How True Leaders Can Make "The Big Bucks."

As a college student I hear how the job industry is looking for leaders.  “It’s the leaders that get the big bucks!” the professors say.   What I want to know is: Do they really?  From what I’ve seen, many times I don’t think so.  A local school principle used to be the guidance counselor.  When the new position of principle was opened, everyone encouraged her to apply.  Why?  This woman exemplified leadership skills that according to “Everyday Leadership,” are of most importance: relationship building, commitment, technical and organizational skills, just to name a few.  At the same time, my father, who is a farmer also exemplifies these qualities.  Even though they are in different leadership categories (teacher and small business owner respectively), they are both in leadership roles over a well-sized local organization.



Mark and Curtis Sowers recieved the Virginia Dairymen Award
for their leadership in the industry for 2009.



The reason I proposed the question in the beginning about good leaders in the workforce was because what happened after this woman was given the job as principle.  She became one of the bosses as mentioned in The Art of Leadership in the Learning Objectives for the first chapter.  Her relationship building became a selfish and rude attitude, instead of being committed she would mess up and then blame others, and most of all she began to be dishonest and unfair.  On the other end of the spectrum, my dad has been the boss of his business for over thirty years.  From workers’ experience and my own, I know that as a boss my dad has and continues to exemplify caring leadership.  Manning states that caring leadership has two aspects the first of which is: commitment to a task.  The other is: concern for people.    My dad not only is a leader at his job, but in the community as well.  But who out of these two examples is making the big bucks?  Not the true leader.

How can we avoid hiring tyrant bosses who appears to be leaders?  I believe it’s as simple as better interview practices, and knowledge of leadership.  From my experiences in FFA, I feel that if my local public school system took leadership as seriously as FFA does, they would not have this problem.  A study by the University of Georgia found that those who were involved in 4-H and FFA were more likely to be leaders in and outside their respective college of agriculture.  Although the study cannot say for sure whether these results are in other states and can reflect on other areas besides college, I feel that it can.  Most of the greatest everyday leaders I know were involved in these two organizations, including my dad.  Guess who wasn’t?  I know these two organizations provide many ways to build leadership skills, but I feel that how they pick their leaders can be a model for the public school system.

2008-2009 Virginia and Utah State FFA and 4-H Officers
pose for a picture while advocating agriculture in Washington D.C.