April 7, 2012 Definition

Last Week's Definition
Leadership is the way in which an individual acts to influence others around him or her to produce results. Effective leaders should be able to match their personal vision to their actions and utilize different leadership styles in different situations. Leaders are ethical people and understand that there isn't always a single right answer and are able to make decisions based on their personal values. Leaders should be unbiased and should not quickly judge people based solely on their physical appearance (Gladwell).

This Week's Definition
Leadership is the way in which an individual acts to influence others around him or her to produce results. Effective leaders should be able to match their personal vision to their actions and utilize different leadership styles in different situations. Leaders are ethical people and understand that there isn't always a single right answer and are able to make decisions based on their personal values. Leaders should be unbiased and should not quickly judge people based solely on their physical appearance.

Analysis

I have not made any changes to my definition this week. The readings were primarily about working effectively in team environments which is something that everyone should understand, not just leaders. The main takeaway I had this week was from the "Interacting in Teams and Groups" reading but it simply emphasized what I already knew. Leaders should be able to adjust their leadership style and tactics for each stage the group is in (forming, storming, norming, performing) which relates directly to the part of my definition about adjusting leadership styles to fit situations. Otherwise, these readings didn't make me think about what defines a leader quite as much as how to effectively understand team dynamics.

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.
Yoon, S., & Johnson, S. (2008). Phases and patterns of group development in virtual learning teams. Educational Technology Research & Development, 56(5), 595-618. doi:10.1007/s11423-007-9078-x