Leadership from Two Perspectives
Timothy Scott
University of Maryland University College
AMBA 600 9045 MBA Fundamentals (2148)
October 28, 2014
Professor Susan Malone

Leadership from Two Perspectives This paper summarizes two types of leadership that each claim leaders must inherit to maximize their career, as well as remain a competitive asset within their organization. Mitch McCrimmon, the author of Thought Leadership: a radical departure from traditional, positional leadership suggest that leaders should remain cognizant of thought leadership in hopes of remaining competitive, as well as setting their organization apart from others. Equally important, he details the difference between ordinary leadership versus leadership coupled with thought leadership and why it's valuable to ascertain both. In efforts to explain his theory, he presents extensive illustrations that factor the positive end product of organizations when leaders or individuals within an organization utilize the concept of thought leadership. Daniel Goleman (1998), the author of The Emotional Intelligence stresses the importance of leaders being aware of their emotional intelligence and how it's directly related to the success of an organization and its mission. Moreover, he suggests that many leaders are so absorbed with their self perseverance, they’ve lost site of the human facet within the work place; this can sometimes foster hostility and acts of retribution from employees against the organization (Goleman, 1998). Essentially, he highlights that leaders must remain aware of their emotional intelligence and it’s valuable advantage when making logical conclusions regarding an organizations strategic planning; it’s also a positive trait for others to emulate. As Goleman (1998) reports his claim, he asserts this premise by means of an in depth anatomy of the brain that is credited with the distribution of human emotions. Furthermore, he sites his theory by introducing data from medical professionals and a center for leadership to reiterate the importance of emotional intelligence as a leader.
Thought Leadership Mitch McCrimmon (2005), the author of Thought leadership: a radical departure from traditional, positional leadership, aims to distinguish between accepted leadership versus thought leadership and how they should be interconnected if organizational leaders want to thrive within the fast paced era of change. Moreover, he suggests that a well rounded leader should possess attributes of thought leadership; because ordinary leadership can often times have numerous leaders within a team and exhibit traits of management. Often times there is more than one leader within a group managing the team’s goals, but at times it's difficult to differentiate between the manager and the leader of the team (McCrimmon, 2005). According to McCrimmon (2005), organizations will succeed the most if they grasp the importance of thought leadership, rather than rely upon and sustain the norms within teams and standard operating procedures. Furthermore, he points out that many leaders consider accepted leadership as "hard work" and that it should not be problematic in achieving, especially since there are multiple individuals that account for the role as a leader (McCrimmon, 2005). In contrast, thought leadership does not ascertain the attributes of managing a group of people, but can solely be dependent upon one person with an idea (McCrimmon, 2005). In essence, thought leadership normally involves one individual that presents a fresh vision or concept that harvests change for the better within an organization: Whether it's presenting a new idea regarding company protocol or procedures, or an invention that places the organization above its competitors, it places them above other organizations and compels them to remain constant for opposition (McCrimmon, 2005). With this concept in mind, he reports that thought leaders do not make decisions, are not a