Some interesting insight on leadership from my colleague, Brian DiBartolomeo, Senior Project Director for The Foresight Group. Read on…
Over the past few weeks I have watched the Linked In “group posts” flow into my inbox. Most recently was a post, within Human Resources Group, asking how leadership is defined. This particular question has inspired some thought provoking discussion on how people view leadership.
Some respondents have made it crystal clear that a leader is someone who “walks the walk and talks the talk.” Meaning that the leader is someone who acts as an example when leading people to a common focus/goal.
Many others have identified a leader in a different manner. Some of the most interesting posts are:
- Patient listener
- Hard task master
- Free and friendly – social off hours
- A father and mother figure to his or her team
- Approachable – shares with others
- Has a smile on his or her face
Although I do not agree with all of these above mentioned traits/behaviors, from my research I agree that a leader is one who has the ability to persuade other people to set aside, for a period of time, their individual concerns and to pursue a common goal that is important for the responsibilities and welfare of the group (Hogan, Curphy, and Hogan, 1994)*. Although the definition is brief and somewhat dated, I believe it embodies the operational definition of leadership, specifically, how a leader can motivate a diverse group of people to rally together for a common goal that individually they would never have attained.
How does your organization define leadership?
For more information please contact Brian Di Bartolomeo bdibarto@foresightint.com
*Hogan, R., Curphy, G., & Hogan, J. (1994). What we know about leadership. American Psychologist. 49, 493-504.
