Feedback Form
Home Features Mastermind Forums About Advertise Blog Network Contact Be An Author

Redefinition of Leadership

Redefinition of Leadership

Ralph Stogdill noted, “There are almost as many definitions of leadership as there are persons who have attempted to define the concept.” How true he is! The word “Leader” has been defined and redefined so many times, it can be hard to keep track with, let alone demonstrate in our respective places of work. In previous years leadership has been described as a process as well as a property. In process, leadership is being able to indirectly or directly influence and coordinate an organization’s attempt to fulfill a group goal. As a property, leadership is described as possessing the qualities and characteristics needed to help an organization to succeed.

In this day and age, good leadership is needed in organizations across the globe in order to grow, and to be successful. Why? Simply because as the world changes, organizations in various capacities are in the need to adapt to the changes. When organizations don’t perform well, one of the #1 comments that are stated in reference to its failure is: “They had bad leadership”

However, to place a company’s failures on one individual is somewhat erroneous. An organization is made up of people and so it is the organization as a whole, or its, people, that determine whether all will succeed.

Understanding this key issue leads to the discussion of leadership not just from individuals, but from the entire organization. This “broad-based leadership” means in every nook and cranny of an organization, a leader can be found. It is up to every individual to decide for themselves whether they will go beyond just minimal work…and be a leader.

Traditionally, within organizations, the word “leader” sparks the position: “Management”, or “Supervisor”. However, are these words really related? In examination, the very answer may be no. One article in the Australian newspaper, The Age noted, “Managers feel comfortable with hierarchies and a command-and-control type of environment where orders come from above and those who receive those orders get paid for executing them.”

In comparison supervisors, typically influence an organization’s sub-group through formal rewards (perhaps promotion) and punishment (write-up) under contractual agreement. Both positions seem very structured, and leave no room for growth ---which is a dire need in today’s organizations.

Leaders, however, according to the same article are comfortable in horizontal (“pancake”) organizational structures. They are not “a person in charge,” but, rather, a coach…part of the network in the organization in order to support everyone.

Are organizations really trying to cultivate leaders within their organizations? Yes. Another article from The Age entitled, “First It Was Teamwork,--Now it’s the leadership industry; Just Managing” reported that in the year 2000, 50 billion dollars were spent in leadership development within organizations. Yet, not all companies seem to be reaping the benefits from the investment.

Ranked #5 on Business Week’s list of the World’s Top 10 Management Gurus, Leadership expert Jay Conger noted in The Age that some organizations sabotage their own efforts to gain leadership. He noted that many corporations have an internal culture of “conservatism and risk-aversion.” This causes an organization to look great face-wise, but internally, there isn’t any growth, or internal success. He states that traditionally, “You could argue that organizations, although they say they want leadership, actually they don’t want too much leadership. They want the leadership of the CEO, not the leadership from the ranks below.”

So how do organizations get past this traditional internal culture? First the organization must realize that they need two kinds of leadership. The first kind deals with the entrepreneurial aspect of an organization. The second kind involves crisis and/or turnaround situations. If members in an organization learn how to cultivate both types of leadership capabilities, success is sure to follow.

Organizations also need to be able to focus on building a leadership culture. Some attributes include the following:

• Learning
• Coaching
• Team Building
• Regular Appraisal

Leadership from all levels has to be promoted not as an executive position, but as a privilege and an obligation to the organization. Former CEO of Telstra Corporation Limited, and current CEO of JI Ventures, Inc., Frank Blount once highlighted five "ingredients" that any CEO can use to generate the right environment for leadership. Here are three main ingredients:

• Public knowledge that status quo behavior is dissatisfactory
• Creating a widespread shared vision across the organization
• Leaving room for growth due to changes externally and internally

Leadership development is a worthy investment for any organization. It is important, however, that we make sure the organization is properly prepared for and anticipating the changes due to the organization’s new leadership culture. It is not up to just a handful of people to make an organization successful. It takes everyone to make it successful.





Redefinition of Leadership - To learn more about this author, visit Jennifer Loftus's Website.

Like this article? Share it with your friends

Article Feedback
 Article Feedback No article feedback found.
  Leave Your Feedback
article feedback

Article Feedback
Dianne Crampton

Dianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here.

Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009.  Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010.  To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here.

- Visit Dianne Crampton's Website


To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us.

About The Author


Jennifer Loftus
(Visit Jennifer's Website) Astron Solutions gets our articles from our bi-weekly e-zine, Astronology. Astronology utilizes a number of authors, each with their own fields of interest and expertise. All authors are employees of Astron Solutions unless otherwise noted. If you'd like to sign up for your FREE bi-weekly edition of Astronology, please visit http://visitor.constantcontact.com/ email.jsp?m=1101600060994 and fill out the required information. A bit about Astron Solutions: Astron Solutions is a New York-based consulting firm dedicated to the delivery of human resource consulting services and supportive technology. We work nationwide to develop and implement human resource programs that support the strategic direction of organizations through the creation of a positive employee relations environment. For more information and complete contact information, please visit our website.

Jennifer Loftus is a Platinum author on EvanCarmichael.com
About The Author

View Author Blog
View Author Blog

View Author Video
View Author Video

Free Downloads


Jennifer Loftus's

Complete
List Of
Human-Resources
Articles

Name
Email
If you enjoyed this article, get Jennifer Loftus's Complete List of Human-Resources Articles For FREE!

More Jennifer Loftus
April Fools Day Employee Morale and How to Kill it in 5 Easy Steps
Addressing Political Activism in the Workplace
The New York Knicks and the New York Yankees What Can They Teach Us About HR
Telecommuting Is it feasible for your company
DemocratRepublican HR Positions Election Preview
Helicopter Parents Descending onto Your Organization
How the Madison Square Garden Lawsuit Changes Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
Halloween At Your Place of Employment
What are Some Best Practices in the Area of Sabbatical Leave
Custom Survey Dos and Donts
Free Downloads


 
 
 


Evan Elite Authors
Dianne Crampton  
Casey Gollan  
David Acheson  
Evan Elite Authors

Become An Author
Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details.
Become An Author

Evan's Latest Video
Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media
Evan's Latest Video

Business Opportunities
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"

How to Start An Online Business

Click Here To Learn More
Business Opportunities



Evan's Newsletter
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Name:
Email:
Evan`s Newsletter

Free Downloads
Increasing Coaching Effectiveness Icon Increasing Coaching Effectiveness
Recession Proof Icon Recession Proof
Confidentiality Agreement Icon Confidentiality Agreement
Pro-Forma Template Icon Pro-Forma Template
Hiring An SEO Expert Icon Hiring An SEO Expert
Free Downloads - Complete List

Entrepreneur Tools and Guides
Top 50 SEO Posts of the Year
Top 50 SEO Posts - 2008
Top SEO Posts of the Year
 
Top 50 Business Plan Blog Posts for 2008
Top 50 Business Plans
Top Business Plan Blogs
 
Entrepreneur Tools and Guides

SEO For Africa
SEO For Africa
Stella Mordi Benin City, Nigeria,
Stella Mordi
Benin City, Nigeria
SEO For Africa

If I Were A Startup...
Lisa Shepherd, $335k to $1.1 Mil in 2 years
Lisa Shepherd
$335k to $1.1 Mil in 2 years
Robert Iachetta, $372k to $921k in 2 years
Robert Iachetta
$372k to $921k in 2 years
If I Were A Startup... - Complete List

Famous Entrepreneurs
Mary Kay Ash, Mary Kay Cosmetics
Mary Kay Ash
Mary Kay Cosmetics
Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad
Famous Entrepreneurs - Complete List

Entrepreneur Advice
John Jantsch, Duct Tape Marketing
John Jantsch
Duct Tape Marketing
T. Harv Eker, Millionaire Mind
T. Harv Eker
Millionaire Mind
Entrepreneur Advice - Complete List

Popular Articles
(Premium Authors)

     Leaders Should Think Bigger
By Donna Karlin
     How to Pick The Right Coach
By Donna Karlin
     Meeting Reality Checker
By Donna Karlin

Have A Suggestion?
Toronto Salsa Classes / Toronto Salsa Lessons Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
Have A Suggestion?

More Evan Carmichael
More Information