Leadership                                                                                                                      

What is leadership?                            

It seems to be one of those qualities that you know when you see if, but is difficult to describe. Many associate leadership with one person leading. Four things stand out in this respect.

·         First, to lead involves influencing others.             

·         Second, where there are leaders there are followers.

·         Third, leaders seem to come to the front when there is a crisis or special problem. In other words, they become visible when an innovative response is needed.

·         Fourth, leaders are people who have a clear idea of what they want to achieve and why. Thus, leaders are people who are able to think and act creatively in non-routine situations – and who set out to influence the actions, beliefs and feelings of others. In this sense being a ‘leader’ is personal. It flows from an individual’s qualities and actions, with an underpinning of knowledge, expertise or authority.

 Leadership V Authority

Some leaders get confused with leadership and authority. Authority being seen as the possession of powers based on a formal role, they are seen as people who have the right to direct us. We obey them because we see their exercise of power as legitimate.  Leaders may have formal authority, but they rely in large part on informal authority. They may be trusted, respected for their expertise, or followed because of their ability to persuade.

Leaders have authority as part of an exchange: if they fail to deliver the goods, to meet people’s expectations, they run the risk of authority being removed and given to another. The leader also relies on ‘followers’ for feedback and contributions. Without these they will not have the information and resources to do their job. Leaders and followers are interdependent.

People who do not have formal positions of power can also enjoy informal authority. In a football team, for example, the manager may not be the most influential person. It could be the established player who can read the game and energise the colleagues.

This introduction to leaders was reproduced from the encyclopaedia of informal education www.infed.org

The following links provide further reading on leadership:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7033398.stm

http://www.businessballs.com/leadership.htm

http://www.infed.org/leadership/traditional_leadership.htm