You may have an immediate answer to the question, "what is leadership to you?"
Vroom & Jago (2007) as cited in Chobanuk & James (2015) define leadership as a combination of influence and motivation, helping to drive stakeholders, whether individuals or teams, toward a shared vision.
Paramanandam (2021) defines leadership as the way in which one gets people moving toward a specific goal.
You may have experienced these concepts in several environments:
You may even have been the one doing the influencing and motivating.
With this in mind, we all have ideas, notions, and visuals about leadership.
One of my favorite elements of leadership is that it isn't title or authority dependent. That means that anyone can be a leader.
You don't have to have years of tenure in a job, earned a specific title, or oversee a certain number of employees or departments.
It could be your first day on the job. It could even be your first job. And, you can still be a leader.
After graduating from Bridgewater State College (now University) with a degree in Physical Education, my first post-college job was as a personal trainer.
While sales, a significant part of the job, was new to me at the time, I had great confidence and knowledge in fitness program design, customer service, and exercise instruction.
Despite not having managerial authority, I was able to lead by taking the initiative to teach team members in sharing the insight, strategies, and techniques that I had.
And, my efforts were reciprocated as I was able to learn from others, as each member of our team had their areas of specialty. Iron sharpens iron!
"If I'm not leading by example, then I'm not doing the right thing. And, I want to always do the right thing." ~ Pat Summitt
"Leadership is hard to define, and good leadership, even harder. But, if you can get people to follow you to the ends of the Earth, you are a great leader." ~ Indra Nooyi
"Leadership is service to others." ~ Denise Morrison
Recommended: Quotes About Leadership And Teamwork.
If we're considering sports teams, recreational or competitive, youth, collegiate, or professional, leaders might be the coaches, captains, support staff, or any of the players.
A coach is a singular voice, though powerful, and may rely on others to encourage commitment to a message, and the desired actions, in instances and conversations where they're not present.
Captains may have been nominated or elected, yet they aren't the only ones capable of demonstrating leadership qualities or contributing positively to the culture.
Leaders are also present in the home. They can be immediate family, whether parents or siblings, or extended family in aunts, uncles, grandparents, and others.
And, while not everyone's home environment is the same, it's important to note that family isn't always necessarily about blood-relation.
Your family, and the leaders within, can be those individuals providing the greatest trust, security, encouragement, and love.
Use the form below to submit your answer to the question "what is leadership to you?"
You're welcome to write what comes naturally to you. However, using the following writing prompts as a "template" can be helpful.
I hope you enjoyed reading our article "What Is Leadership to You?" as much as I did writing it.
A favorite feature of our site is that visitors can become contributors, sharing their ideas and thoughts through invitation forms like the one above.
I'm excited to read your submissions, and am looking forward to seeing you online again soon.
This section of the site is an excellent foundation for developing leadership skills, understanding different types of leadership, and exploring leadership styles.
To continue your learning:
In health,
Boh
David Bohmiller, MBA, MS (he/him/his)
Founder, CEO and Consulting Executive
Inevitabl LLC
"Helping fitness industry leaders drive employee engagement and guiding teams through organizational change."
Help us spread the word about our site and this article on "what is leadership to you" by sharing it with your friends, fans, or followers. Click on the icon(s) below for your preferred social media platform and share away. Thank you!
Chobanuk, J., & James, K. (2015). Leadership Special Interest Group: What Is Leadership? Canadian Oncology Nursing Journal, 25(1), 114-117.
Paramanandam, P. (2021). The Leadership Theory Jungle - a Bird's Eye View. PRERANA: Journal of Management Thought & Practice, 13(2), 45-57.
Organizational change management, employee engagement strategies, and implementation support to reduce costs and improve revenues.
Have questions? Contact us.
FREE blueprint to engage teams and fight back against lost productivity.
We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time. By subscribing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.