What Is Leadership?

Submitted By ldlange
Words: 623
Pages: 3
Open Document
What is Leadership?
According to many different sources and many different people, leadership can have multiple meanings. At any given time, these meanings can become dependent upon who you ask and when. However, no matter how many people you ask, there are certain criteria that many agree make up a good leader; leadership is about solving problems, it is about inspiring others to follow, it is about enabling people to use their imagination, and finally it is about encouraging people to feel empowered. While a leadership maxim may sound fairly convincing, examining leadership from a theory perspective provides an approach based on scientific evidence.
A maxim is essentially a moral statement about a universal truth. It is subjective and based on one person’s explanation of what leadership is or should be. A theory is a summary that describes how and why a set of behaviors or events occurs. Theories and maxim can both explain phenomena however a theory is usually based on multiple research projects while a maxim is based on a single opinion. Theories explain more information in a simpler way, they are more specific and more accurate and a theory can be tested. According to Yukl (1989) “differences between researchers in their conception of leadership lead to differences in the choice of phenomena to investigate and differences in the interpretation of the results” (p252). Therefore, it’s important to understand what people mean by leadership before one can study it properly. This cannot be done by using maxims.
There are a multitude of ways in which leadership can be assessed but according to Northouse (2012), “leadership is a process, it involves influence, it occurs in groups and finally, leadership involves common goals.” (p.5). Because leadership is such a difficult concept to study, we use the leadership theory to collect data, develop observations, create explanations and answer questions. Drath (2001) says, “Leaders lead because followers are convinced of the truth of their leadership” (p.13). That is, leaders demonstrate traits people recognize because we all share at least one leadership characteristic with other people. All in all, there are several different approaches used to assess a leader. As pointed out in our commentary PSU WC, (2013):
First a competency model would be developed in order to define a certain set of skills and abilities
Show More

Related Documents: What Is Leadership?

Leadership: Leadership and Transformational Leadership Essay

Leadership Executive Summary Leadership is to influence organizational environment and people so as to enable effective use of organizational resources and productive working of people with contentment for accomplishment of organizational objectives. A modern managerial leader should be well-versed about cultural peculiarities in which he or she performs and lives, exposed to cultural surroundings, alert, and able to implement the appropriate leadership style for the particular cultural…

Words 6887 - Pages 28

Essay on Leadership: Leadership and Transformational Leadership

Leadership: Leadership is about leading a group of people or an organization. In its essence, leadership in an organizational role involves establishing a clear vision. Sharing that vision with others so that they will follow willingly. "It is the process of influencing the activities of an organized group in its efforts toward goal setting and goal achievement". (ch.19 pg 596)Leadership is about influencing the behavior of the others. "one cannot be a leader without followers, and followers…

Words 1173 - Pages 5

Leadership Essay

Leadership Essay Week 2 Eric Zeidman Week 2 Leadership Essay The Vision into Performance Model basically says that if you can dream it, you can make it happen. Being effective is not an accident or random thing, it is a well thought out process that can be applied to any business. Warren Bennis tell us that a good leader can create and realize a vision. Vision, change, Implementation, and results are the keys to success. The Vision into Performance combines these key elements plus more…

Words 1127 - Pages 5

Leadership: Leadership and truly Inspirational Leadership Essay

Leadership Leadership is the action of leading a group of people or an organization. In my short two years in the army I’ve seen good leadership and bad leadership. A leader is a motivation for others that inspires individuals to aim high and attain that aim. However a boss only supervises over his subordinates. There are many different types of leadership styles some are effective in different ways some are not. in world war II a man came who’s leadership style was similar to today’s army he believed…

Words 496 - Pages 2

Leadership Essay

LEADERSHIP WORD COUNT: 818 “I declare that this assessment is my own work and that the sources of information and material I have used (including the internet) have been fully identified and properly acknowledged as required in the referencing guidelines provided.” PMM1012 Academic English Skills 1 Writing Plan Leadership Introduction General Statement: A successful a leader is the brain of the company, and leadership plays a significant role in business area. Scoping Statement:…

Words 1143 - Pages 5

Leadership: Leadership and Subordinates Essay

responsibilities concurrent to their position to earn their title of Sergeant, and be a true leader of soldiers. Field Manual 6-22 Army Leadership (2006) defines leadership as “the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organization.” In my own words Leadership is mentoring soldiers, setting the example for your subordinates to emulate, training to accomplish the mission, and being available to assist…

Words 924 - Pages 4

Leadership: Leadership and Global Leaders Essay

1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Charismatic Leadership Global Leaders and their Achievements Leadership in the 21st Century Leadership Approach and Success to Global Business Conclusion References 1 2 4 6 7 8 9 Jeremiah Temple 2 Introduction This essay focuses on understanding contemporary models of leadership in a globalised world. Over the last few decades, globalisation has overwhelmed an increasing number of managers, challenging them to rethink basic paradigms on what it takes to achieve…

Words 2747 - Pages 11

Essay on Leadership: Leadership and Situational Leadership Theory

LEADERSHIP Leadership • Leadership Perspectives/Theories • Trait theories • Behavioral theories • Contingency theories • Leader-Member Exchange theory • Charismatic Leadership • Transformational Leadership • Challenges to the Leadership Construct • Attribution theory • Substitutes and Neutralizers What Is Leadership? • Leadership • The ability to influence a group toward the achievement of vision or goals • Management • Use of authority inherent in designated formal rank to obtain…

Words 927 - Pages 4

Leadership and Transformational Leadership Essay

Comparison Matrix Article 1 Article 2 Article 3 Title/Author(s) Transformational Leadership in the Public Sector: Does Structure Matter? Wright & Pandey The Effect Of Transactional and Transformational Leadership Styles on the Organizational Commitment and Job Satisfaction of Customer Contact Personnel Emery & Barker Systems Collaboration with Schools and Treatment of Severely Emotionally YeeLee, Teater, Hsu, Greene, Fraser, Solovey, and David Grove Persistent GCU Library Link http://library…

Words 981 - Pages 4

Servant Leadership Essay

Assignment: Module 6 Servant Leadership Ed Moore XXX XXX XXX Any University: MGT 420 October 19th, 2014 Introduction At first glance, many, if not most people today, might truly believe or assume that the Servant Leadership model or style is simply not compatible with any others cultures, religions or theories of philosophy. This paper addresses these beliefs and assumptions and, champions the notion that they not only can be compatible but, that Servant Leadership is becoming more and more essential…

Words 1042 - Pages 5