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Vast amounts of information have been gathered about leaders and leadership, and many different leadership theories have been developed. Many leadership research findings and theories are confusing and contradictory. Nevertheless, from this thicket of information emerge many useful leadership concepts and techniques to guide you toward becoming a more effective leader. As you work toward leadership effectiveness, first be familiar with the approaches to leadership described in this text. Then choose the formulation that seems best to fit the leadership situation you face. For example, if you are leading a team, review the information about team leadership. Typically, an effective leader needs to combine several leadership approaches to meet the demands of a given situation. For instance, a leader might need to combine creative problem solving and emotional support to members to help the team rebound from a crisis. The eclectic (choosing from among many) approach we recommend is likely to be more effective than accepting an idea such as “there are six secrets to leadership success.” 1. Why bother studying leadership when fields such as petroleum engineering and physician assistant pay high starting salaries? 2. Give an example of how you have exerted leadership on or off the job in a situation in which you did not have a formal leadership position. Explain why you describe your activity as leadership. 3. What would a boss of yours have to do to demonstrate that he or she is an effective leader and an effective manager? 4. Identify a business or sports leader whom you think is highly effective and explain why you think he or she is highly effective. 5. Many people who were voted “the most likely to succeed” in their high school yearbooks become leaders later on in their career. How can you explain this finding? 6. Why might experience in managing entry-level workers, such as in a fast-food restaurant, be valuable leadership experience? 7. If so, much useful information is available about leadership, why do we still find so many managers who cannot gain the respect of their subordinates? 8. Considering that so many people of all ages do much of their communication with text messages, what would be wrong with leaders communicating with group members mostly through texting? 9. Which one or two of the ten leadership roles described in this chapter do you think require the highest level of skill? Why? 10. In what way might being an effective follower help prepare a person for becoming an effective leader?