BA 3004- Leadership and Organizational Behavior

M1.L1. Basic Concepts of Leadership

Shared by: Edeliza S. Gonzales

Facilitator
What is Leadership?
• Peter Drucker: "The only definition of a leader is someone
who has followers.”
Really? This instance of tautology is so simplistic as to be
dangerous. A new Army Captain is put in the command of 200
soldiers. He never leaves his room, or utters a word to the
men and women in his unit. Perhaps routine orders are given
through a subordinate. By default his troops have to “follow”
orders. Is the Captain really a leader? Commander yes, leader
no. Drucker is of course a brilliant thinker of modern business
but his definition of leader is too simple.
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 ?
• Warren Bennis: "Leadership is the capacity to
translate vision into reality.”

• Every spring you have a vision for a garden, and

with lots of work carrots and tomatoes become a
reality. Are you a leader? No, you’re a gardener.
Bennis’ definition seems to have forgotten
“others.”

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• Bill Gates: "As we look ahead into the next century,
leaders will be those who empower others.”

• This definition includes “others” and empowerment is a

good thing. But to what end? I’ve seen many
empowered “others” in my life, from rioting hooligans
to Google workers who were so misaligned with the rest
of the company they found themselves unemployed.
Gates’ definition lacks the parts about goal or vision.

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• "Leadership is accomplishing things that reach beyond solitary
abilities by acting — and getting others to act — with a maturity
that surpasses limited self-interest." -- John Baker, president of
READY Thinking, an organizational and leadership development
firm.

• "To paraphrase Dwight D. Eisenhower, 'leadership is the art of

getting others to do things you want done and feel good about it.'
I would go so far as to say the goal is to get the person to embrace
the "mission" and own it." -- Dale Hamby, a former Army major
and a teacher at Harrisburg University.

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• "A leader isn't limited to those with positional
authority. Leadership, instead, is defined alternatively
as someone who influences others to achieve a
common goal. This would represent the work and
contributions of anyone who serves in this capacity."
-- Barbara Steel, senior vice president of leadership
effectiveness at Zenger Folkman and co-author of "How
to Be Exceptional: Drive Leadership Success by
Magnifying Your Strengths" (McGraw-Hill, 2012),

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• "A leader comes up with new ideas for his or her
business or venture, innovates further as those ideas
develop, and makes sure to choose the right people to
get the ideas and innovations realized. Some business
schools push the view that one can be an innovator or
a manager, but not both. I think that’s flat wrong —
one has to be both an innovator and a manager to be a
good leader." -- Dan Biederman, president of
Biederman Redevelopment Ventures and The Bryant
Park Corp.

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• Leadership is getting people to want to follow.
That requires engaging them passionately, from
the heart, and requires persuading people to
change. Management is tactical; leadership is
strategic." -- Tom Kennedy, a certified
management consultant and principal of The
Kennedy Group.

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• "Leadership is when you give of yourself for the greater
good of others with no expectation of reward. It's that
willingness to jump in a ditch with your whole team so
that the next time they fall in, everyone understands the
best and easiest way to get out. As I deal mostly with
military families who need guidance towards a
sustainable future, leadership is absolutely concerned
with getting down in the trenches to do the dirty work."
-- Roxanne Reed, executive director of the Military
Spouse Foundation.

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• "In my experience, leadership is about three things: To
listen, to inspire and to empower. Over the years, I've tried
to learn to do a much better job listening actively, making
sure I really understand the other person's point of view,
learning from them, and using that basis of trust and
collaboration to inspire and empower. [It's about] setting
the bar high, and then giving them the time and resources
to do great work." – Larry Garfield, president, Garfield
Group

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• "Leadership is the ability to take an average team of
individuals and transform them into superstars. The best
leader is the one who inspires his workers to achieve
greatness each and every day." – Jonas Falk, CEO, OrganicLife

• "Leadership is influencing others by your character, humility

and example. It is recognizable when others follow in word
and deed without obligation or coercion." – Sonny Newman,
president, EE Technologies

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• “influencing people so that they will strive willingly
towards the achievement of group goals”

• As a leader you can never say thank you enough, but even more important is
the idea of serving the people you are leading.

• “Being a leader can be a very humbling experience.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urrYhnaKvy4

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• Koontz, H. and C. O’Donnell. “Management: A System of Contingency
Analysis of Managerial Functions”. McGraw-Hill, New York, 1976.
• Nelson and Quick: Understanding Organizational Behavior, Philippines
edition (2013)