Leadership

Leadership is both a research area and a practical skill encompassing the ability of an individual or organization to "lead" or guide other individuals, teams or entire organizations, specialist literature debates various viewpoints, contrasting Eastern and Western approaches to leadership, and also (within the West) North American versus European approaches. U.S. academic environments define leadership "as a process of social influence in which a person can enlist the aid or support of others in the accomplishment of a common task."

Studies of leadership have produced theories involving traits, situational interaction, function, behavior, power, vision and values, charisma, and intelligence, among others.

The search for the characteristics and traits of leaders has continued for centuries. Philosophical writings from Plato's Republic to Plutarch's Lives have explored the question, "What qualities distinguish an individual as a leader?" Underlying this search was the early recognition of the importance of leadership and the assumption that leadership is rooted in the characteristics that certain individuals possess. This idea that leadership is based on individual attributes is known as the trait theory of leadership.

A number of works in the 19th century -- when the traditional authority of monarchs, lords and bishops have begun to wane -- explored the trait theory at length: note especially the writings of Thomas Carlyle and of Francis Galton, whose works have prompted decades of research. In Heroes and Hero Worship (1841), Carlyle identifed the talent, skills, and physical characteristics of men who rose to power. Galton's Hereditary Genius (1869) examined leadership qualities in the families of powerful men. After showing that the numbers of eminent relatives dropped off when his focus moved from first-degree to second-degree relatives, Galton concluded that leadership was inherited. In other words, leaders were born, not developed. Both of these notable works lent great initial support for the notion that leadership is rooted in the characteristics of a leader.

Meanwhile, Cecil Rhodes (1853-1902) believed that public-spirited leadership could be nurtured by identifying young people with "moral force of character and instincts to lead," and educating them in context (such as the collegiate environment of the University of Oxford) which further developed such characteristics. International networks of such leaders could help to promote international understanding and help "render war impossible." This vision of leadership underlay the creation of the Rhodes Scholarships, which have helped to shape notions of leadership since their creation in 1903.

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