What is leadership?

• Whenever there is a group, the need for leadership arises.
• Even among anarchists who reject authority, there is some from of leadership.
• When there is a group of more than one, a leader is available.
• Leadership is instinctive. Survival demands group activity.
• Ex:Ancient tribes like Veddhas, African etc also have leaders.
• Group activity in turn demands leadership.

• It is strongly believed and rightly so that the success or failure of a group, organization or even a nation depends to a great extent on leadership as can be seen even from historical concerns.
• Ex: Asoka of India
• Leadership wields authority and influence over others as people who provide leadershiphappen to be more capable people. Thus people like leadership positions.
• Exercise of leadership than mere authority makes people work more and also willingly even without the need for monitoring and supervision.

Definitions of leadership:

1. The process of one individual in a group influencing other members of the group towards achiving the goal or goals of the group or the organization. - R.A. Barron and J Greenberg - 1999.

2. The process of creating a vision for others and having the process to translate that into reality and aslo sustain it - J.P.Kotter The essence of this definition is that when vision is understood and accepted by the people, they strive to achive it.

There is no fundamental difference between thesetwo definitions.

Some draw backs of these definitions;

1. Followers of the leader are assumed to be passive participants of the group ior organisation.
2. Nothin is said about the coercive power to authority a person may be vested with to function as a leader.
3. Leadership is shown to a goal directed activity though followers have other socioeconomic motives too.
4. Followers have the faith that the leader can be trusted to achieve both theri goals and the socioeconomic motives.

Thus the above definitiopns can be regarded as too simplistic for gaining full understanding of leadership.

A better Definition:

A process of interaction between the leader and followers in a way that enables the leader to influence the action and behaviour of the followers in a non-coercive way for the accomplishment of the aims and objectives of the followers.-Drek Rollinson , 2002.