DEFINITION & MEANING OF
LEADERSHIP
BY
BY
SMART LEARNING WAY
Contents
Introduction of leadership
Meaning of leadership
Definition of leadership
Importance of leadership
Conclusion
WHAT IS LEADERSHIP
Leadership is the
process of motivating other people to act in particular ways in order to
achieve specific goals. The motivation of other people may be achieved in a
variety of ways which affect leadership styles and the way a person exercises
leadership can be identified as a series of actions which are directed towards
a particular objective.
The emphasis is on… action because, although leaders
may exert influence through inspirational speeches, they are judged on what
they do.
‘Not the cry but the flight of the wild duck
leads the flock to fly and to follow.’
(Chinese proverb quoted by John
Adair, 1989.)
‘The common sense conclusion of this book is that leadership potential
can be developed, but it does have to be there in the first place’
Introduction
“Today’s leader is often
baffled or Frustrated by a new kind of
politics, which arises from significant interaction, with various governmental
agencies, relevant laws and regulations, the courts, the media, the consumers
and so on. It is the politics of maintaining institutional inner-distractedness
and mastery in ties of rapid change.”
Meaning
Human beings have to be effectively guided
towards a desired set of actions so that they willingly contribute towards the
organizational goals with zeal and confidence. “zeal is order, earnestness and
intensity in the experience and technical ability” the ability of individuals
to influence the behavior of others is referred to as leadership.
The leaders
exploit the human potential and transforms it into output which shall be
beneficial not only for the organization but also for the individuals
concerned.
Leadership gets the work done out of
a person or a group of persons through.
Use of power, depending on the
situation.
Understanding the individuals’ needs
and using the suitable motivators to fulfill these needs.
Power is the potential of an individual or a
leader to influence the behavior of others.
A leader can derive this power from various
sources.
- Legitimate power
- Reward power
- Coercive power
- Informative power
- Referent power
Simply stated,
leadership is the process of influencing the behavior of others towards the
accomplishment of goals in a given situation. According to George R. Terry,
“leadership is the activity of influencing people to strive willingly for group
objectives.” This definition put a direct emphasis on willingness on the part
of the
people led. Koontz and O'Donnell have defined leadership as “influencing
people to follow the achievement of a common goal. It is the ability to exert
interpersonal influence by means of communication towards the achievement of a
goal.” according to the encyclopedia of social sciences, “ leadership is the
relation between an individual and a group around some common interest and
behaving in a manner directed or determined by him.”
Definition
In the various
definitions of leadership the emphasis is on the leader’s ability to direct
group efforts towards the achievement of the organizational goals. While some
authors believe that the leadership is primarily an exercise of authority and
power, most of others look upon it as the process in influencing the group
activities. The definitions given by some leading authors and management
experts are given below:
DUBIN, R: Leadership is the exercise of
authority and making of decisions.
TERRY, G.R.: leadership is the activity of
influencing people to strive willingly for group objectives.
BASS, B.M.: leadership, in group discussion, is
the assumption of the tasks of initiating, organizing, clarifying, questioning,
motivating, summarizing and formulating conclusions; hence, the leader is the
person who spends the most tie talking to the group, since he carries but more
of these verbal tasks.
FIEDLER,F.E.: leadership is the ‘task of directing
and coordinating task relevant group activities’.
BIRLA,A.V.: leadership consists of leading men
by their consent.
According to LOUS A.ALLEN, “A leader is one who guides and
directs other people. A leader gives the efforts of his followers a direction
and purpose by influencing their behavior”.
KOONTZ & O’DONNELL Have defined leadership “as the
ability of a manager to induce subordinates to work with zeal and confidence”.
According to THEO HAIMANN, “leadership is the process by which
an executive imaginatively directs guides and influences the work of others in
choosing and attaining specified goals organization in such a manner that both
will obtain maximum satisfaction”.
KEITH DAVIS defines “leadership
as ability to persuade others to seek the defined objectives enthusiastically.
It is the human factor which binds a group together and motivates it towards
goals”.
Koontz & weihrich define leadership as “influence, that
is, the art or process of influencing people so that they will strive willingly
and enthusiastically towards the achievement of group goals.
KEITH DAVIS defines it as “the ability to
persuade others to seek defined objectives enthusiastically.”
According to STONER and WANKEL, leadership is the “process of
directing and influencing the task-related activities of group members.”
PEARCE And ROBINSON “leadership is the process of
influencing others to work towards the attainment of specific goals .”
KATZ and KAHN have observed: “in the descriptions of
organizations, no word is more often used than leadership, and perhaps no word
is used with such varied meanings. The word leadership is sometimes used to
indicate that it is an attribute of personality; sometimes it is used as if it
were a characteristic of certain position , and sometimes as an attribute of
behavior.”
Leadership has been defined as “the relationship in which one
person, or leader, influences others to work together willingly on related
tasks to attain that which the leader desires” this author views leadership as
a relational concept implying two ideas the influencing agent and the persons
who are influenced to get a task done. In other words, without followers there
can be no leader.
Leadership is that outstanding aspect
of management which manifests ability, creativeness, initiative and
inventiveness, and which gains the confidence, co-operation and willingness of
the people to work by organizing and building employee morale.
Leadership is the process of
influencing the activities of an individual or a group towards the achievement
of a goal in a function of the leader, the follower and other situational
variables”
“It is the ability to persuade others
to seek defined objectives enthusiastically. It is the human factor which binds
a group together and motivates it towards its goals”
“Leadership always involves attempt on the
part of a follower (the influenced) or followers in a situation”
Leadership can be defined as “the ability to cause others to
follow willingly, usually in initiating change. The ability to cause others to
follow for a common goal is one sure way of recognizing leadership. Leaders
initiate change either by making decisions or by encouraging others to make
the”
Mc farland says, “Administrative leadership is vital
to the survival and effectiveness of organization, for it initiates the
formulation of enols, secures their acceptance and guides the total effort
towards the attainment of these ends.”
In the words of Barnard keys and
Thomas case,
“leadership is the process of influencing and supporting others to work
enthusiastically towards achieving objectives.”
Tannenbaum defines leadership as “interpersonal influence, exercised
in situations and directed through the communication process, towards the
attainment of goals”
According to James stoner and others,
managerial
leadership is the process of directing and influencing the task related
activities of group members.”
In the words of David tansik and
others,
“leadership is a social process by which followers are influenced to willingly
engage in certain behavior”
According to peter Drucker, “leadership is the lifting of man’s
visions to higher sights, the raising of man’s performance to a higher
standard, the building of man’s personality beyond its normal
limitations.”
Tennenbaum et al “leadership is interpersonal
influence exercised in a situation and directed through communication process,
towards the attainment of a specified goal or goals.”
R.T. Livingston “leadership as
the ability to awaken in other the desire to follow a common objective.”
TERRY “leadership is essentially a
continuous process of influencing behavior. A leader breaths life into the
group and motivates it towards goals. The lukewarm desires for achievement are
transformed into a burning position for accomplishment.”
TERRY and FRANKLIN “leadership is the relationship in
which the leader influences others to work together willingly on related tasks
to attain goals desired by the leader and/or group.”
All there definitions point to the fact that leadership is a process of
influencing the behavior of individuals in a manner that they work towards the
attainment of organizational goals.
IMPORTANCE
In today’s world of competition,
a successful enterprise is not only the one which makes maximum profits, but
also the one which maximizes the interests of various works groups which come
into its contact. Looking after the interest of its shareholders, employees,
customers, suppliers and labor are as interests of the owners. An enterprise.
Which excels in satisfying there
diverse groups of society is the one which is a successful enterprise.
Effective leaders play a significant role in need satisfaction of the
organization, need satisfaction of its work force as also that of the society.
The importance of leadership can be understood through the following functions
performed by leaders.
- Leaders provide the task support
- Psychological support
- Development of individuals
- Building the team spirit
- Motivation
- Provides feedback
Conclusion.
A leader is one who guides and
directs other people. A leader gives the efforts of his followers a direction
and purpose by influencing their behavior. Leadership is different from
management. It is only a part of management.
Leadership may be defined as the ability
to influence and direct the task-related activities of the members of group. A
leader is a goal-setter, planner, executive, expert, group representative,
administrator of rewards and punishments and a symbol of the group.
Thoughts….
Leadership is not charisma
Leadership is not public relations
Leadership is performance
Leadership is credit worthiness
Leadership is the bottom line
- Rahul
Bajaj.
Leaders are called to stand in that lonely place between what has been
and what is not yet.
- Donald p Jones.
Leadership is action not position.
- Donald h Mc Gannon
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Dr. N. Vasishth.
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Tim hannagan,
principal of Oxbridge college.
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BEHAVIOUR,
By
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