Leadership is a relationship between those who aspire to lead and those who choose to follow".

(Kouzes & Posner, 2002)

"Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal". (Northouse, 2004) "Leadership is the influencing process of leaders and followers to achieve organizational objectives through changes". (Lussier & Achua, 2004) "Leadership is the behavior of an individual... directing the activities of a group toward a shared goal". (Hemphill & Coons, 1957)

"Leadership is the influential increment over and above

mechanical compliance with the routine directives of the organization"

(D.Katz & Kahn, 1978) "Leadership is the process of incluencing the activities

of an organized group toward goal achievement"

(Rauch & Behling, 1984)

"Leadership is a process of giving purpose (meaningful (Jacobs & Jacques, 1990)

direction) to collective effort, and causing willing effort to be expended to achieve purpose" "Leadership is a relationship between those who aspire to lead and those who choose to follow". (Kouzes & Posner, 2002)

"Leadership is the ability to step outside the culture... to start evolutionary change processes that are more adaptive (E.H. Schein, 1992) "Leadership is the process of making sense of waht people are doing together so that people will understand and be committed" (Drath & Palus, 1994) "Leadership is about articulating visions, embodying values, and creating the environment within which things can be accomplished" (Richards & Engle, 1986) "Leadership is the ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organization..." (House et al., 1999) "Leadership is the ability of developing and communicating a vision to a group of people that will make that vision true" (Valenzuela, 2007)

What is leadership? (Group and Organizational)

Organizational leadership is the ability to articulate a vision, to embrace the values of that vision, and nurture a positive environment where everyone can reach the organizations goals and their own personal needs.

What is leadership? (Personal)

Personal leadership is the ability to

visualize a goal, to embrace the values of that goal, and maintain a positive perspective in a selfdisciplined environment until the goal is attained.

Why is leadership needed?

Leadership

is the ability to effectively combine individuals and resources together to accomplish things that would be virtually impossible to achieve alone.

Vision
This is the meaningful articulation of the mission of the organization in such an appealing and intuitive picture that it vividly conveys what the organization can be in the future. Vision instills a common purpose, self-esteem and a sense of membership within the organization.

Mission Statement
This typically describes the purpose of the organization and outlines the types of activities to be performed for constituents and customers. It should also mention what unique value or services the organization offers as a byproduct of its work.

Values
These are the guiding principles that state how the employees, beginning with management, intend to conduct their business and their behavior. These values will determine what kind of an organization develops and they become the foundation of the organizations culture.

Commitment
This is an employee's emotional investment to extend great effort toward the implementation of a decision, outcome or goal. Successful leaders need to be committed individuals and to solicit the commitment of others to achieve established goals, and the mission.

Motivation
This is the ability to provide an incentive or reason to compel others into action or a commitment. Since all individuals are different, successful leaders know that diverse people respond to different motivators. A wise leader also knows that money is not the strongest long-term motivator and cultivating an environment of fear is the least effective long-term motivator.

Teamwork
This is the ability of a leader to build a collaborative agreement among differing individuals within a group. A consensus usually occurs when various members of a group agree that a particular alternative is acceptable though it may not be the first choice of each member. Consensus building can create a greater degree of commitment among group members than a decision made by a simple majority.

Why is leadership important to you?

It is important because the development of positive leadership skills can have a beneficial and powerful impact in virtually every area of your life! Acquiring, understanding and exhibiting leadership skills can have a constructive influence within your workplace environment, within the Church, your community and in your personal relationships with others.

Leaders verses Leadership

The term leader is often misused by referring to someone in a position of power. Many who are called leaders lack real leadership qualities. Most individuals who demonstrate powerful leadership qualities are not in formal positions of power.

Leaders vs. Managers

Managers are people who efficiently strive to do things right. Focus is on mastering routines and systems. Leaders are people who effectively strive to do the right thing. Focus is on vision and judgment. The ideal person is one who can both manage well and has leadership skills.

Five Myths of Leaders

1. 2. 3. 4. Leadership is a rare skill. Leaders are born, not made. Leaders are charismatic. Leadership exists only at the top of an organization. 5. The leader controls, directs, prods, manipulates.
Warren Bennis & Burt Nanus Leaders

Coercion is not leadership, it is power!

Loose uses of the word lead can mislead you about leadership. Examplea policeman can lead a prisoner to jail. In this case, he/she is not a leader but a captor. They do not share the same goal. Leaders almost never have a need to coerce or intimidate others to get things done.

What is followership?
Followership is the individual desire to serve others and support a team in its task to complete a mission. Followers seek to perform their tasks well, maintain cooperative working relationships, provide constructive disagreement, share leadership functions and support leadership development.

Followership
The role of followers is not to be mindless lackeys. Their role is to help the leaders become more effective while remaining true to their own values and essential needs. Self-management skills allow followers to become effective individual contributors even in the absence of good leaders.

Followership
Recent cultural shifts in late 20th century

1. Followers now judge leaders more harshly. 2. Leaders now have impact only with credibility. 3. If leader is able to take the followers to a common goal, it is because they were all capable of that kind of response!

A leader has to develop a vision, has to communicate it and has to achieve it. Action is in the very essence of the leader's existence. In order to achieve the vision (or goal) the leader has to master five practices, as Barry Posner and Jim Kouzes state in "The Leadership Challenge, 3rd Edition". The practices are: 1. Challenge the Process 2. Inspire a Shared Vision 3. Enable others to act 4. Model the Way 5. Encourage the Heart

In every single practice mentioned there are commitments that the leader has to work on. Those are: To Challenge the Process, the leader has to search for opportunities by seeking innovative ways to change, grow and improve. He has to experiment and take risks constantly. To Inspire a Shared Vision, the leader has to evision the future imagining exciting and ennobling possibilities. He also has to enlist others in a common vision by appealing to shared aspirations. To Enable others to Act, the leader has to foster collaboration promoting cooperative goals and building trust. The leader has to strengthen others by sharing power and discretion.

To Model the Way, the leader has to clarify his personal values and set the example aligning actions and shared values.

To Encourage the Heart, the leader has to recognize contributions by showing appreciation for individual excellence. The leader has to celebrate the values and victories by creating a spirit of community.
Credibility After twenty years of research Posner & Kouzes found that people want leaders who are credible. If there's no credibility there's no leadership. The authors state that credibility is the foundation of Leadership.

They also state that there are four characteristics that a leader must have to be credible: honest, forward-looking, competent, and inspiring. They found that when there's a high degree of credibility you can expect to see the following behavior: a)People is proud to tell others they're part of the organization. b)They Feel a strong sense of team spirit. c) They see their own personal values as consistent with those of the organization. d)Feel attached and commited to the organization. e)Have a sense of ownership of the organization.

A Model for Understanding Leadership