Week 10

Last Week's Definition: The process of taking initiative to develop
effective relationships to coordinate the strengths of different individuals in a group to accomplish a significant community goal, while improving emotional and strategic approaches in varying situations in order to work towards the overall goal in an ever-changing global society.

This Week's Definition: The process of taking initiative and recognizing potential to develop effective relationships and coordinate the strengths of different individuals in a group to accomplish a significant community goal, while improving emotional and strategic approaches in varying situations in order to work towards the overall goal in an ever-changing global society.

Analysis of the differences in the definitions: I have added "recognizing potential" to my definition because in order to "coordinate the strengths of different individuals" a leader must first see their strengths and understand how to use them in a way that will help the group reach its goal. This is an essential part of group development, particularly in the forming stage (Komives, Lucas, McMahon, 1998) when the team is being built. It's a unique kind of vision because recognizing potential is to see a latent or hidden strength in another person. The person possesses certain qualities perhaps they don't even see themselves, and a leader is one who can harvest that talent for the benefit of the group. This ability requires a leader who looks beyond themselves and invests in the team because they understand that, after all, a team's strength is greater than the sum of its individual's strengths (Komives, Lucas, McMahon, 1998).

Reference:
Komives, S. R., Lucas, N., & McMahon, T. R. (1998). "Interacting in Teams and Groups." Exploring Leadership: For college students who want to make a difference (pp. 165 - 194). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.