What is Leadership?

The definition that the book presents of leadership is "the exercise of interpersonal influence toward the attainment of goals" (0'Hair, p32). In my opinion the definition of leadership is pretty vague, but I think there is a reason for this. Leaders can be found in all parts of our society and world and take many shapes and forms therefore you cannot have a detailed definition of leadership because it changes depending on what type of leader you are talking about. Some examples of the different types of leaders are: the leader of a household (an adult or parent), of a school (the principal), of the office (manager or owner), of the state (the governor), of the military (the general), and of the U.S. (the president). These are just a few examples of different types of leaders, but looking at these examples it is easy for me to understand why there are four types of leadership. Each type of has traits that benefit and hinder them in different situations. For example lets look at the military general; he has to make quick decisions with minimal input or discussion from others to be effective in times of war and to resolve conflicts. The general uses the authoritarian leadership style to lead the military. Authoritarian leadership makes sense for the general to use because most of his decisions have to be made quickly and doesn’t have time to discussion his decisions with others in the military. But take the governor his style is participative leadership; he opens problems up for discussion, takes inputs from other members of the state, and works together with other members equally to make decisions. Although his opinion ways more he has to be sure to be a participative leader because he is an elected official and his job security depends on the happiness of the citizens of his state. If they aren’t when it is election time he could not be re-elected.