People Competency 27:
Leadership - Coaching Project Teams for Optimal Results
Leaders redirect life's emotional energies, for themselves and for others, stage revolutions and make other leaders. They coach and teach persistently; they are able to organize their ideas and thoughts into teachable points. Their values, such as honesty, integrity, and the sanctity of an agreement, are clearly expressed via their own behavior. Leaders walk the walk; they don't just talk the talk.
There is a world of difference between a manager and a leader. A leader has a vision that he or she can communicate to the team and can, in turn, feel assured that the team subscribes to it, believes in it, and is willing to work for it. A vision is a long-term strategic goal, which can be reached by a series of shorter-term tactical activities. A true leader is able to chart the map used by the team to navigate from "here" to the vision and can keep the team on the road with the rewards of tactical milestones. Some say the answer to "How do you recognize a leader?" is "Look around to see if he or she has followers". Having followers needs relationships, which are built on trust.
Leadership will be discussed in the following sections;
"Reporting and Communicating"
"Software Quality Assurance"
"Software Configuration Management"
"Legal Issues in Software"