"The Nature of Leadership"
Leadership is a subject that has long excited interest among people. The team connotes images of powerful, dynamic individuals who command victorious armies, direct corporate empires from atop gleaming skyscrapers, or shape the course of nations. The exploits of brave and clever leasers are the essence of many legends and myths. Much of our description of history is the story of military, political, religious, and social leaders who are credited or blamed for important historical events, even though we do not understand very well how the events were caused or how much influence the leader really had.
The widespread fascination with leader ship may because it is such a mysterious process, as well as one that touches everyone's life. Why did certain leaders (e.g, Gandhi, Mahammed, Mao Tse Tung) inspire such a intense fervor and dedication? How did certain leaders ( Julius Caeser, Alexander the great) build great empires?
Questions about leadership have been a subject of speculation, but scientific research on leadership did not begin until the twentieth century. The focus of much of the research has been on the determinants of leadership effectiveness. Social scientists have attempted to discover what traits, abilities, behaviors, sources of power, or aspects of the situation determine how well a leader is able to influence followers and accomplish task objectives. The reasons why some people emerge as leaders and the determinants of the way a leader of the way a leader acts are other important questions that have been investigated, but the predominant concern has been leadership effectiveness.
Definitions of Leadership
The term Leadership is a word taken fro the common vocabulary and incorporated into the technical vocabulary of a scientific discipline without being precisely redefined.
- Leadership is the behavior of an individual...directing the activities of a group toward a shared goal (Hemphill and Coons, 1995, page 7)
- Leadership is the process of making sense of what people are doing together so that people will understand and be committed. (Drath and Palus, 1994, page 4)
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