Leadership Influences And Definition Of Leadership

“Leadership is the process of leaders inducing followers to act for certain goals that represent the values and motivations, the wants and needs, the aspirations and expectations of both leaders and followers” To be able to do this, a person must come up with their own leadership philosophy. Throughout this paper, I will tell you the leadership philosophy I will have for my organization. I will explain how I came up with this philosophy. Also I will tell what leadership traits, and characteristics that I believe are important for a leader to possess and how they apply to my leadership philosophy for the success of my organization. In conclusion I will summarize my interview with a squadron commander about their most challenging issue and

Leadership can be defined in many different facets. To me the definition of leadership is, “Displaying the ability to inspire and empower others through the example of one’s own self actions”. Too many times we hear, “Do what I say”, instead of, “Do what I do.” A successful leader’s actions speak louder than words ever will. My first day in the Coast Guard following boot camp graduation, I experienced firsthand on how a leader should not act nor conduct themselves. Though alcohol was the main contributing factor on what occurred that evening, looking back, it was more of the lack of maintaining our core values that ultimately resulted in that Chief losing the title as Chief of the boat and being forced to retire.. That moment left a negative impression on me and it took a horrific car accident that landed me in the office of whom I consider as my most influential leader I have had in my career. Master Chief Richard Wolfe was someone that led by example. He helped broaden my vision and let me see my own potential. He always inspired me to not only better myself, but ensured that I challenged myself to learn something new each day. He would often say, “Challenges are just opportunities in disguise”, and it wasn’t until I advanced to Chief Petty Officer to truly understand what he meant. Far too often we get caught up in the present instead of focusing what is on the horizon and that is how complacency becomes the new norm.

Leadership can be defined in many different facets. To me the definition of leadership is, “Displaying the ability to inspire and empower others through the example of one’s own self actions”. Too many times we hear, “Do what I say”, instead of, “Do what I do.” A successful leader’s actions speak louder than words ever will. My first day in the Coast Guard following boot camp graduation, I experienced firsthand on how a leader should not act nor conduct themselves. Though alcohol was the main contributing factor on what occurred that evening, looking back, it was more of the lack of maintaining our core values that ultimately resulted in that Chief losing the title as Chief of the boat and being forced to retire.. That moment

Leadership influences can be placed into two categories, those to model and those to avoid. Every member in the Coast Guard can categorically place his or her leadership experiences within these categories. In some cases one particular leader can provide examples from both categories, in some cases a leader has only those traits and characteristics that should be avoided. Regardless of the case, junior members, senior members, and peers alike are watching and adapting their leadership style based on things that they perceive as helpful. I realized that in every instance throughout my career where I was in troubled waters, I had either isolated myself or surrounded myself by people that have no vision of moving the organization forward.

Understanding the theories behind leadership is vital to its application and practice. The 20th century has produced many new theories and studies in leadership. While an exact solution for leadership has yet to be discovered, the theories themselves have significantly demystified the field. The military as an organization has a high demand for competent leaders. While experience may be the best teacher, a solid theoretical understanding of leadership is a worthwhile resume piece in a career field where everyday decisions can directly impact the lives of any number of people. The goal of military organizations has steep consequences; therefore, its leaders assume a great deal of responsibility. The definition of leadership as a

Leadership is dynamic, charismatic and fragile all rolled up into one. There are many words that describe leadership and leadership is defined differently by all. As I sit and type this paper I realized the date, 28 Aug. On this date 10 years ago, I was thrust into a roll that would define my leadership style. Hurricane Katrina made land fall over the city of New Orleans (NOLA) on 28 Aug 2005, this storm created havoc and destruction never before seen in the United States. I was in charge of 12 Coast Guardsman and 3 Coast Guard Airboats in which we would crew. Upon arrival in NOLA we were joined up with the 82nd Airborne Division and assigned 12 Scouts from the 2/505 platoon. These men were on the heels of returning from battle overseas and had been home for less than 30 days. Again these soldiers were thrust into action, but now they had a completely different mission. Joining forces with the Coast Guard and conducting door to door urban search and rescue was now the priority. Over the next 27 days we all grew to trust and count on one another and from the deplorable conditions in which we all suffered it lead to my leadership philosophy.

My definition of Leadership is similar to the Coast Guard’s definition of Leadership, which is to influence others to achieve the same goal. The Coast Guard’s definition of leadership from the Leadership Development Framework COMDTINST M5351.3 is Leadership is the ability to influence others to obtain their obedience, respect, confidence, and loyal cooperation. My previous leadership influences during my career were able to lead myself and my shipmates by influencing us to accomplish many missions. The BMC Rick Barones and the MKCM Darcy Collins of the Coast Guard influence their people with compassion and respect. They also lead with confidence and knowledge of their rates and craft, which made them worth listening to.

The common definition of leadership that has been taught throughout the Coast Guard is “You influencing others to achieve a goal”. When boiling it down to the most simplistic form, that definition is sufficient. The problem with that definition is that it is very vague. It doesn’t quantify how well the goal was achieved, or what type of influence was used to achieve it. A leader can easily use negative motivation to achieve a goal, but the quality of the completed product may not be as high compared to times where positive motivation is used. If a leader were to threaten their subordinates with the potential of holding up their liberty until a job is complete, the subordinates may rush to get the job done, but the quality of their

Beginning in boot camp and continuing throughout my career, I’ve seen the Coast Guard promote the leadership model to be: “You” influencing “Others” to achieve a “Goal”. With all the different ways leadership can be defined, this simplistic model which has been permanently engrained in my thinking definition still rings true for me. As such, when defining my own personal definition of leadership, I align it to this same model. More specifically, while I support the fact that leadership involves influencing others to achieve a common end I propose that is not the whole story. Leaders must not be stagnant in their vision and must lend themselves to the possibility they may have to adjust their leadership styles depending on the goal. The best leaders are the ones that understand their own personality traits as well as those traits of the people they are trying to lead.

Leadership, as an intangible and conceptual figment, has no real methodology as to how to become a leader. There is no possession to own or geographical location to which, if one is present, they become suddenly available to the beckoning call of becoming a leader. Just as with currency, there is no intrinsic value in being a leader, except for the value that we ascribe to it, therefore deeming it a sought after trait. So how does one learn to become a leader? I would submit that we learn through stories. As far as I know, there has never been, and will likely never be a process to follow that “creates” leaders — but we do have the methods and disciplines and practices of others who have gone before us to guide us on our journey. By

Leadership and how it is defined or recognised varies amongst many. The term can also be mistaken for management rather than someone who leads an organization, and in this case a school (Quality Leadership in Australian Schools, 2007). Leadership identifies two vital aspects: What style of leadership is executed and how leadership is implemented effectively. Teachers have already committed to becoming effective leaders just by choosing to be teachers themselves (Collay, 2008, p.28). So they naturally develop leadership capacity within their everyday teaching. They support and guide their students through their educational journey and this is flourished through change or transformation. But for teachers and Teacher Librarians to be true

In a leaderless self-sufficient workgroup setting, if individuals have a high inspiration to lead others and effectively participate in administrative practices. These inspirations and practices would recognize them from other gathering individuals, driving them to be perceived as leaders of their gatherings. Subsequently, motivation to lead is an imperative determinant of the initiative rise in self-sufficient work groups. A developing number of associations have embraced self-sufficient work groups as a result of their viability in encouraging competition (Oh, 2012).

Leadership is a difficult word to define and according to the Miriam-Webster Dictionary leadership is the “office or position of a leader” (Miriam-Webster, 2010). This definition is definitely not one that I would ascribe to when discussing leadership. My definition of leadership is “the ability someone has to motivate and empower others to achieve a goal.” Some may add to this definition, others may discard it altogether and have a completely different definition. In the end, leadership takes on many different forms depending on who is doing the defining and we end up asking ourselves, what is leadership and why do we care?

What is leadership? Having good leadership is necessary for any organization. Definitions of leadership are varied. It is a fundamental element within society that has attracted the interest of thousands of scientists, historians, and philosophers for hundreds of years, yet none of them can decide upon its meaning. Cook (2000) calls leadership the “ability to learn and adapt to change, a risk taker and using personal powers to win the hearts and minds of people to achieve a common purpose.” Northouse (2010) claims leadership is change and movement. Burns (1978) defines leadership as “a mobilization process by individuals with certain motives, values, and access to resources in a context of competition and conflict in pursuit of goals” For my purposes, leadership is merely managing knowledge in a way that leads to creating and sharing knowledge within an organization (Chi, Lan, & Dorjgotov, 2012). The success of leadership in organizations often varies significantly and identifying leadership styles that suit an organization best is an essential skill in any CEO, manager, director, or alike.

Leadership is a highly sought for attribute in the coperate world and a largely accepted definition of leadership is “a process of social influence through within an individual enlist and mobilises the aid of others in the attainment of a collective goal” (Chemers, 2001). Interpreted, leadership is a process in which leaders gain influence from their peers, through different forms of promotions in an organisation or when they exercise power over attitudes, behaviours and destiny of members of a group they are in (Hogg, 2001). Over the past few decades, studies on leadership have shifted from one end to another end of the psychological spectrum with only little to moderate success. Researchers of the past however often forget that leaders