Finding My Voice

Kouzes and Posner in The Leadership Challenge cite "finding your voice" (Kouzes & Posner, 2002, p. 44) as essential to being congruent and credible in leadership. This is necessary to "model the way,"(Kouzes & Posner, p. 13) one of the "Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership"(Kouzes & Posner, p. 13). They write, "There's the message we want to deliver, and then there's the expression of that message. It's about having a voice and about giving voice" (Kouzes & Posner, p. 44). To find our voices, we must clarify our values and express ourselves. Without fully comprehending "the values, beliefs, and assumptions that drive [us]" (Kouzes & Posner, p. 44), we cannot be credible leaders.

These are concepts we have thought about and discussed a lot in the classes Creating Shared Vision and Personal Leadership for Change. So, when I saw the post Finding Your Voice on Gifted for Leadership, my curiosity was piqued. It is a short, worthwhile post on the matter. The great thing about their blog is it specifically addresses some of the issues women in leadership positions face. Enjoy.


Picture from fotosearch.

Reference

Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2002). The Leadership Challenge (3rd ed.). San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.