8.1 Select a leader you have worked with in the past or present who you feel is an effective leader. This individual could be a project manager, a committee chairperson, a supervisor at work, a coach, a personnel director, a scoutmaster, the president of your PTA, and so on. Arrange for a fi fteen-minute interview to gather his or her insights concerning leadership. Review the suggestions for interviewing presented in Chapter 6 before you request the interview. Here are some possible questions:

What is the single most important lesson you learned from leading others?

What do you like best about leadership?

What do you like least about leadership?

What do you do to increase the group’s task effectiveness?

What do you do to increase the group’s social effectiveness?

What specifi c suggestions could you give for becoming an effective leader?

How did your interview go? Did you remember to send a thank-you card? What things did you learn about leadership from your interview? Are there any suggestions or insights you could incorporate into your leadership skills or knowledge? Did your perceptions or feelings about this individual change after the interview? How? What is the most important lesson you learned from interviewing this individual?