What is leadership?
Well, much have been said and discussed about the concept of leader and leadership. For example, there are terms and concepts advocated by many researchers, such as charismatic leadership (Wright, 1996); organizational leadership (Katz & Kahn, 1978); ethical leadership (Fluker, 1998:11); heroic model of leadership (Badaracco, 1994); altruistic leadership (Ismail, 1999); servant leadership (Greenleaf, 1970); educative leadership (Ibrahim, 1996); value-based leadership (Kuczmarski & Kuczmarski, 1995); transactional leadership (Burns, 1977); transformational leadership (Burns, 1977); political leadership (Bolman & Deal, (1991); and many more.
Likewise, many generalisations are drawn from various sources. Whether the generalisations are taken from books on psychology, business administration and so on, which are sometimes platitudinous, the definitions, conceptualizations and generalisations had nevertheless provided points of departure for anyone to think analytically about leadership. Apparently, there is not one definition that can be accepted as a precise definition in describing leadership. Considering the fact that the term leadership has been used not only to characterize individual skills – but also used interchangeably with some other terms such as situations, power, authority in relations to institutions, groups, and also managerial skills – leadership, then, is often confused and misunderstood by many. A manager, for example, is often misunderstood when he is referred to as a leader simply because a manager, by virtue of its position and post, has its own subordinates and posesses some degree of power and authority granted by the institution. It is at this point that some researchers distinguish between a manager and a leader in terms of their roles and responsibilities. In one perspective, leaders are looked as inspiring visionaries, always concerned about substance, while managers are considered as planners who have concerns with processes (Zaleznik, 1977). Bennis (1989) on the other hand, suggested some distinctions between a manager and a leader, of which he felt that,
1.Managers administer, leaders innovate.
2.Managers ask how and when, leaders ask what and why.
3.Managers focus on systems, leaders focus on people.
4.Managers do things right, leaders do the right things.
5.Managers maintain, leaders develop.
6.Managers rely on control, leaders inspire trust.
7.Managers have a short-term perspective, leaders have a longer-term perspective.
8.Managers accept the status-quo, leaders challenge the status-quo.
9.Managers have an eye on the bottom line, leaders have an eye on the horizon.
10.Managers imitate, leaders originate.
11.Managers emulate the classic good soldier, leaders are their own person.
12.Managers copy, leaders show originality.
Now, what next?
