What is Leadership?

According to Richard Hughes’ “Leadership – Enhancing the Lessons of Experience,” there are many paradigms of leadership: “It is important to understand that there is no single ‘correct’ definition.” Nevertheless, I am inclined to follow the definition put forth by Hughes as well as another similar one from Peter Northouse in “Leadership – Theory and Practice”:

Leadership is a process of interaction between individuals characterized by exchanges of influence in an effort to attain some group goal.

The definition quickly breaks away from some other popular paradigms of leadership. For instance, Hughes and Northouse as well as Covey stress that leadership doesn’t necessarily imply a leader controlling his or her subordinates. In fact, in order for a leader to influence others, he must often be influenced himself (though later, you will see that there are some leadership models that differ from this equalitarian view). Such a definition, where even “followers” can influence “leaders,” seems to apply well to the university setting where respect and equality is highly valued between students. Even in cases where there is a definite leader, such as the president of an executive, the definition implies that leadership can only occur with mutual cooperation between leaders and followers (Burns, 1978; Jago, 1982; Hollander, 1990).

Hughes makes several other important points that I feel couples with the integrity of the definition. First, leadership is not simply “common sense,” nor is it a quality that is instilled in some and not others. It is a process – and what’s more, a learned process – that is a product of both experience and formal learning. Once we see that leadership is not some uncommon trait found in special individuals (as implied by some other leadership models, e.g. orthodox Great Man Theory), but a learned process, we can see that leadership can be developed by all of us: “There is ample opportunities for all of us to be leaders and to make a difference… We need leaders [on all] stages of life (Hughes, 1993).”

How can you develop your leadership skills? As addressed earlier, leadership has both an experience component and a formal learning component. To help you, this section on Interpersonal Development will help show you two things:

(1) How to get the most out of your experiences

(2) What are the models of different types of leadership

The aim of the first section is to familiarize you with the various techniques of self-assessment. Experience does not simply mean “going with the flow” but rather knowing what you got out of the experience – a process of reflection and understanding. The second section introduces you to various leadership models – which one you choose to adapt most likely depends on who you are as an individual, as well as the circumstances of the situation that you are faced with. It’s important to note that these two sections actually go hand-in-hand.