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eadership, a critical management skill, is the ability to motivate a group of people toward a common goal. A leader is a person who has a vision, a drive and a commitment to achieve that vision, and the skills to make it happen. To understand the concept of leadership in detail, let us look at different definitions of leadership. 1. LEADERSHIP DEFINED:

There are many diverse definitions of leadership. Here, few common approaches outline the definition of leadership: The Collins English Dictionary. ( 1998 HarperCollins Publishers) leadership (n) 1. The position or function of a leader. 2. The period during which a person occupies the position of leader. 3a. The ability to lead. 3b. (as modifier) 4. The leaders as a group of a party, union, etc. This dictionary definition of leadership focuses on the position (singular or collective), tenure and ability of leaders. As such, it misses key points about the purpose and hallmarks of effective leadership.

Peter Drucker: The forward to the Druckers Foundation The Leader of the Future" sums up leadership: "The only
definition of a leader is someone who has followers." To gain followers requires influence but doesn't exclude the lack of integrity in achieving this. Indeed, it can be argued that several of the world's greatest leaders have lacked integrity and have adopted values that would not be shared by many people today.

John Maxwell: In the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John Maxwell sums up his definition of leadership as;
"leadership is influence - nothing more, nothing less." This moves beyond the position defining the leader, to looking at the ability of the leader to influence others - both those who would consider themselves followers, and those outside that circle. Indirectly, it also builds in leadership character, since without maintaining integrity and trustworthiness, the capability to influence will disappear.

Warren Bennis:

Warren Bennis' definition of leadership is focused much more on the individual capability of the leader. "Leadership is a function of knowing yourself, having a vision that is well communicated, building trust among colleagues, and taking effective action to realize your own leadership potential."

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2. FACTORS OF LEADERSHIP

There are four major factors in leadership (U.S. Army, 1983): 2.1) leaders You must have an honest understanding of who you are, what you know, and what you can do. Also, note that it is the followers, not the leader or someone else who determines if the leader is successful. If they do not trust or lack confidence in their leader, then they will be uninspired. To be successful you have to convince your followers, not yourself or your superiors, that you are worthy of being followed. 2.2) followers

Different people require different styles of leadership. For example, a new hire requires more supervision than an experienced employee. A person who lacks motivation requires a different approach than one with a high degree of motivation. You must know your people! The fundamental starting point is having a good understanding of human nature, such as needs, emotions, and motivation. 2.3) COMMUNICATION

You lead through two-way communication. Much of it is nonverbal. For instance, when you set the example, that communicates to your people that you would not ask them to perform anything that you would not be willing to do. What and how you communicate either builds or harms the relationship between you and your people. 2.4) SITUATION

All situations are different. What you do in one situation will not always work in another. You must use your judgment to decide the best course of action and the leadership style needed for each situation. For example, you may need to confront an employee for inappropriate behavior, but if the confrontation is too late or too early, too harsh or too weak, then the results may prove ineffective.

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Also note that the situation normally has a greater effect on a leader's action than his or her traits. This is because while traits may have an impressive stability over a period of time, they have little consistency across situations (Mischel, 1968).

Boss or Leader? Although your position as a manager, supervisor, leader, etc. gives you the authority to accomplish certain tasks and objectives in the organization (called Assigned Leadership), this power does not make you a leader, it simply makes you the boss (Rowe, 2007). Leadership differs in that it makes the followers want to achieve high goals (called Emergent Leadership), rather than simply bossing people around (Rowe, 2007). Thus you get Assigned Leadership by your position and you display Emergent Leadership by influencing people to do great things.

3) MAJOR THEORIES OF LEADERSHIP

Overview:
There are also numerous theories about leadership, or about carrying out the role of leader, e.g., servant leader, democratic leader, principle-centered leader, group-man theory, great-man theory, traits theory, visionary leader, total leader, situational leader.

4) LEADERSHIP STYLES

Leadership style is the manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating people. Kurt Lewin (1939) led a group of researchers to identify different styles of leadership. This early study has been very influential and established three major leadership styles. The three major styles of leadership are (U.S. Army Handbook, 1973): Authoritarian or autocratic. Participative or democratic. Delegative or Free Reign.

Although good leaders use all three styles, with one of them normally dominant, bad leaders tend to stick with one style.

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4.1) AUTHORITARIAN (AUTOCRATIC)

I want both of you to. . . This style is used when leaders tell their employees what they want done and how they want it accomplished, without getting the advice of their followers. Some of the appropriate conditions to use it are when you have all the information to solve the problem, you are short on time, and your employees are well motivated. Some people tend to think of this style as a vehicle for yelling, using demeaning language, and leading by threats and abusing their power. This is not the authoritarian style, rather it is an abusive, unprofessional style called bossing people around. It has no place in a leader's repertoire. The authoritarian style should normally only be used on rare occasions. If you have the time and want to gain more commitment and motivation from your employees, then you should use the participative style.

4.2) Participative ( democratic)

Let's work together to solve this. .

This style involves the leader including one or more employees in the decision making process (determining what to do and how to do it). However, the leader maintains the final decision making authority. Using this style is not a sign of weakness; rather it is a sign of strength that your employees will respect. This is normally used when you have part of the information, and your employees have other parts. Note that a leader is not expected to know everything this is why you employ knowledgeable and skillful employees. Using this style of mutual benefit it allows them to become part of the team and allows you to make better decisions.

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4.3) delegative (free reign)

You two take care of the problem while I gO. . .

In this style, the leader allows the employees to make the decisions. However, the leader is still responsible for the decisions that are made. This is used when employees are able to analyze the situation and determine what needs to be done and how to do it. You cannot do everything! You must set priorities and delegate certain tasks. This is not a style to use so that you can blame others when things go wrong, rather this is a style to be used when you fully trust and confidence in the people below you. Do not be afraid to use it, however, use it wisely! A good leader uses all three styles, depending on what forces are involved between the followers, the leader, and the situation. So in a nutshell you must be trustworthy and you have to be able to communicate your vision.

5) Principles of leadership

Know yourself and seek self-improvement - In order to know yourself, you have to understand your attributes. Seeking self-improvement means continually strengthening your attributes. This can be accomplished through selfstudy, formal classes, reflection, and interacting with others. Be technically proficient - As a leader, you must know your job and have a solid familiarity with your employees' tasks. Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions - Search for ways to guide your organization to new heights. And when things go wrong, they always do sooner or later do not blame others. Analyze the situation, take corrective action, and move on to the next challenge. Make sound and timely decisions - Use good problem solving, decision making, and planning tools. Set the example - Be a good role model for your people. They must not only hear what they are expected to do, but also see. We must become the change we want to see - Mahatma Gandhi Know your people and look out for their well-being - Know human nature and the importance of sincerely caring for your workers.

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Keep your workers informed - Know how to communicate with not only them, but also seniors and other key people.

Develop a sense of responsibility in your workers - Help to develop good character traits that will help them carry out their professional responsibilities. Ensure that tasks are understood, supervised, and accomplished - Communication is the key to this responsibility. Train as a team - Although many so called leaders call their organization, department, section, etc. a team; they are not really teams...they are just a group of people doing their jobs. Use the full capabilities of your organization - By developing a team spirit, you will be able to employ your organization, department, section, etc. to its fullest capabilities. 6) Two most important keys to effective leadership

According to a study by the Hay Group, a global management consultancy, there are 75 key components of employee satisfaction (Lamb, McKee, 2004). They found that:

Trust and confidence in top leadership was the single most reliable predictor of employee satisfaction in an
organization. Effective communication by leadership in three critical areas was the key to winning trust and confidence: Helping people understand the overall strategy. Helping them understand how they can contribute to achieving key objectives. Sharing information with them on both how things are going and how you want them to be done.

Critical Thought: Noam Chomsky and others have brought critical thinking to the very concept of leadership and have provided an analysis that asserts that people abrogate their responsibility to think and will actions for themselves. While the conventional view of leadership is rather satisfying to people who "want to be told what to do", these critics say that one should question why they are being subjected to a will or intellect other than their own if the leader is not a Subject Matter Expert (SME). The fundamentally anti-democratic nature of the leadership principle is challenged by the introduction of concepts such as autogestion, employee ship, common civic virtue, etc., which stress individual responsibility and/or group authority in the work place and elsewhere by focusing on the skills and attitudes that a person needs in general rather than separating out leadership as the basis of a special class of individuals. Similarly, various historical calamities are attributed to a misplaced reliance on the principle of leadership.

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7) Conclusion

Concluding the above discussion, one can interpret that: Leadership is the ability to influence, convince, motivate and direct people toward the achievement of a common goal. A leader can use different leadership styles depending upon the need. The two most important keys to effective leadership are TRUST and CONFIDENCE. Noam Chomsky and others have brought critical thinking to the leadership concept and have provided an analysis that asserts that people abrogate their responsibility to think and will actions for themselves. A good leader is concerned about and sincere to his people. He sets an example for others to bringing about the change by becoming the change himself.