Leadership Viewed from Different Frames

This small subchapter in the class textbook on page 22 discusses the different perspectives people take to view leadership, and how these different perspectives can be related to the major that he or she is studying. This can be explained by socially constructed phenomenons. In this case our phenomenon is leadership, and our social construction is the major we are studying.

Different majors interpret information and explore data in dissimilar ways. For example, a scientist is going to conduct experiments using data knowing full well that everything in front of he or she is empirical and cannot be refuted, whereas, an anthropologist would perform studies on a group of people and form historic assumptions from their results.

Basically, what the subchapter is saying is that peoples’ perceptions are not necessarily who they are, but how they have been taught or brought up. I can agree with the textbook when it says this because I believe that the field of study that one is taking can highly influence a person’s take on life. For example, when I take political science classes, it makes me think about what is actually happening (good or bad) to the world and what can be done to improve the quality of life. Then next I might have a marketing class where I will start to think that everyone’s every day perceptions have been manipulated by advertisements, and the world has gotten to where it is today by manipulation and that it doesn’t deserve improvements. Very pessimistic, I know, but it is what it is.

I asked a friend of mine, who is an art major (very different to mine – business: finance), about whom she views as a leader. My friend’s most inspirational leader was Issey Miyake. He is a designer/artist who has multiple garment and fragrance lines, and a portfolio of architectural sculptures. Reasons why my friend has acknowledged Miyake as a leader in art, is because of his philosophy, inspiration, and open-minded approach to other cultures and perspectives. All these characteristics are incorporated into Miyake’s line of artwork.

The artist himself: Issey Miyake

A ControModa piece from Miyake's contemporary fashion collection of the County Museum of Art in Los Angeles

Gates as a keynote speaker

I found this very interesting indeed, because I would not pick a leader based on those characteristics. As a business student, I have been subconsciously taught that a good leader will lead a firm into greater productivity, and insurmountable profits. For example, I would view Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, a leader in technology. His efforts and achievements are only glimpses of his contribution to technology around the world today. Imagine if Bill Gates had never stepped foot on this Earth – Microsoft certainly would not have existed. Perhaps we would be using a different type of computer interface that could be worse, or even better. Who knows. What we do know is that Bill Gates has lead a generation of cavemen into the world we know today. That is, technology and globalization. We also know that he is one of the richest men alive (profits!!).

To follow up, the textbook is saying how our perceptions (who we view as leaders) are influenced by social constructions (in this case, our focused major). Social constructions could really mean anything from your family to your school to your workplace or community. Think about your friends in different majors – would they have the same concept of leadership to you? Would they choose the same leaders as you? You sometimes wonder why people are so weird and different, but it is all because of unique social constructions that we live and breathe everyday.