1. Introduction
There are always chances and possibilities to become a good leader regardless the odds against you, gender, age, race, education, previous experience, etc. This paper defines what leadership is and it explains the relationship between leadership and influence. It also highlights the importance of finding opportunities to develop skills and creating strong to become a good leader. It is also emphasized the power of influence that comes from motivating your team, to improve performance and satisfaction and that setting a clear goal is mandatory for good leadership. The conclusion summarizes all the topics under discussion.
2. What is Leadership?
Can Leadership skills be used to turn a hopeless situation around when the odds are against you? In stories and movies one knows the script will get the heroes out of their predicament. How can one do this in real life?
In the textbook Leadership is defined as ‘the process of influencing an organized group toward accomplishing its goals’ (Hughes, Ginnet & Curphy 2015, p. 5). Leadership involves leader, followers, and situation.
Taking a deep further look at the definition, we can consider Leadership as ‘the process of influencing an organized group’, engaging them to maximize group effectiveness, ‘towards the accomplishment of a goal’. (Hughes, Ginnet & Curphy 2015, p. 5)
The key components of this definition are that leadership is based on influence, not power or authority. Leadership requires followers, but
Leadership is defined in the textbook as someone who “get people to do things they have never done before, to do things that are not routine, and to take risks – and sometimes
Leadership is “the fusion of heart and mind, selfless action, encourage betterment of others, and to make a difference. It is the process of influencing
Leadership is the ability of an individual or and organisation, to influence other individuals and its team to achieve a desired outcome. Influence is a very under-rated aspect of leadership. No individual would follow a person who does not have
Northouse defines leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal.
There are many ways to define leadership, but perhaps the most laconic as well as accurate definition is presented in Peter G. Northouse's Leadership: Theory and Practice book (Northouse, 2013, p.5): "Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal". Individuals, engaged in leadership, use influence to solve challenges, which the groups under their leadership face, in order to succeed in their common goals.
One definition of leadership states that it is a process by which a group is influenced and directed by a particular member of the group to reach a common goal (Northouse 2010). Many other definitions exist, suggesting that it is a concept as fluid and individual as leaders themselves (Curtis et al. 2011).
According to Business Dictionary.com, leadership is defined as the individuals who are the leaders in an organization, regarded collectively. It also can be define as the activity of leading a group of people or an organization or the ability to do this. Leadership involves the establishing of a clear vision, sharing the vision with other so that they will follow willingly, providing the needed information, knowledge, and methods to realize the vision and coordinating and balancing the conflicts interests of all members and stakeholders.
Drucker’s summed up leadership as “The only definition of a leader is someone who has followers” whereas, John C Maxwell said “leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less”. Warren Bennis focuses more on individual capability and defines leadership as "Leadership is a function of knowing yourself, having a vision that is well communicated, building trust
In my opinion the term leadership is a very broad and various definitions are given by authors. One definition of leadership is that it is
Leadership is defined in many different ways by many different academics and professionals. A few words that resonate with the meaning include management, control, guidance, headship, direction and governance. My basic definition for the word describes it as a technique used to manage and guide individuals or groups of individuals in a specific direction to achieve a common goal. However this is a bit too basic for my liking. While conducting the research for this manifesto I found two definitions that I thought were more interesting and quite charming. Tom Landry defines leadership as “getting someone to do what they don’t want to do, to achieve what they want to achieve” (Murphy, 2010). Alternatively Otto Scharmer stated, “at its core, leadership is about shaping and shifting how individuals and groups attend and subsequently respond to a situation” (Scharmer, 2007).
Our textbook defines leadership as a behavior or communication that influences, guides, directs, or controls a group. Although, some communication scholars argue that leadership in a group may be determined when the group is in a type of struggle or off course. That the group appoints a leader or oneself appoints when there is difficulty setting conditions or lacking cooperation to get things done.
Leadership has been studied extensively and many varying definitions exist. Hughes, Ginnett and Curphy (2015, p.4) review many of these definitions and consequently describe leadership as ‘the process of influencing an organised group towards its goals’. Leadership involves the interplay of a range of different factors, not least the leader themselves, the followers and the situation. For
Leadership is the process of influencing individuals or a group of individuals by providing purpose, direction with the support of others, and motivating those individuals with the purpose of accomplishing a certain obligation which is helpful to all individual that is involved.
For a quick review, the definition of leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group or individuals, to achieve a common goal.
Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent.