Leadership

I liked the below definition of a leader that I read on the web.

We define leader as an ordinary human being
with both
• a commitment to produce a result whose realization would be extraordinary given
the perceived current circumstances, and
• the integrity to see this commitment through to its realization.


Leadership involves:
• Establishing direction
• Developing a vision for the future along with strategies for producing the changes needed to achieve that vision
• Aligning people
• Communicating the direction so that those who are needed to fulfill it understand the vision and are committed to it
• Motivating and inspiring
• Keeping people moving in the right direction despite the barriers by appealing to basic, often
untapped human needs, values and emotions

Aspects of Leadeship

CREATE VISION: Establish a vision that goes beyond what current know-how provides the means to accomplish and therefore requires breakthroughs for its realization
• ENROLL others in voluntarily committing to the realization of that vision
• IDENTIFY BREAKDOWNS: Create systems that identify and communicate the gaps between the committed vision and what will predictably happen
• MANAGE FOR BREAKTHROUGHS: Create an environment where people renew their commitment to the vision in the face of breakdowns so that breakthroughs can occur

SOURCE: John P. Kotter, A Force For Change: How Leadership Differs From Management, The Free Press, New York