RONALD HEIFETZ: The key sources of confusion

in how people think about leadership is that the default

setting, the natural inclination of people studying leadership, including
most of my colleagues around here, is that they mistake
the personal abilities, the hands or the tools, as the essence of leadership.
So they think about leadership and they define
leadership in terms of the personal abilities
or the powers and influence, the tools of persuasion,
the tools of inspiration.
The positions of authority that bring with them a whole set of tools.
Rather than the work to be done.
And what we're going to begin to establish then
is a way of centering our understanding--
I don't draw pictures very well-- but we're
going to try to separate the tools that you would bring.
Let's say, you're a farmer and that's a rake.
We're going to try to separate out the hands and the tools
from the work to be done.
The field to be plowed, if you're trying to grow some crop.