The Meaning of Leadership

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.

What is leadership, and how do we attain the best and most effective leaders? These are questions that are as old as civilization itself. Bass (1974) wrote that, “from its infancy, the study of history has been the study of leaders” (as cited in Wren, 1995, p. 50). Since the study of history in the West is commonly held to begin with Herodotus of ancient Athens, it is not surprising that we should examine the historical views of leadership through the eyes of two titans of Greek thought: Plato and Aristotle.

Leadership might be the most discussed and written about topics in our modern society. Thousands of books have covered this topic and people are often using this term correctly as well as in the right format. But what does it really mean? Strength? Power? Leadership could be as simple as holding the hand of a small child crossing the street, or as complex as signing the Declaration of Independence. A leader is not someone who cheats their way to the top, or tricks others into doing things. Being a leader is also not all about power and control. Power is not leadership because leaders don’t necessarily need any source of “power,” but instead are looked up to by their followers. The assertion of power can create feelings of fear, betrayal,

The definition of Leadership is the action of leading a group of people or a organization. A leader is someone who is willing to do take responsibility for someone else,someone who will lead them to success or a better path. The qualities of a leader is having integrity,compassion,and the ability of making wise decision. Many people say military generals are the most important leaders of them all besides the President of the United States which in 1860 was Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln was a big leader of the Civil War in 1861.

Leadership is a big deal in today’s culture and in history. A good leader with great leadership has the potential to lead a sports team to a championship. It can be the deciding factor in a war between two nations because whoever has the better leader in the war with the right strategies will come up with a victory. A right leader in the government system can also lead the nation to prosperity and wealth or, can break a nation and drive the nation into a state of depression. Leadership is everywhere and the right leader will lead you to do remarkable things.

It is very commonly stated that there are two types of people in this world: leaders and followers. A leader is someone who is brave, or good at divulging the bravery of others. A leader is someone who is relaxed, or able to bring serenity into a time of chaos. Most importantly, a leader is persuasive and able to provide people with the direction needed to achieve the task at hand. Unfortunately, these are not qualities that one can simply decide to possess. People are not followers simply because they choose to be, but because they do not have what it takes to be anything more. Although many people will try to rise above and lead others, there are only a select few that will succeed.

Leadership is something that people are born with. It is an inherent charm and it doesn’t hide even if you want to hide it. There is a leader amongst us and he or she is the one that leads other people to great things by inspiring and motivating people to do good deeds. Leadership has been described as “a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task”. This way a leader can decide what work goes in and goes out. Good leaders in history have left a mark in walks of life. But great leaders, they’re different. Great leaders have the ability to make each and every individual re-think their life decisions and choices by

Throughout my short life, I have come to realize that a leader does not necessarily, although they may, maintain a defined position of leadership. A leader is one who will rise to the challenge even when the odds in opposition. A leader will tackle any barrier that stands in the way of the goal. A leader is willing to be hated and face criticism for doing what is right. Leaders come in all different forms, but a leader is the one who is always willing to make the difficult decisions.

The definition of leadership has not changed over the course of time. Through a compare and contrast method of analysis, one can glean the common traits of a leader from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Thomas More’s Utopia, and Queen Elizabeth’s speech to the Spanish Armada. Leadership can be defined as a person who is able to relate to their subjects, accept their responsibilities as a leader, and has a following of supportive people.

According to Dictionary.com the definition of leadership is the position or function of a leader, a person who guides or directs a group. Historical figures have many different famous quotes on leadership reflecting what they believe about the function of a leader. The 40th president of the United States, Ronald Reagan states, "The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things."(Reagan, 1975). A famous leader in the African American civil rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr. quotes his view of a leader, "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."(King, 2016). Business executive Donald Mcgannon states, "Leadership is an action, not a position." (Mcgannon, 2008).

Typical conceptions of leadership associate this word with authority and power. On the contrary, the role of effective leadership means quit the opposite. The virtue of leadership is not to hold power, but rather to empower others. A real leader selflessly devotes his or her efforts and time for the prosperity of the organization as a whole as well as the thriving of individuals. The epitome of this oxymoron can be found in how I strive to emulate the leadership of Christ, who had all the power and authority to rule, but instead humbled himself to eat with prostitutes and wash feet. Leadership shouldn’t be about being higher than others. It should be about encouraging and inspiring others to step up, staring first with the example of my own

Leadership encompasses the world around us, and is seen in some shape or form every single day. Without it, there would be no sense of direction for anyone, people would be lost. Leaders are those who take initiative to do what others won’t. Those who strive to make a difference in our ill directed world and guide those who need to be guided, or pushed, further than they deem themselves capable. Leadership doesn’t take enormous physical strength or even a booming voice. All it takes is a strong mind, full heart, and a purpose.

A quick Google search for “Leadership” will yield over 490 billion entries with results ranging from Forbes Magazine to the Harvard Business Review, and on Amazon.com there are over 140,000 books written on the topic. If you limit your query to trying to find a definition of leadership the results be come only slightly clearer, with 298 billion results and thousands of websites trying to clearly articulate the definition of a leader. This focus on building great leaders stretches throughout history with philosophers like Plato extolling the virtues by which good leaders could be identified, and examples like Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, and George Washington litter the annals of history giving us living examples by which to model leadership.

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.

Management in my mind and as the book reinforces the definition to be, to plan, to organize, to staff for the process, and to control the process to the end. These are consider the primary functions of the management role (p.8).