Northouses Leadership, Theory and Practice :: assigned leaders vs emergent leaders

1. Read Chapter 1 in Northouse. What does leadership mean? Justify your response. Explain the following components of leadership: process, influence, group context, and goal attainment. Northouse described a number of leadership approaches and theories. He began by pointing out there are as many definitions of leadership as there are people to define leadership. As a result, he developed his definition by first outlining the components of leadership. The features listed by Northouse were that leadership is seen as a process, involves influencing other people, takes place in the context of a group, and is based on the attainment of a mutual goal. He then defined leadership as â€Å"a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal†. On another note, leadership is simply defined as the influencing process of leaders and followers to achieve organizational objectives through change (Lussier & Achua, 2010). Process: The leadership process is the ongoing relationship between leaders and followers to accomplish company goals. Leadership is basically the influence of a leader in achieving shared goals through followers. The process of leaders and followers working together is different for each business. Some companies value and incorporate leadership development or management trainee programs into their company culture. Leadership process is not a linear but an interactive event. Influence: is the process of leader communicating ideas, gaining acceptance of them, and motivating followers to support and implement the ideas through change (Lussier & Achua, 2010). This element is all about the relationship between leader and followers. Moreover influencing includes power, politics, and negotiation. Leaders gain the commitment of followers who are willing to adapt and get influenced. Group context: Leadership occurs in a group context. It takes place in groups and involves the process of influencing individuals in the group who have a common purpose. Goal attainment: Leadership involves goal attainment. It includes attention to goals and directs a group of individuals towards accomplishing a defined task or goal. 2. Distinguish between assigned and emergent leaders. Give an example of an instance in which you â€Å"emerged† as a leader. Explain how your communication might have facilitated your emergence as a leader. Include information from one outside source, in addition to the textbook, and include all appropriate APA documentation. Assigned leadership is primarily by appointment of people to formal leadership positions of authority within an organization. Assigned leaderships could be managers of sports teams, presidents and vice presidents of the universities, plant managers, the CEOs of hospitals, the executive directors of nonprofit organizations.