LEADING
Leading is the process of influence people so that they will contribute to organization
and group goals.
DEFINING LEADERSHIP
Leadership has different meanings by different authors.
Leadership is influence. Leadership is the art or process of influencing people so that
they will contribute willingly. And whole hardly toward the achievement of group
goals. Ideally. People should be encouraged to develop not only zeal and confidence.
Zeal is intensity in the execution of works; Confidence reflects experience and
technical ability. Leaders help a group to attain objectives through the maximum
application of its capabilities. They do not stand behind a group but they inspire the
group to accomplish organizational goals. A good example is an orchestra leader,
whose function is to produce coordinated sound and correct tempo through the
integrated efforts of the musicians. Depended on the quality of director’s leadership,
the orchestra will respond.
Leadership is a great quality and it can create and convert anything. There are many
definitions of leadership. Some of the definitions of leadership are reproduced
below:-
"LEADERSHIP" ACCORDING TO ALFORD AND BEATTY
"is the ability to secure desirable actions from a group of followers voluntarily,
without the use of coercion".
ACCORDING TO CHESTER I BARNARD
"It (leadership) refers to the quality of the behavior of the individual whereby they
guide people on their activities in organized efforts".
ACCORDING TO TERRY
"a leader shows the way by his own example. He is not a pusher, he pulls rather than
pushes".
ACCORDING TO KOONTZ AND O'DONNELL
Managerial leadership is "the ability to exert interpersonal influence by means of
communication, towards the achievement of a goal.
Since managers get things done through people, their success depends, to a
considerable extent upon their ability to provide leadership".
In the words of R.T. Livingston - Leadership is "the ability to awaken in others the
desire to follow a common objective".
ACCORDING TO PETER DRUCKER
Leadership "is not making friends and influencing people
i.e., salesmanship. Leadership is the lifting of man's vision to higher sights, the
raising of man's performance to higher standards, the building of man's personality
beyond its normal limitations".
ACCORDING TO LOUIS A ALLEN
"A leader is one who guides and directs other people. He gives the efforts to his
followers a direction and purpose by influencing their behaviour". In the words of
THEO HAIMANN
"Leadership is the process by which an executive imaginatively directs, guides and
influences the work of others in choosing and attaining specified goals by mediating
between the individuals and the organization in such a manner that both will obtain
maximum satisfaction".
ACCORDING TO KATZ AND KALM
"In the descriptions of organizations, no word is used with such varied meanings.
The word leadership is sometimes used to indicate that it is an attribute of personality;
sometimes, it is used as if it were a characteristic of certain positions, and sometimes
as an attribute of behaviour". From the above definitions we can conclude that
leadership is a psychological process of influencing followers (subordinates) and
providing guidance, directing and leading the people in an organization towards
attainment of the objectives of the enterprise.
