The Many Leadership “Hats” of Steve Kerr and their Application In Path-Goal Theory

 

Look – Up in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane – never mind, that’s just Steve Kerr.      

    For those of you who are not followers of the NBA, Steve Kerr is the current coach of the Golden State Warriors.   He has a rather impressive resume with 8 NBA championships (5 as a player, 3 as a head coach) and 27 years’ experience in basketball.

Yet, for all the rings and the years with the NBA, Kerr’s greatest achievement, one that he is recognized for more than any other, is getting the most out of his players.   So, how does he do this?  What leadership traits does he possess that seems to bring out the very best in almost any player that comes to the Golden State Warriors?

I have admired this man for many years, but it has been the last 7 with the Golden State Warriors that have brought to my attention his leadership skills. And with this in mind, I want to look into the leader that is Stephen Douglas Kerr, and assess his skills using the Path-Goal theory, which I believe is highly applicable to this man and his success.

A little background: Kerr was born in Beirut, Lebanon. His father was a faculty member of the American University of Beirut and later became its president.  He grew up in the Middle East and left to attend high school in America.

While attending college at the University of Arizona at the age of 18, his father was assassinated in Lebanon.  His coach, Lute Olsen, immediately took Steve into his home where he lived for many years.

Drafted 50^th in the second round, most teams did not give Kerr a second look.  His smaller size and lack of quickness did not seem like it should work in the NBA.  And yet, not only did he become an NBA player, but he eventually ended up with the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan, where he went on to win 3 championship rings (once putting in the winning shot for the Championship).   Moving on to San Antonio, he earned 2 more titles and then went on to coach the Golden State Warriors winning 3 more rings for a total of 8 Championships.

So, what is it about Steve Kerr that inspires his followers?  It is many things, but let’s keep this in line with the Path-Goal theory as we continue.

“Path-Goal Theory emphasizes the relationship between the leader’s style and the characteristics of the followers and the organizational setting” (Northouse, 2019).  In other words, Path-Goal theory describes how leaders are able to motivate followers to accomplish goals.

Perhaps a better definition is this; “path-goal theory is designed to explain how leaders can help followers along the path to their goals by selecting specific behaviors that are best suited to followers’ needs and to the situation in which followers are working.”  That seems better.

In looking at an NBA team and its players, it would seem simple to define the goal – win a championship.  However, when you break it down, you have 5 players on the floor, substitutes, different skill levels and strengths, different personalities, injuries and more.  How do you bring all of this together, get them all to work as a team (unification), with a single goal or purpose?

In Path-Goal theory, it is the leader that is charged with making all of this happen.  Let’s look at Kerr’s make-up and see if that helps explain the why.  If I was an NBA player, I might look for the following:

Authenticity/Experience.  Kerr has done the job he is asking his team to do.  He knows that to win you need determination, drive and grit (Walker, 2019).  He must also speak openly and candidly – keeping them focused and moving forward.  He specifically spells out what the team must do to achieve their goal.  This is a good example the directive leadership style of Path-Goal theory.

Partnership.  Everyone must be equal; all must contribute and all must have a voice.  (No superstars here) This correlates nicely with the participative leadership style noted in Path-Goal theory.  Possibly the most perfect example would be the time when the team was falling very far behind in a game and Kerr gave the team the leadership role – literally!  He sat down and told the team to direct each other for the remainder of the game.  Players took ownership and became partners in making the team a success.

Learning and Listening.  If you are unable to listen sincerely and care about what followers say, then it will be difficult to develop mutual respect.  Kerr does this exceedingly well and because of this, he has inspired cohesiveness.  Kerr is always leading his team on a path of growth and learning for the team’s sake – the greater good. This is supportive leadership.

Kerr has always been each player’s strongest advocate ((Walker, 2019).  Achievement-oriented leadership is defined as “a leader who challenges followers to perform work at the highest level possible” (Northouse, 2019).  Pushing others to be their best inspires both teamwork and loyalty.   Players take note of this, this personal push to be better, be the best.  This quote by Kerr says it all, “We made no bones about it when we signed him.  It’s a one-year deal.  We’re not going to have the money to sign him next year. He knows that.  So, we’d like him to help us win a championship. And we’d like to help him get a great contract next year, somewhere else.”

Kerr is unwavering in his care and the development of his players.  He wants them to be the best they can be – here on the court or out there in life.  The type of leadership Kerr examples is the kind that sticks with a 19-year-old, multimillionaire, 7-footer for the rest of his life.  But the truth is, it could just as easily apply to any of us – as leaders or followers.  Steve Kerr leads by example and we should take his example to heart.

 

References:

Northouse, Peter G., 2019, Leadership, 8^th Edition, Sage Publications, Inc., 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA, 91320

Walker, Steve, 2019, The Six Components of Steve Kerr’s Style of Management, The Future of Management, https://medium.com/managelabs/the-six-components-of-steve-kerrs-style-of-management-77f02c7dec0d#:~:text=He%20has%20successfully%20done%20the,because%20he%20has%20been%20there.

 

Are You Two Really Brothers?

 

After finishing a reading and review of a study on Style and Situational Behavior Theory, I could not resist doing a compare/contrast of management/leader styles between my brother and me.

I am the CEO of our Commercial Real Estate business here in California and my brother is the CEO of our Land and Consulting service subsidiary.

  (virtually twins…)

 

Let the comparison begin.  First, we will begin with a comparison of Style.  When discussing style, whether it is based on the Ohio State Studies, the Michigan Studies or Blake and Mouton’s Managerial (Leadership) Grid, all seem to base leader behavior on being task or people-oriented (Pennsylvania State University, 2021).

Blake and Mouton’s grid lays out a vertical axis (concern for people) and a horizontal axis (concern for results).  The grid points out 5 different leadership styles.

• Authority-compliance which is stronger on task and job requirements and less people-centric;
• Country Club management which focuses almost entirely on people and little on job requirements or task completion;
• Impoverished management are not true leaders in anything other than title. They are uninvolved and withdrawn;
• Middle-of-the-Road management have some concern for tasks and some concern for people and take the middle ground in nearly every decision.
• Team management which emphasizes both tasks and relationships. They require their employees be involved and committed to their work.

My brother Tony is a Middle-of-the-Road manager, with a heavy bent towards people.  When you look up “people-person” in the dictionary, you will surely see my brother’s picture there.  That is not to say that he doesn’t complete tasks, but he may miss deadlines or forget about something that has to do with task completion.  And yet, he is an amazing manager.  He gets so much out of his people and they truly love him.  He has a relaxed demeanor and people really appreciate that.

Contrast that with my own managerial style, which is fairly Middle-of-the-Road as well, but with a heavy biased task/result orientation.   I am on committees and boards; I have chaired and been the president of several commissions and a hospital all while going to school and running our company.  So, you would have to figure that I must be task focused.  And yes, I can be controlling, demanding and even overpowering in my pursuit of goals or results.

In many ways, I wish I were more people oriented as my brother, but I am happy where I am at and my “style” helps keep our company going, so I am satisfied where we both are in management.   Together, we make a great team.

 

Situational Approach

I will now move to a comparison using the Situational Approach which observes managerial behavior in relation to situations (Hersey and Blanchard (1969).   This is different in that it looks at directive (task) and supportive (people) behaviors which sounds the same as the Style approach above, but it takes both and applies them to situations, which is a unique and easily prescriptive theory we can base leadership style and subordinate development on.  We will only discuss leadership style here for our comparison.

Leadership Situational Styles can be broken down into 4 categories.  They are:

• Directing, which is high directive and low supportive;
• Coaching, which is high directive and high supportive;
• Supporting style which is high supportive and low directive, and;
• Delegating which is low directive/low supportive (not involved with goals or people).

Again, my brother has more of a Supportive style which really focuses on the people and less on how to direct them to a task.   This seems a little black and white as my brother actually does quite well on directing people when there is a need, it is just not at a higher level.

I would have more of a Directing style which is high on directions and low supportive.  Again, this is not black and white as I care deeply for each of our employees and think of them more as family than workers, but when it comes down to task completion, I will be telling them what to do and not be overly concerned on how they take my direction (which is not always good).

Who is the winner?  We both are.  I believe that my brother balances my heavy task/directive approach with his people/supportive role and vice-versa.   It is fortunate that we are both in the same company and managing with in it as I can always go to him as a sounding board and he to me for processes and focus on tasks.

This “self-examination” if you will, was fun for me.  I was able to lay out my pluses and minuses openly and it gives me plenty to think about and remember as we grow our company.   I hope you enjoyed the process.

References:

 

The Pennsylvania State University. (2021). Description of Style Approach. PSYCH 485, Lesson 5: Style and Situational Approaches [Online Course]. https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2110258/modules/items/30985878.

 

Hersey, P. & Blanchard, K.H. (1969). Life-cycle theory of leadership.  Training and Development Journal, 23, 26-34

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Skills Approach to Leadership Theory:   John F Kennedy

When it comes to leadership, more than a few people come to mind. Leaders such as Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, even Genghis Khan and Stalin were leaders. Leaders can be good or destructive as you can see, however, I will leave the determination of who is which up to you.

 

Today, I will be reviewing one leader from a specific perspective, that of the Skills Approach theory. The Skills approach takes a look at leaders from a behavior perspective which differs from Trait theory in that, “Skills are what leaders can accomplish, whereas traits are leaders who are (i.e., their innate characteristics).” (Northouse, 2019)

With this in mind, my review will be done on the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy. While I could most likely quote his biography verbatim, having read several books on the man, this will be an approach that will break down Kennedy’s skills – something to both learn from and possibly emulate.

The Skills Approach was advanced as a leader-centric theory for the development of leaders (developable skills) and was hoped to be something that would be widely transferable throughout organizations and people.

Robert Katz developed a Three-Skill approach with technical, human and conceptual skills needed for effective administration (Katz, 1955). Years later, Mumford, Zaccaro, Harding, Jacobs, & Fleishman (2000) and Yammarino (2000) developed a more comprehensive model of leadership that relied on a leader’s ability to solve complex organizational problems (Northouse, 2019) I will use the latter in my analysis and review of President Kennedy.

In the skills model, two of the questions commonly asked are; “How do leaders’ individual characteristics, career experiences, and environmental influences affect their job performance?” and “What specific skills do high-performing leaders exhibit?”

Here is some background (history) of JFK: Serving in the navy as a commander of a PT (patrol torpedo) boat, his boat was struck by a Japanese destroyer and sunk. Behind enemy lines, John led his men back to safety and was awarded the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Medal for heroism. Rather than take a medical discharge, JFK returned to active command at his own request. (Britannica.com)

John’s father, Joseph groomed the Kennedy family for a place in politics. After his older brother Joe was killed during the war, next in line John took over the aspirations of a continuing Kennedy name in politics.

Returning home, JFK never lost an election, moving from Congressman to Senator to President. Along the way, JFK stood as his own man, going against several policies that had failed before with sound reasoning and championing the cause of the middle-class and the poor.

While a Senator, Kennedy had back surgery and remained strapped to a board for 6 months. During that recovery, he wrote “Profiles in Courage” (1956), a book on eight American political leaders who had defied popular opinion in matters of conscience. It won a Pulitzer Prize in 1957.

As we can see, JFK’s individual characteristics of problem-solving, motivation and personality (all components of the Skills Model, see below – (Mumford, et al, 2000), served him well, while at the same time, his career experiences helped to build the man that would become President.

 

Let’s review some other Skills components of John F Kennedy:

Motivation: John’s father, Joseph, instilled a “winning is everything” attitude in all his children and taught his children to be fierce competitors. John never backed down from a principle and pushed forward in all manner of things – including things others thought impossible – with much success. His sister, Eunice Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics, once said, “I was twenty-four before I knew I didn’t have to win something every day.” (biography.com) It was this spirit, instilled in John that would motivate him beyond illness, injury, or obstacle.

Crystallized Cognitive Ability (knowledge acquisition) (Pennsylvania State University, 2021): While Kennedy was not the most ambitious student, he was well read and excelled at any class that was to his liking (History and English). As an example, as John became an upperclassman, he became more serious about his studies, choosing to write a book about why Britain was so unprepared to fight Germany in World War II. His analysis of the subject was so well received, that upon his graduation, the analysis was published as a book, titled, “Why England Slept”, selling more than 80,000 copies. (biography.com)

I think I should like to save some information for another blog, but I could continue on for quite a while. I will choose to close this blog out with another trait that Kennedy had in spades, Personality.

No matter where he went, John Kennedy was well loved, fun and carried a brilliant smile. Always outgoing, his warmth and charisma – along with that intellect described above, appealed to a huge majority of people and he succeed in becoming the youngest President ever, taking the office at the age of 42.

He succeeded as a Liberal in a time of great conservatism. When possible, go online and listen to some of his speeches. Speeches such as his famous “Moon Speech”, his Inaugural Speech which brought his famous quote of, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country, and then, while Governor George Wallace blocked the entrance to a school to keep black children out, President Kennedy sent in the National Guard to remove him and gave this amazing speech. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8R8h2l35VsI

Those that do not know the man, but later learn of his character are deeply saddened at the thought of his being taken so early in his life.

I have taken a few trips in my lifetime, to some very special places, but one of the most profound trips in my memory was the trip to Boston in 2014. There I spent most of the morning and afternoon at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum on Columbia Point. Listening to his speeches and following his path through life and eventually to death, I was amazed at the man and his character, strength and encouragement of the human spirit. If you haven’t been, I highly recommend it.

References:

Northouse, P.G. (2019). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Sage Publications.

The Pennsylvania State University. (2021). Modules. Psych 485. https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2110258/modules.
https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2110258/modules/items/30985902

Mumford, M.D., Zaccaro, S.J., Harding, F.D., Jacobs, T.O., & Fleishman, E.A. (2000). Leadership skills for a changing world: Solving complex social problems. Leadership Quarterly, 11(1), 11-35.

Yammarino, F.J. (2000). Leadership skills: Introduction and overview. Leadership Quarterly, 11(1), 5-9.

Katz, R.L. (1955). Skills of an effective administrator. Harvard Business Review, 33(1), 33-42.

Jfklibrary.org/visit-museum

Youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8R8h2l35VsI

Biography.com, https://www.biography.com/us-president/john-f-kennedy

Britannica.com, https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-F-Kennedy

Skills Approach to Leadership Theory:   John F Kennedy

When it comes to leadership, more than a few people come to mind. Leaders such as Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, even Genghis Khan and Stalin were leaders. Leaders can be good or destructive as you can see, however, I will leave the determination of who is which up to you.

 

Today, I will be reviewing one leader from a specific perspective, that of the Skills Approach theory. The Skills approach takes a look at leaders from a behavior perspective which differs from Trait theory in that, “Skills are what leaders can accomplish, whereas traits are leaders who are (i.e., their innate characteristics).” (Northouse, 2019)

With this in mind, my review will be done on the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy. While I could most likely quote his biography verbatim, having read several books on the man, this will be an approach that will break down Kennedy’s skills – something to both learn from and possibly emulate.

The Skills Approach was advanced as a leader-centric theory for the development of leaders (developable skills) and was hoped to be something that would be widely transferable throughout organizations and people.

Robert Katz developed a Three-Skill approach with technical, human and conceptual skills needed for effective administration (Katz, 1955). Years later, Mumford, Zaccaro, Harding, Jacobs, & Fleishman (2000) and Yammarino (2000) developed a more comprehensive model of leadership that relied on a leader’s ability to solve complex organizational problems (Northouse, 2019) I will use the latter in my analysis and review of President Kennedy.

In the skills model, two of the questions commonly asked are; “How do leaders’ individual characteristics, career experiences, and environmental influences affect their job performance?” and “What specific skills do high-performing leaders exhibit?”

Here is some background (history) of JFK: Serving in the navy as a commander of a PT (patrol torpedo) boat, his boat was struck by a Japanese destroyer and sunk. Behind enemy lines, John led his men back to safety and was awarded the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Medal for heroism. Rather than take a medical discharge, JFK returned to active command at his own request. (Britannica.com)

John’s father, Joseph groomed the Kennedy family for a place in politics. After his older brother Joe was killed during the war, next in line John took over the aspirations of a continuing Kennedy name in politics.

Returning home, JFK never lost an election, moving from Congressman to Senator to President. Along the way, JFK stood as his own man, going against several policies that had failed before with sound reasoning and championing the cause of the middle-class and the poor.

While a Senator, Kennedy had back surgery and remained strapped to a board for 6 months. During that recovery, he wrote “Profiles in Courage” (1956), a book on eight American political leaders who had defied popular opinion in matters of conscience. It won a Pulitzer Prize in 1957.

As we can see, JFK’s individual characteristics of problem-solving, motivation and personality (all components of the Skills Model, see below – (Mumford, et al, 2000), served him well, while at the same time, his career experiences helped to build the man that would become President.

 

Let’s review some other Skills components of John F Kennedy:

Motivation: John’s father, Joseph, instilled a “winning is everything” attitude in all his children and taught his children to be fierce competitors. John never backed down from a principle and pushed forward in all manner of things – including things others thought impossible – with much success. His sister, Eunice Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics, once said, “I was twenty-four before I knew I didn’t have to win something every day.” (biography.com) It was this spirit, instilled in John that would motivate him beyond illness, injury, or obstacle.

Crystallized Cognitive Ability (knowledge acquisition) (Pennsylvania State University, 2021): While Kennedy was not the most ambitious student, he was well read and excelled at any class that was to his liking (History and English). As an example, as John became an upperclassman, he became more serious about his studies, choosing to write a book about why Britain was so unprepared to fight Germany in World War II. His analysis of the subject was so well received, that upon his graduation, the analysis was published as a book, titled, “Why England Slept”, selling more than 80,000 copies. (biography.com)

I think I should like to save some information for another blog, but I could continue on for quite a while. I will choose to close this blog out with another trait that Kennedy had in spades, Personality.

No matter where he went, John Kennedy was well loved, fun and carried a brilliant smile. Always outgoing, his warmth and charisma – along with that intellect described above, appealed to a huge majority of people and he succeed in becoming the youngest President ever, taking the office at the age of 42.

He succeeded as a Liberal in a time of great conservatism. When possible, go online and listen to some of his speeches. Speeches such as his famous “Moon Speech”, his Inaugural Speech which brought his famous quote of, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country, and then, while Governor George Wallace blocked the entrance to a school to keep black children out, President Kennedy sent in the National Guard to remove him and gave this amazing speech. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8R8h2l35VsI

Those that do not know the man, but later learn of his character are deeply saddened at the thought of his being taken so early in his life.

I have taken a few trips in my lifetime, to some very special places, but one of the most profound trips in my memory was the trip to Boston in 2014. There I spent most of the morning and afternoon at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum on Columbia Point. Listening to his speeches and following his path through life and eventually to death, I was amazed at the man and his character, strength and encouragement of the human spirit. If you haven’t been, I highly recommend it.

References:

Northouse, P.G. (2019). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Sage Publications.

The Pennsylvania State University. (2021). Modules. Psych 485. https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2110258/modules.
https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2110258/modules/items/30985902

Mumford, M.D., Zaccaro, S.J., Harding, F.D., Jacobs, T.O., & Fleishman, E.A. (2000). Leadership skills for a changing world: Solving complex social problems. Leadership Quarterly, 11(1), 11-35.

Yammarino, F.J. (2000). Leadership skills: Introduction and overview. Leadership Quarterly, 11(1), 5-9.

Katz, R.L. (1955). Skills of an effective administrator. Harvard Business Review, 33(1), 33-42.

Jfklibrary.org/visit-museum

Youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8R8h2l35VsI

Biography.com, https://www.biography.com/us-president/john-f-kennedy

Britannica.com, https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-F-Kennedy

Skills Approach to Leadership Theory:  John F Kennedy

 

When it comes to leadership, more than a few people come to mind.  Leaders such as Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, even Genghis Khan and Stalin were leaders.   Leaders can be good or destructive as you can see, however, I will leave the determination of who is which up to you.

 

 

Today, I will be reviewing one leader from a specific perspective, that of the Skills Approach theory.    The Skills approach takes a look at leaders from a behavior perspective which differs from Trait theory in that, “Skills are what leaders can accomplish, whereas traits are leaders who are (i.e., their innate characteristics).” (Northouse, 2019)

 

 

With this in mind, my review will be done on the 35^th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy.  While I could most likely quote his biography verbatim, having read several books on the man, this will be an approach that will break down Kennedy’s skills – something to both learn from and possibly emulate.

 

The Skills Approach was advanced as a leader-centric theory for the development of leaders (developable skills) and was hoped to be something that would be widely transferable throughout organizations and people.

 

Robert Katz developed a Three-Skill approach with technical, human and conceptual skills needed for effective administration (Katz, 1955).  Years later, Mumford, Zaccaro, Harding, Jacobs, & Fleishman (2000) and Yammarino (2000) developed a more comprehensive model of leadership that relied on a leader’s ability to solve complex organizational problems (Northouse, 2019) I will use the latter in my analysis and review of President Kennedy.

 

In the skills model, two of the questions commonly asked are; “How do leaders’ individual characteristics, career experiences, and environmental influences affect their job performance?” and “What specific skills do high-performing leaders exhibit?”

 

Here is some background (history) of JFK: Serving in the navy as a commander of a PT (patrol torpedo) boat, his boat was struck by a Japanese destroyer and sunk.  Behind enemy lines, John led his men back to safety and was awarded the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Medal for heroism.  Rather than take a medical discharge, JFK returned to active command at his own request. (Britannica.com)

 

John’s father, Joseph groomed the Kennedy family for a place in politics.  After his older brother Joe was killed during the war, next in line John took over the aspirations of a continuing Kennedy name in politics.

 

Returning home, JFK never lost an election, moving from Congressman to Senator to President.  Along the way, JFK stood as his own man, going against several policies that had failed before with sound reasoning and championing the cause of the middle-class and the poor.

 

While a Senator, Kennedy had back surgery and remained strapped to a board for 6 months.  During that recovery, he wrote “Profiles in Courage” (1956), a book on eight American political leaders who had defied popular opinion in matters of conscience.  It won a Pulitzer Prize in 1957.

 

As we can see, JFK’s individual characteristics of problem-solving, motivation and personality (all components of the Skills Model, see below – (Mumford, et al, 2000), served him well, while at the same time, his career experiences helped to build the man that would become President.

 

 

 

Let’s review some other Skills components of John F Kennedy:

 

Motivation:  John’s father, Joseph, instilled a “winning is everything” attitude in all his children and taught his children to be fierce competitors.  John never backed down from a principle and pushed forward in all manner of things – including things others thought impossible – with much success.  His sister, Eunice Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics, once said, “I was twenty-four before I knew I didn’t have to win something every day.” (biography.com) It was this spirit, instilled in John that would motivate him beyond illness, injury, or obstacle.

 

Crystallized Cognitive Ability (knowledge acquisition) (Pennsylvania State University, 2021): While Kennedy was not the most ambitious student, he was well read and excelled at any class that was to his liking (History and English).  As an example, as John became an upperclassman, he became more serious about his studies, choosing to write a book about why Britain was so unprepared to fight Germany in World War II.  His analysis of the subject was so well received, that upon his graduation, the analysis was published as a book, titled, “Why England Slept”, selling more than 80,000 copies. (biography.com)

 

I think I should like to save some information for another blog, but I could continue on for quite a while.   I will choose to close this blog out with another trait that Kennedy had in spades, Personality.

 

No matter where he went, John Kennedy was well loved, fun and carried a brilliant smile.  Always outgoing, his warmth and charisma – along with that intellect described above, appealed to a huge majority of people and he succeed in becoming the youngest President ever, taking the office at the age of 42.

 

He succeeded as a Liberal in a time of great conservatism.  When possible, go online and listen to some of his speeches.  Speeches such as his famous “Moon Speech”, his Inaugural Speech which brought his famous quote of, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country, and then, while Governor George Wallace blocked the entrance to a school to keep black children out, President Kennedy sent in the National Guard to remove him and gave this amazing speech. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8R8h2l35VsI

 

Those that do not know the man, but later learn of his character are deeply saddened at the thought of his being taken so early in his life.

 

I have taken a few trips in my lifetime, to some very special places, but one of the most profound trips in my memory was the trip to Boston in 2014.  There I spent most of the morning and afternoon at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum on Columbia Point.  Listening to his speeches and following his path through life and eventually to death, I was amazed at the man and his character, strength and encouragement of the human spirit.  If you haven’t been, I highly recommend it.

 

References:

 

Northouse, P.G. (2019).  Leadership: Theory and Practice. Sage Publications.

 

The Pennsylvania State University. (2021). Modules. Psych 485. https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2110258/modules.

https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2110258/modules/items/30985902

 

Mumford, M.D., Zaccaro, S.J., Harding, F.D., Jacobs, T.O., & Fleishman, E.A. (2000). Leadership skills for a changing world: Solving complex social problems. Leadership Quarterly, 11(1), 11-35.

 

Yammarino, F.J. (2000). Leadership skills: Introduction and overview. Leadership Quarterly, 11(1), 5-9.

 

Katz, R.L. (1955). Skills of an effective administrator. Harvard Business Review, 33(1), 33-42.

 

Jfklibrary.org/visit-museum

 

Youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8R8h2l35VsI

 

Biography.com, https://www.biography.com/us-president/john-f-kennedy

 

Britannica.com, https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-F-Kennedy