Leadership

Today I submitted an assignment for my master's class on my definition of leadership and I felt like sharing. So feel free to take a peek and see if you could agree with my view of this word.

Leadership. This is a word that means different things to different people. I see leadership as the ability to guide people in a certain direction without force, to lead people in a direction that they feel a part of, and to be an inspiration through example. Telling people what to do and convincing people to do something are two completely different approaches to getting things done. Many believe that being in a position of authority makes you a leader, but it takes more than that. A leader is someone who can influence those around them without using their authority to do it. 

 Leadership creates an environment of high morale that leads to productive outcomes. It is impossible to lead when those around you begin to doubt what is going on or believe that they are not a part of it. Creating a sense of self-investment fosters the idea that the outcome is not only beneficial to all parties involved, but is also essential to the individual’s role in the company. This type of leadership creates a win-win environment where each person is directly affected by the plan of action. 

Without strong leadership an idea or concept will remain just that, an idea or concept. It takes a great leader to see those ideas and concepts to fruition, and it is taking the initial step out of the box that inspires people to follow them through that process. To lead by example is what people are looking for. People are looking to be inspired. Leadership understands these principles and uses them to make things happen. 

Like I said, I just kind of felt like sharing. I felt as though this were an excellent description of leadership and I would be able to defend it without a doubt.