Leadership:

A leader is anyone who influences a group toward obtaining a particular result. It is not
dependant on title or formal authority. (elevos, paraphrased from Leaders, Bennis, and
Leadership Presence, Halpern & Lubar). An individual who is appointed to a managerial
position has the right to command and enforce obedience by virtue of the authority of his
position. However, he must possess adequate personal attributes to match his authority,
because authority is only potentially available to him. In the absence of sufficient
personal competence, a manager may be confronted by an emergent leader who can
challenge his role in the organization and reduce it to that of a figurehead. However, only
authority of position has the backing of formal sanctions. It follows that whoever wields
personal influence and power can legitimize this only by gaining a formal position in the
hierarchy, with commensurate authority. Leadership can be defined as one's ability to get
others to willingly follow. Every organization needs leaders at every level.
Leadership maintains its effectiveness sometimes by natural succession according to
established rules, and sometimes by the imposition of brute force.
The simplest way to measure the effectiveness of leadership involves evaluating the size
of the following that the leader can muster. By this standard, Adolf Hitler became a very
effective leader for a period even if through delusional promises and coercive
techniques. However, this approach may measure power rather than leadership. To
measure leadership more specifically, one may assess the extent of influence on the
followers, that is, the amount of leading. Within an organizational context this means
financially valuing productivity. Effective leaders generate higher productivity, lower
costs, and more opportunities than ineffective leaders. Effective leaders create results,
attain goal, and realize vision, and other objectives more quickly and at a higher level of
quality than ineffective leaders.

Studies of leadership have suggested qualities that people often associate with leadership.
They include:

Technical/specific skill at some task at hand

Charismatic inspiration - attractiveness to others and the ability to leverage this

esteem to motivate others

Preoccupation with a role - a dedication that consumes much of leaders' life service to a cause

A clear sense of purpose (or mission) - clear goals - focus - commitment

Results-orientation - directing every action towards a mission - prioritizing

activities to spend time where results most accrue

Cooperation - work well with others

Optimism - very few pessimists become leaders

Rejection of determinism - belief in one's ability to "make a difference"

Ability to encourage and nurture those that report to them - delegate in such a way
as people will grow

Role models - leaders may adopt a persona that encapsulates their mission and
lead by example

Self-knowledge (in non-bureaucratic structures)

Self-awareness - the ability to "lead" (as it were) one's own self prior to leading
other selves similarly

Awareness of environment - the ability to understand the environment they lead in

and how they affect and are affected by it

With regards to people and to projects, the ability to choose winners - recognizing
that, unlike with skills, one cannot (in general) teach attitude. Note that "picking
winners" ("choosing winners") carries implications of gamblers' luck as well as
of the capacity to take risks, but "true" leaders, like gamblers but unlike "false"
leaders, base their decisions on realistic insight (and usually on many other
factors partially derived from "real" wisdom).

Empathy - Understanding what others say, rather than listening to how they say
things - this could partly sum this quality up as "walking in someone else's shoes"
(to use a common clich).

Integrity - the integration of outward actions and inner values.

Sense of Humour - people work better when they're happy.

In 2008 Burman and Evans published a 'charter' for leaders:

1. Leading by example in accordance with the companys core values.
2. Building the trust and confidence of the people with which they work.
3. Continually seeking improvement in their methods and effectiveness.
4. Keeping people informed.
5. Being accountable for their actions and holding others accountable for theirs.
6. Involving people, seeking their views, listening actively to what they have to say
and representing these views honestly.
7. Being clear on what is expected, and providing feedback on progress.
8. Showing tolerance of peoples differences and dealing with their issues fairly.
9. Acknowledging and recognizing people for their contributions and performance.
10. Weighing alternatives, considering both short and long-term effects and then
being resolute in the decisions they make.
The approach of listing leadership qualities, often termed "trait theory of leadership",
assumes certain traits or characteristics will tend to lead to effective leadership. Although
trait theory has an intuitive appeal, difficulties may arise in proving its tenets, and
opponents frequently challenge this approach. The "strongest" versions of trait theory see
these "leadership characteristics" as innate, and accordingly labels some people as "born
leaders" due to their psychological makeup. On this reading of the theory, leadership
development involves identifying and measuring leadership qualities, screening potential
leaders from non-leaders, then training those with potential.

Twelve distinctions between a manager and a leader:

Managers administer, leaders innovate

Managers ask how and when, leaders ask what and why

Managers focus on systems, leaders focus on people

Managers do things right, leaders do the right things

Managers maintain, leaders develop

Managers rely on control, leaders inspire trust

Managers have a short-term perspective, leaders have a longer-term perspective

Managers accept the status-quo(The existing condition or state of affairs), leaders

challenge the status-quo

Managers have an eye on the bottom line, leaders have an eye on the horizon

Managers imitate, leaders originate

Managers emulate the classic good soldier, leaders are their own person

Managers copy, leaders show originality

Find out about the Trait Approach

Situational leadership theories in organizational studies are a type of leadership theory,

leadership style, and leadership model that presumes that different leadership styles are
better in different situations, and that leaders must be flexible enough to adapt their style
to the situation they are in. A good situational leader is one who can quickly change
leadership styles as the situation changes. The model doesn't apply only to people in
leadership or management positions; all people lead others at work, at play, and at home.

The Hersey and Blanchard model

Blanchard and Hersey characterized leadership style in terms of the amount of direction
and support that the leader provides to their followers. They categorized all leadership
styles into four behavior types, which they named S1 to S4:

System 1: Directing/Telling Leaders define the roles and tasks of the 'follower',
and supervise them closely. Decisions are made by the leader and announced, so
communication is largely one-way.

System 2: Coaching/Selling Leaders still define roles and tasks, but seek ideas
and suggestions from the follower. Decisions remain the leader's prerogative, but
communication is much more two-way.

System 3: Supporting/Participating Leaders pass day-to-day decisions, such as

task allocation and processes, to the follower. The leader facilitates and takes part
in decisions, but control is with the follower.

System 4: Delegating Leaders are still involved in decisions and problemsolving, but control is with the follower. The follower decides when and how the
leader will be involved.

Of these, no one style is considered optimal or desired for all leaders to possess. Effective
leaders need to be flexible, and must adapt themselves according to the situation.
However, each leader tends to have a natural style, and in applying situational leadership
he must know his intrinsic style.