Essay on Definition of Leadership

Definition of Leadership

Leadership occurs when an individual can notice the overall picture and respond accordingly to a situation that may arise. Several days ago, I ironically came across a post that said, “Leadership is not about being in charge. Leadership is about taking care of those in your charge” (Castle, 2021). I often find that people distort leadership simply by showing oversight, rather than mixing it with things such as contributions. When I think of how I would want to see leadership represented, I expect to see an individual who not only supervises the overall picture, but also considers the impact that the response has on the team and effectively communicates the pros and cons.  

Of the six concepts Northouse uses to define leadership, I see leadership as the relationship concept (Northouse, 2018). In my current job, I have been under the leadership of two different chiefs (a.k.a. leaders). Both individuals have completely different leadership styles that often have me favor one over the other at times. Although their methods vary, I feel ultimately, the end goal is the same. My previous chief seemed to always be in the trenches with us and definitely catered to the needs of our group over the needs of others. This individual seemed to always discuss things with the group so we all felt heard and were a part of the decision making process when appropriate. I feel that our current chief does things similarly, but the method of delivery makes it appear that we are in the trenches by ourselves at times. Obviously, it would not be fair to compare the two as apples and apples, but I will admit it is often hard. Instead, I try to notice things that they have done that I like and reflect on how I would respond if given the opportunity to be in a leadership role with a similar situation.  

Conceptualizing Leadership Questionnaire

Results

Total Scores

1. Trait emphasis: 17

2. Ability emphasis: 16

3. Skill emphasis: 16

4. Behavior emphasis: 17

5. Relationship emphasis: 18

6. Process emphasis: 17

Reflection

After filling out the questionnaire, I believe that a balanced mixture of the various aspects of leadership is important; but I wholeheartedly believe communication is key. My highest score was the relationship emphasis, which correlates with my personal perspective and statement earlier about the necessity of communication between a leader and followers. Communication has to be mutual and respected by both parties or a situation can occur such as the ones mentioned in the Dark Leadership video and Northouse in which you have a toxic environment because there is “unwillingness to listen to feedback” (Centre For Teaching And Learning, 2018) or followers are left worse off than they were found because the leader wants to use their influence or power for personal gain (Northouse, 2018).  

As the Brighton School of Business and Management video stated, some individuals either do or do not have instinctive qualities, such as integrity, assertiveness, and decision-making skills (Brighton School of Business and Management, 2014); but I believe these skills can be taught.  Therefore, I am not surprised that my lowest scores are ability and skills since these two are the least like my own perspective. An individual may have qualities that make them appear to have the ability to be a born leader, or they can be taught how to possess these qualities. How the individual chooses to portray various leadership skills determines how good of a leader they can be. For example, I would not say that I was born or had the ability to be a personal motivator. Since I have had interactions with anesthesiology assistant students over the past several years, I feel like I am motivating them in some shape or form on a weekly bases. Most of the time I do not even realize it is happening. It is not until it has been brought to my attention that I notice the impact I have had on them. This positive motivational skill was not something I was born with, but was rather taught from observation and practice of things I have seen in various leadership roles over the past years. I enjoyed seeing the positive results in the end. 

Conclusion

In order to portray positive leadership skills, one must also be flexible depending on the type of situation just as the Contingency Leadership Theories mentioned in the Core Leadership Theories video (Brighton School of Business and Management, 2014). One has to be constantly adaptable and portray various leadership aspects at any given time.  Northouse said it best, leadership is a “complex, multidimensional process” (Northouse, 2018, p. 11). To think one of these aspects is needed over the other or should be more emphasized, may result in a disaster or dark leadership. One must find a fine balance that incorporates most, if not all, of the aspects in order to be the best leader and get the most positive response or results in any given situation.