What is Leadership

            What is leadership?  A simple question yet most people do not know the actual meaning of leadership.  If you type what is leadership in Google search, you will get a basic definition that only scratches the surface of the true meaning.  According to Google, leadership is the action of leading a group of people or an organization.  Prior to this leadership class, the only word I thought was most important in that definition was leading.  After this class, I now realize that “people” is the most important word in that definition.

            I’d like to start with what leadership is not.  I feel that it’s essential for people to recognize what leadership isn’t before they establish a great foundational of what leadership is.  Leadership has nothing to do with one’s position in the hierarchy of a company.  Becoming a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a fortune 500 company does not make you a leader automatically; title is irrelevant to leadership.  Also, leadership has nothing to do with personal attributes.  Personal attributes are traits that define who you are as a person, not a leader; leadership is not an adjective.  In addition, leadership is not management.  Leadership and management are two terms that have no common denominator; they are not the same.  Managers plan, solve, hire, fire, coordinate, and many other tasks; however, one task that is not under their portfolios is lead.  Managers are not leaders; only leaders lead people.

            So, now that we know what leadership isn’t, let us get down to business and answer this simple question:  what is leadership?  Before, I thought the meaning of leadership as someone who has power and total control over a task; I didn’t do the terminology justice.  Leaders are individuals who empower and influence their followers.  Leaders need followers; followers need leaders.  Both parties are equally important; they coexist.  Leaders and followers define each other; they complete the equation.  Leadership is a process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal.  I came across that definition a long time ago and I never bothered to fully understand what it meant; however, the day has come.  Bill Gates, an inventor and a philanthropist, once said, “As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.”

            Let us analyze this definition and see if it supports my understanding of leadership.  The first sentence states that leadership is a process of social influence.  As I’ve stated earlier, leaders influence their followers to get the most out of them.  The definition continues, “…which maximizes the efforts of others.”  Leadership requires others; your teammates, your followers.  This implies that the success of a team should be the top priority on any leaders’ list; leaders should always think about the good of the whole team.  Furthermore, I mentioned that leadership is not about your rank or personal attributes.  Frankly, I was right.  The definition doesn’t say a thing about what defines you or your title.