Leadership Defined in a Nutshell

There are plenty of books published about leadership. It will always be a topic which gets as much attention as romantic comedy as it can be applied to everyday living. However, most of these books talk about leadership in lofty terms, as if something which can be understood in a professional level. And nearly all of them are treated in academic or philosophical terms. It, in a way, undermines small and medium level leaders who are mostly managers or supervisors.

While leadership is reviewed to include anyone who shows leaderships, there is more than enough information to take the fundamental basis on the proper implementation of leadership even on managers.

Perhaps the number of definition of leadership depends on the variety of the situation it can apply on. Leadership is not one-size-fits-all. We all have our own ideas on how to be a good leader. Each of us even has some characteristics which attributes to being a good leader.

Leadership can indeed be complicated. For instance, some individuals think that being a good leader means guiding other people to perform a specific task while others believe it is motivating the members of your team to exert their best efforts for the fulfillment of the specific task.

According to successful manager, Stella Marion, marketing director of The Peterson Group Consulting and Coaching Development, “…while the definitions may vary, the general sentiments remain the same: leaders are people who know how to achieve goals and inspire people along the way”.

JB Smithson, leadership expert and speaker based in Jakarta, Indonesia also added, “Defining leadership in a nutshell would require thousands of words put together to be fully understood”. Smithson also states, “Leadership is not as difficult as so many thinks. Effective leadership is providing the vision and motivation to a team so they work together towards the same goal”.

It is not as much as a maze and a puzzle. One does not have to understand it. It should be put into action by investing efforts to where it should be. Complaints do not lead you anywhere. Leadership is only about three things: To listen, to inspire and to empower.

In a nutshell, leadership is all the definitions combined. The important essentials are people, skills and results.

A coronel once said when asked what a leader must possess. He said, “Surround yourself with talented people. That is enough for you to know where to stand”.