I have been thinking a lot about leadership lately, and I am wondering if the culture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints helps or hurts when it comes to developing leadership skills.  I think there are things to say on both sides of this.  I would like to lay out my initial thoughts on this, and invite you to comment as well.  I will start with what I think are the pros, and then move on to the cons.

Pros

Public Speaking.  Dale Carnegie felt that public speaking was a fundamental skill for leadership and human relations.  The leadership courses he organized center around public speaking.  The LDS church provides many opportunities for its members to practice public speaking – whether it is giving talks in our worship services, teaching lessons, serving on committees, etc., we Mormons have some good opportunities here.  Definite plus.

Callings.  There are a lot of presidents in this church.  There are all kinds of classes, programs, quorums, etc., that all have their presidents, councilors,  and secretaries.  Many members have the opportunity to lead small groups of people.  These efforts will include planning meetings, having agendas, making assignments, communicating, and working and serving other people.  Definite plus.

Motivating others.  Working in a volunteer church or organization involves some pure leadership.  Since there is no pay, and no promotions (wink, wink), one must rely on other sources of motivation.  Can you get people motivated to do home teaching, missionary work, temple work, service projects, when there is no financial incentive to do so?  Sure, testimony and the spirit are at work at this as well, but a leader that can motivate without financial incentives behind her is something special.  Potential plus.

General People Skills.  We are a social group in a lot of ways.  Participating in the Mormon church gives one the opportunity to listen to others, help solve personal/family problems, show concern and understanding for others.  Definite plus.

Cons

Chain of Command.  At local levels, I would suggest that the church is more managed than it is lead.  Do what you are told and follow the manual is a clear message.  We should not be questioning our leaders, ignoring policies, or making waves.  We have grown up to rely on structure, instructions and presiding authority.  Again, this seems more like management by the numbers rather than leadership.  Possible negative.

Black and white thinking.  From my experience there are many Mormons who see things in black or white/right or wrong.  Many of us tend to make everything a moral issue.  I would think that this might hamper our ability to negotiate and compromise with others.  I know there are exceptions to this, but I think this would describe many of us.  Definite con.

Lack of Ambition.  I am not talking about work ethic here, I am talking about the desire to be in charge of others.  I think the church may do more to promote good followers rather than good leaders.  Many of us have seen up close what it is like to be the bishop or the president of some organization.  We have seen that these positions are often not what they are cracked up to be, and result in a lot of headaches.  And since many of us feel we should not seek out leadership callings in church, perhaps we should not seek out leadership opportunities at work either.  We might expect to wait for the leadership calling to come our way, other that go out and get it.

So what think ye about the pros and cons of leadership skills one gets from LDS culture?