The Four C's Of Leadership

There are many different C’s of leadership. These articles all reference different terms that are essential for leadership. Each article also takes a different approach to leadership. The articles are all correct even though they have different ideas. The first “C” of leadership is competence. Forbes defines competence as “what you know” (Walter, Ekaterina). Knowledge and former experience are what gives a person competence. Understanding where your competence starts and stops is key to great leadership. Continuing to learn and have new experiences is important to increase one’s competence. No one understands everything so it’s important to have strong partnerships and collaborations (Walter, Ekaterina). Columbia defines competence as “effectiveness …show more content…
Some leadership competencies are general and can be used anywhere. Other competencies are industry specific (Rizzo, Jerome). The problem with competence is that many people do not continue to develop it. Competence is what gets you into a leadership position (Rizzo, Jerome). These three sources all agree that competence requires knowledge. They also agree that competence is developed through experiences like internships. However each source approaches the topic differently. The Forbes article stresses that competence is strictly what you know. The Columbia article states that competence is effectiveness and the article from Cornell says that competence is the foundation of leadership. The second “C” of leadership is courage. Forbes defines courage as “how far you are willing to take your vision” (Walter, Ekaterina). Having courage is about challenging the status quo and standing up for what you believe in. Having courage means you are a front runner. People will try to discourage or stop what you are doing. You have to be able to push through that and see your vision to the end. Staying the course is what brings about change and a new normal (Walter, …show more content…
When confidence takes place in an area of expertise, it shows the knowledge and skills that have been acquired over time. Confidence is a form of motivation that reflects experience and tests commitment. Columbia develops confidence in students through internships, semesters abroad, and independent research projects ("The 4Cs of Leadership Development"). One of the four C’s of leadership is clarity according to the Huffington Post. You need to paint a picture to show employees how they fit in the company. A picture is important but the clarity of the picture is more important. Clarity is used to engage employees and hold them accountable (Thimothy, Solomon). Clarity can become fuzzy when people have different perspectives. A way to solve this is to have the employee perform a task or expectation to make sure it is done the way you intended. This way there is no miscommunication between you and the employee (Thimothy,