Leadership Definitions
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The question, "What is a Leader?" has been asked over and over again.
Leadership has been defined by several scholars and academics over history. I believe that each of them is valid; the perspective of these scholars will help you to have a more complete view of what a leader is.
These academics see leadership from different perspectives and from that; they form their own ideas and definitions. Some see from the perspective of military leadership; some business leadership, some political leadership.
Different Definitions
of Leadership
Moore(1927) states:
Leadership is the ‘ability to impress the will of the leader on those led and induce obedience, respect, loyalty and cooperation.’
Burns(1978) states:
Leadership is a ‘mobilization process by individuals with certain motives, values and access to resources in a context of competition and conflict in the pursuit of goals.’
Howard Gardner(1995) states:
Leaders are those who,’ by word and/or personal example, markedly influence the behaviors, thoughts, and/or feelings of a significant number of their fellow human beings.’
Donald Krause (1997:8) states:
‘The main goal of leadership is to accomplish useful and desirable things that benefit the people being led.’
Jo Broshahan (1999) states:
Leadership is a ‘special mix of gifts that include integrity, vision, the ability to inspire, a deep awareness of self, courage to innovate, and instant and impeccable sense of judgement.’
Abrahams (2001) states:
Leadership is about vision and having the courage to do the right thing – different from management, which is all about doing the thing right – even if there is a risk.
Other Definitions
of Leadership
A leader is one who has the authority (formal and informal) to instruct and reward desired performance.
I like John C Maxwell’s definition, which is short and sharp.
Leadership is Influence.
According to research, there has been more than 1400 definitions of leadership. Thankfully, becoming a good leader doesn’t mean you have to memorize them all!
The point here is this: that you see, and understand what is a leader, and invest your time to go about becoming an effective one.
Above all, becoming a leader takes time; it is a process, not a destination. You should take your time to learn and apply all that you read; you’ll see yourself becoming a more effective person in the time to come.
This is what Leadership With You is about, equipping you to become an effective leader that these people speak of.
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