What Defines Leadership

The Word Cloud of Leadership

Pondering the definition of leadership instantly brings to mind all the exceptional (and not so exceptional) leaders I have worked with and for. It then reminds me I, as a teacher, have led leaders in my classroom. Leaders are all of us, daily interacting in our capacities to be the best we can be and serve others.

The numerous text and videos we reviewed this week brought a profound awareness to the attention we all have now on leadership as we watch our government transition from one leadership style to a completely opposite leadership style.

Peter Northhouse examined leadership with traits, mentioning a person can't change out their traits.
He listed six:
Intelligence
Confidence
Charisma
Sociability
Determination
Integrity
I found these traits are all prevalent in the leaders I both admire and respect and also leaders I don't feel comfortable with; I don't consider leaders I would recommend or want to work with. This leads me to believe traits, while a constant, are not necessarily an attribute which determines quality of leadership.

The Leadership Challenge; Kouzes & Posner, video and text provided leadership practices mentioning they have been consistent over time.
The five practices of exemplary leaders:
Model the way
Inspire a shared vision
Challenge the process
Enable other to act
Encourage the heart
"Leadership is not about who you are; it's about what you do."

In the video Leadership Skills of Tomorrows Leaders, various scholars and leaders gave input as to the skills of a leader. There seems to be a common theme to the skills mentioned, personal values, and visionary skills.
Skills mentioned:
Trust
Mindful - notice new things
Character
Empathy
Devotion to others
Curiosity - inquisitive
Relentless
Desire to build capacity around them.
And my personal favorite was "They always explain why. Identify what."

The resources we used to research the question, "What defines leadership" were plentiful with positive and encouraging, traits, skills, practices, and more. Not only did the reading and research help me identify these qualities in others, they have sparked an awareness in my actions as I deal with staff and students daily.