The Meaning of Leadership

“Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal.” (Northouse) I use to believe that leadership shows the confidence that many people do not portray, because my thoughts were that leadership was a group of people who stand up for the things that they believe. After an extensive study on the meaning of leadership, I have come to find that there is no way to specifically define the meaning of leadership, but there are ways to grasp a better understanding of what the aggregate meanings entail. The big questions that we are faced with are these; how is leadership approached in life, when is it practiced and needed, and who are some leaders in history that portray great leadership skills. Leadership can be defined as many things, but in an overall sense leadership is a process. A leader has a goal that is trying to be reached; in order to reach this goal the leader works with a follower. Leadership consists of influence, common goals, and group work. Great leaders must be persuasive and able to get people to follow what it is that they are trying to accomplish. In order for leadership to exist at all, influence must take place for the leader to achieve their goal, therefore to influence a situation you must have a certain amount of power in order for a follower to feel that they are following for a good reason.
There are five bases of power: Referent power concerns if the follower is fond of the leader. Expert power acknowledges the leaders understanding and knowledge of the subject in which is being lead. Legitimate power is the status in which the leader holds, such as a job or group, etc. Reward power concerns the leaders ability to provide reward to the followers. The last one is Coercive power, which occurs when the leader has the ability to punish or penalize the follower.
Without these five bases a leader would be unable to affect and influence the group of people who are working to achieve a common

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