hall, 1994, p. xiv ff. and 6 ff.).

Research and field analysis compiled by the Breckenridge Institute have shown that leadership has four interdependent dimensions.

• Expertise, Experience, and Wisdom
• Problem Solving Ability
• Personality, Core Beliefs and Values
• Awareness of Self and Others

The first dimension of leadership (Expertise, Experience, and Wisdom) includes education, expertise, experience in specific industries and markets, and a track record of effectively leading organizations with various numbers of employees and managerial levels (Elliot Jaques, Requisite Organization, Baltimore, MD: 2006). Over time, managerial wisdom emerges as seasoned and sound judgment about insurance quotes online organizations and industries work, what motivates persons, what clients and suppliers truly need and desire, and how to work effectively at higher-levels of management.

The second dimension of leadership (Problem Solving Ability) is about having the appropriate level of "intellectual horsepower" to effectively perform the level of work and task complexity to which a person is assigned. Work and task complexity is defined as: a) the number of variables operating in a situation, b) the ambiguity of these variables, c) their rate of change over time, d) the extent to which they are interwoven so that they must be unraveled in order to be seen, e) the person's ability to identify and control the salient variables once known, and f) the time horizon of the work in terms of days, months, and years (Jaques, Requisite Organization, pp. 24 ff. and Jaques and Clement, Executive Leadership, p. xiv ff.).

The third dimension of leadership (Personality, Core Beliefs and Values) manifests itself as patterns of behavior and interaction, tacit assumptions, intrinsic motivators, and underlying patterns of how leaders see themselves, other persons, and the world around them (see Mark Bodnarczuk, Breckenridge Type Indicator).There is no one "right" personality or set of core beliefs and values for a given leadership position, but instead the question is: a) to what extent do they assist a person work effectively, or b) reveal decision-making biases, predictable errors in judgment, or patterns of inappropriate behaviors? A key indicator that a person possesses a mature grasp on that dimension of leadership is the degree to which they: a) avoid using what Collins calls either-or-thinking, and b) instead practice both-and-thinking (Jim Collins, Built to Last, New York: Harper Business, 1994, p. 43 ff.).

The fourth dimension of leadership (Awareness of Self and Others) is based on the timeless principles found in Jim Collins best-selling book, Good to Great (Jim Collins, Good to Great, New York: Harper Business, 2001). Collins began his car insurance qoutes on Good to Great with a bias against leadership. He told his research team that the fact that "great companies had great leaders" went without saying and was an uninteresting finding. But his research showed that truly great companies had a fundamentally different kind of leader (what he called a Level-5 Leader) and these persons were characterized by professional will and fierce resolve combined with personal humility. Level-5 Leaders put self-interest aside and instead focus on building a sustainable organization and setting others up to succeed, not fail. Level-5 Leaders know how to introspectively look into the mirror of personal responsibility when things go wrong, and they know how to ascribe credit to others when things go right (Collins, Good to Great, p. 33 ff.). The key question is, "How does one become the kind of leader that Collins refinance mortgage refinance in Good to Great?" Collins argues that Level-5 Leaders exhibit a pattern of personal development in which the ego-centered drive required to reach the top of corporate America is transformed into the paradoxical combination of professional will, fierce resolve, and humility, but he offers no systematic approach to becoming a Level-5 leader - it's beyond the scope of his study. Our life insurance settlements is that the fourth dimension of leadership (Awareness of Self and Others) is the key to becoming a Level-5 Leader.

The four dimensions of leadership are an interdependent set of competencies, skills, and characteristics that enable leaders to bring persons together; to get them to work together effectively; to align them around a common purpose, goals, and objectives; to get them to co-operate and rely on every other; and to trust every other. As mentioned previously, the generic attributes of leadership described in the literature, and the actual role that a leader plays day-to-day do not occur in a vacuum, but are embedded within specific historical contexts, business situations, and the organizational structures, systems, and culture within which persons lead. Consequently, the four dimensions of leadership must always be contextualized and applied to the real life situations and challenges that leaders face.

Mark Bodnarczuk is the Executive Director of the Breckenridge Institute, a research center for the study of organizational culture based in Boulder, Colorado. He is an author, researcher, consultant, teacher, and facilitator with more than twenty years of experience working with companies in the area of high-tech, basic and applied research, pharmaceuticals, health care, retail as well as government and non-profit organizations. Mark has published widely in the areas of corporate culture and leadership development and is the author of two books, Diving In: Discovering Who You Are In the Second Half of Life and Island of Excellence: 3 Powerful Strategies for Building Creative Organizations. He has a BA from Mid-America University, an MA from Wheaton College, and an MA from the University of Chicago.

Mark can be contacted at:

Breckenridge Institute
PO Box 7950
Boulder, Colorado 80306-7950
www.breckenridgeinstitute.com/www.breckenridgeinstitute.com/