Last Week's Definition: Leadership is the act of motivating a person or group of people towards a goal. A leader inspires and directs people in order to guide them to that goal.
New Definition: Leadership is influencing people by ways of motivation, guidance, and affiliation. A leader must be capable of being vulnerable. Much of leading is showing your followers that you are one of them and have the same goals.
Reasoning. I have sort of gone back to one of my first definitions about leadership having major components of motivation, guidance, and affiliation. I really believe these are important aspects of leadership. People are not influenced by someone they do not feel connected with, and are not motivated by someone they do not feel is striving for the same goal. This was emphasized in Kegan and Lahey's "The Real Reason People Won't Change." They explained that leaders for example CEOs must be able to show to their employees their test for immunity to change, allowing the employees to see that they are willing to change.
Kegan, R., & Lahey, L. L. (2001). The Real reason people won't change. Harvard Business Review, 79(10), 85-‐92.
Leave a comment