What is Leadership?
December 21, 2007
Students are sometimes amused at my insistence on defining almost every concept we use in class. They know, at the beginning of most lectures, is a section on definitions. Definitions are important. We often use words – like mission, vision, objectives, goals, priorities, values – without defining them. We assume everyone knows what we mean, when in reality people often use these words in very different, even contradictory ways.
For that reason, it is important to define “leadership” before trying to understand it or learn to do it. Dr. Joseph Rost has done important work in this area. With his research team, he made comprehensive study of how the word “leadership” was used throughout the 20th century. His team attempted to discover every definition of the word, in print, in the 20th century. Wow! They broke their research down by decade and then looked for common themes. The result is the book Leadership for the 21st Century.
The definition of leadership they determined is the best working definition I have seen. Rost’s definition is “leadership is an influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend real change according to their mutual purposes.”
The first important phrase is “influence relationship.” Leaders are influencers. We influence people and processes. We are at our best when we influence – not dictate, coerce, mandate, bargain, or blackmail. We are at our best when we recognize leadership is a relationship. It does not involve relationships, it is a relationship. We work with people, and processes created and implemented by people, to accomplish our purposes.
The second key phrase is “among leaders and followers.” Leadership is a dynamic relationship. Communicating flows both ways. Sometimes, particularly in ministry settings, leaders become followers and followers become leaders. Leadership takes place “among” people – not in strict soldier-rows of delegated, rigid rules of communication or decision-making.
Another significant phrase is “who intend real change.” Leadership is about change, about making what “isn’t” into what “is.” Management is an important skill, but it is not the same as leadership. Leadership is about real change, about discovering a preferred future and taking specific steps to achieve it.
Finally, leadership enables people to accomplish their “mutual purposes.” Leaders and followers both benefit from the process of leadership. Dictators accomplish much, but in spite of their followers instead of to benefit their followers. Real leaders engage followers in a dynamic process that benefits all involved.
Over the next few weeks we will look at different aspects of this definition.
Next Week: How to Increase Influence
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