Picture This!

Here are five images from the Looking@Leadership Card Deck created by Fran Kick. (Used with permission.) Choose one for your positive leadership experience, and one for your negative leadership experience. When you are finished, click to send me an email saying which images you selected and a brief explanation of why.

Looking@Leadership Card Deck created by Fran Kick and used with permission

Thanks for trying this activity! BACK to the Firefly News Flash for April.

Readers' Responses
Here are some interpretations of leadership provided by readers. You can send a response of your own too. Just click !

Positive: the lighthouse – standing true to who you are; letting the world know; attracting that which is drawn to your light
Negative: the lighthouse – being misinterpreted (shining in the fog); unmoving in your stance. --Susan O.

Positive: The Level - Good leaders can equalize the talents of their team members.
Negative: The Bungie Jumper - Bad leaders leap into the unknown without questioning the risks or preparing others to follow. --Stephen S.

Positive: Artist - gives people the resources to "paint" their own picture, make their own contribution.
Negative: Conductor - tells people what to do, points finger at them when they do it "wrong." --Sam G.

Positive: The conductor photo shows guiding hands that gently tell you what to do without any use of force. A stressful situation was brought to a quiet and successful ending. No one and nothing was hurt. Everyone calmed down and the situation was taken carefully under control.
Negative: The palette photo for more than one reason. But only one of them exemplifies the situation. I am a member of a small group. We have a leader who wishes to get things done. Our leaders says this at each of our meetings (only held once per month). We all have the same or similar goal. However, we seem unable to pull together as one would a harmonious painting to accomplish any goals. --Karen B.

Positive: The level - briefly because he helped me know when I was "on the level" and when off balance. Giving information rather than leading per se.
Negative: The bungee jumper for a negative leader who brings you to a cliff, expects you to leap over the edge and trust that the cable will hold. --Terri P.

Positive: Level - Leaders that use a level head, keep their temperament level, and create balance in the workplace.
Negative: Leaders that allow you to go over the edge or take the plunge completely on your own and simply stand by watching you fail (fall). Christina B.

Positive: The level: In the midst of all the commotion of change, a good leader creates balance, adding cohesion and direction to the team.
Negative: The fall: Sometimes forces beyond our control, like gravity, pull us down; be sure to stay connected to a strong support(rope). – Mary Lou K.

Positive: The Artist – creates organizational masterworks using the varied talents, life experiences and contributions of an empowered and diverse workforce.
Negative: The Cliff Diver – takes the arrogant position as the solo star performer in the organization who can achieve results even given the risks to the organization. --Michele Y.