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Lesson 1: Introduction to Leadership
Lesson 1 Introduction
Leadership is one of those concepts that we all have some familiarity with, but have likely never given a lot of thought to what it is. Before you read any further, take a minute to think about what leadership means to you. How do you define leadership? How would you describe a good leader?
Mini Activity
Take a minute to write down your definition of leadership. After you have done this, ask a friend or relative to define leadership. You will probably find that your definitions are different.
Imagine if you were to stop and ask busy people on the street what leadership meant to then. What sorts of answers do you think you might get? Well, let’s watch this video and find out:
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SPEAKER: What does the word "leadership" mean for you?
SPEAKER: Yeah, good question.
SPEAKER: Difficult one.
SPEAKER: Leadership is motivating others in the group.
SPEAKER: It's the one who can take control.
SPEAKER: And guide other people in a direction is like the main idea.
SPEAKER: Inspiration, direction, encouragement. But someone can be a leader of something, even if they're not technically in charge of it.
SPEAKER: But it can also be inclusive, like getting people to have their own opinions. But overall, it's to control the given situation, even though it's allowing people to have individual thought within that.
SPEAKER: It's more about commanding, I think, someone taking over in a time when pressurized and in a job where a lot's going on and someone needs to take control of the situation.
SPEAKER: Leadership is controlling a group of people, in terms of a team.
SPEAKER: [LAUGHS] I think I haven't a clue.
SPEAKER: You have to be someone very strong as a personality, able to see what people need and what people strive for, and help them to achieve this.
SPEAKER: Leadership is being able to inspire people to do what you think is the right thing for them to do, to be able to give them that motivation and encouragement to get the job done.
SPEAKER: Keeping people informed, obviously making the correct decisions.
SPEAKER: A place that's well run, good top-down management, something that you have respect for.
Were you answers to the questions above similar? Different?
Take note of what images have popped into your mind as you have been reading this commentary and watching the video. Maybe you envisioned a coach in a sports teams, a teacher classroom, a presidential candidate or other political or military figure, or maybe you thought about people you have worked with.
Leadership is a complex phenomenon, as you will see throughout this semester. There are many different definitions of leadership and many different approaches to study leadership. In this class we will learn about a variety of these approaches.
What Will We Learn in this Lesson?
At the end of this lesson you will be able to:
- Differentiate between theories and maxims
- Differentiate between trait leadership and process leadership
- Understand the differences between assigned and emergent leadership
- Explain the similarities and differences between leadership and management
- Be familiar with leaders, followers, and situations, and how they interact
- Be able to briefly explain how to assess leadership
Before we jump in, it’s important to start with a discussion about the need for psychological safety as we learn together in this course. As you might suspect and saw briefly in the video above, people’s views on the topic of leadership and opinions about various leaders can vary greatly. Therefore, it’s important that we establish some principles for how we will manage disagreement and maintain a learning environment in this course.
Lesson Readings and Activities
By the end of this lesson, make sure you have completed the readings and activities found in the Course Schedule.