Leadership : An Enhanced Personal View

By definition, leadership is the position or function of a leader, a person who guides or directs a group. But can we really sum up “leadership” in a single sentence? Recently, an article was run in Business News Daily (2015) that listed 30 ways to define leadership. In those 30, there were many quotes by CEOs, COOs, Founders, and company Presidents. Common attributes like “behavior”, “ability”, “vision”, and “followership” were mentioned. So it goes without saying that if these prominent individuals can figure it out, why can’t those below them? Thankfully, most do, and some will even rise to the top like those previously mentioned. The key point to all of this though is that it takes more than just one characteristic to make a leader. Throughout this piece, I’d like to explore the aspects that make up a Leader, how I fit the role of a leader, and what I’ve learned throughout this course in leadership.

Leadership is all about having the right amount of heart and determination to help make a difference in someone’s life. It takes certain qualities to be considered a good leader. A leader should want to help inspire others to make a change and to be the best that they can be. A true leader does not need to feel powerful, instead they empower those around them. Throughout my life I have come across various leaders who have made an impact on my life. It takes a very special person to inspire and touch people’s lives. Leadership is so much deeper than having power and bossing people around.

Every generation has a leader that defines them. Martin Luther King Jr. was a leader for standing up to social rights and leading the civil rights movement. Abraham Lincoln began to lead the American people into unity after a long racial divide. What do I think a leader is? A leader is defined as “The person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country,’’ as said by Oxford. Because of this word’s old age, a leader is often interpreted very differently by different people and I think leaders are able to put others before themselves for the greater good. Along with being selfless leaders are people who are willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of the whole. For example, teachers have the responsibilities of a leader because they set the ground rules and represent their classroom. They are willing to sacrifice anything for your well-being. The leader, a kind and respectful individual, always wants those whom they lead

Arguably, there are countless different definitions of leaders in the world, and my experience brought me in contact with countless worthy people who excel as examples of this. Consequently, by utilizing the abundant case studies over the last 28 years of my career, I formed the following definition of what a leader is: A morally grounded individual who meets all challenges with an infectious excitement which others wish to emulate. This drive inspires allegiance to this individual, mostly without a formal request to follow. The members just choose to assist this individual in meeting the desired results without a need for the accolades of a successful result.

The world has its fair share of leaders, both good and bad, real and fictional. How did they lead? By example? Fear? Power? Which is the best way, the moral way, and the most effective way? Leadership, as previously stated has many different ways of showing itself, and in the period of human history there has always been someone on top. Great leaders and not so great leaders, it is this select few that characterizes the world we live in now. Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Dr. Jose Rizal, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. are some of the many positive great examples history could offer, however, Mao Zedong, Kim Jong Un, Karl Marx, and Adolf Hitler are some not so great figures in the world. Although these leaders may seem worlds apart the similarity

Leadership is, and always has been, a vital aspect of social and economic constructs. It is essential to the survival of societies, industries, organizations, and virtually any group of individuals that come together for a common purpose. However, leadership is difficult to define in a single, definitive sense. As such, theories of leadership, what constitutes a great leader, and how leaders are made have evolved constantly throughout history, and still continue to change today in hopes of improving upon our understanding of leadership, its importance, and how it can be most effective in modern organizational cultures.

Leadership is the ability to inspire and focus members on a common goal, whether short term or long term and have the same vision. Leadership is more than telling or ordering, but having members believe and want to follow the same path as you. It’s a commitment to your people built on trust and respect. Many leaders shaped my personal leadership philosophy, to include several negative and positive experiences. Negative experiences from poor leaders and lessons learned on my part have uniquely shaped this vision. Difficult to be a good follower when your leader lacks competency, integrity, and your trust. If a leader takes credit for work other than their own, or forces and ideology onto others, but does not follow it themselves; these negative influences damage the trust and respect required of all leaders. However, positive experiences can also have a career lasting impact. A leader who inspires through personal actions and convictions can change how an entire unit operates without ever saying a word.

As the researcher of this observation, my definition of a leader would include a person who is in charge and convinces other people to follow them. This individual creates an inspiring vision of the future. Motivates and inspires people to engage with that vision. From this definition a person would conclude if an individual wasn’t able to motivate a person or group of people to achieve great things, then that person wouldn’t be considered a good leader.

My idea of leadership is being able to inspire others, motivate, set a vision, communicate, respect others, and of course, lead by example. A leader must have an honest understanding of who they are, what they know, and what they are capable of. To be a successful leader, you have to be able to convince your followers, not just yourself or your superiors, that you are worthy of being followed. In my opinion, this can build confidence in their followers to have faith in you, in order to be able to lead. I strongly believe that good leaders are made rather, and not born. If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders are developed through a never ending process of self-study, education, training, and

The word leadership can mean different things to different individuals. It brings variety of images to our minds as well. It can be from a political leader like Hamid Karzai or Obama, an inspirational person like Ahmad Shah Massoud, Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, or Martin Luther King, an executive like Steve Jobs and for some people it can be someone like Osama Bin Laden, one determined “leader”, who was able to successfully encourage hundreds of his followers to sacrifice their lives. For me Leadership is open-ended as it is so broadly used, but I perceive a leader someone who is a role model in any field and can successfully take the followers to achieve the objectives they ultimately pursue.

A leader is described as a person who guides others and has authority and influence over others. They work to influence others into meeting certain goals. There is no right or wrong definition of a leader and there is no recipe that ensures effective leadership. Successful leaders have a good balance of vision, influence, and power. “Leaders gain their authority from their ability to influence others to get the work done; because of this, anyone has the potential to be a leader.” (Finkelman. 2012 P15)

Leadership is also a powerful word like President or King. It has the ability to change lives, improve communities and thrive in business. But for all the good it can do, it can also destroy. Leadership if left in the wrong hands can be terrifying. Take Hitler for example, He committed horrendous crimes against humanity and his treatment of the Jewish people was revolting. His charismatic qualities along with his intelligence and his ability to communicate effectively compelled people to follow him, even though he was a vicious dictator. Hitler’s leadership was the cause of an assortment of pain and horror throughout the world during his reign.

Leadership does not have one universally accepted definition; it is according me an ever-evolving concept. I firmly believe that even though individuals can be groomed and trained to be leaders, however some leaders could motivate and influence individuals around them more effectively/easily then others and direct an organization into a coherent and cohesive way in order to accomplish objectives and targets. This exact school of thought is actually a common thread or an existing element in various theories and

What is leadership? According to Moore, (1927, p. 124) the term leadership is defined by ‘the ability to impress the will of the leader on those led and induce obedience, respect, loyalty, and cooperation’ (as cited by Northouse, 2017, p. 2). The word has a positive connotation to it when you think of certain leaders. When I hear it I immediately envision some of our great leaders of the past and present such as; Martin Luther King Jr. and Christiane Amanpour. Each of these leaders have demonstrated good leadership in their lives and we can all learn from them.

Let us begin by defining the word leader. Based on a dictionary definition, “leader” is “1. A person or thing that leads, 2. It is a guiding or directing head, as of an army, a movement, or a political group”. Furthermore, definitions of “leadership” include “1. The position or function of a leader, a person who guides or directs a group, 2. Ability to lead, 3. An act or instance of leading; guiding; directing.” Additionally, words synonymous with leadership include command, initiative, and influence. Many definitions delineate the word leadership, but ideally, great leaders influence their peers and followers to become better at who they are, and what they do. In addition, because of the example leaders set, followers will