Understanding Leadership: an Experimental-Experiential Model

Books about leadership are dangerous to readers who fantasize about being leaders or apply leadership ideas as if they were proven formulas. As an antidote, I offer an experimental framework in which any leadership-management model can be tested to gain experiential understanding of the model. As a result one can gain reality-based insights about leadership and oneself. The experiment is described; resistances to engaging it are considered; and examples from a leadership group implementing Covey’s “Seven Principles are summarized. In the course of discussing individual’s experiments objections were voiced against this Socratic approach to understanding leadership. Finally, I sketch a perspective for understanding the fit between leaders and followers. Overall, the experiment brought into view one’s sense of leadership and authenticity and tested them