Leadership theory and practice by peter g northouse

CHAPTER I : INTRODUCTON

Summary

Though there is a plethora of literature on leadership , it is almost certain that the pile will only increase with time . The main reason behind this is the dynamism of the subject , as the society itself is dynamic and keeps on changing on the time . Accordingly leadership too has to match with it . It is for such a state of affairs , the leadership as a subject has all along remained a valued phenomenon that is very complex

However , at the end of the day , leadership is all

about leading people to the best possible destination within shortest possible time and minimum possible fuss - from this perspective , one gets the clue that leadership is a process that needs to apply the wisdom of the past with the presence of mind . This book too , holds the same view , where it takes the issues of the followers two , as they form just the other half of the subject and thus it attempts to address the issues that can bug either the leaders or the followers , as it rightly holds the view that both leaders and the followers should be understood in relation to each other

However , the dynamism of the subject would again bounce back , the moment one would check the journey of the leadership literature - where the researchers kept on focusing on the elements that were considered important under the social situation , and their findings kept on proving inadequate to cater another period of time . As for example , early researchers dissected human traits and presented their concept package of leadership by saying that certain people in our society have special inborn qualities that make them leaders , which , from the modern perspective , is a mere restriction of leadership position among those who are considered to be possess such qualities . This book too corroborates this view and suggests that leadership is a process that can be learned and anyone is welcome to learn , qualify and lead the society or a section of it

This aspect of leadership brings its two facets into discussion and they are assigned and emergent leadership , where the former is based on formal title or position in an organization and the later results from independent endeavors through acquiring support from the followers However , leadership as a process applies to both of these two

Another important component involved with leadership is the concept of power , which again has two facets like position and personal . While position power nestles in the branch of assigned leadership with its forces like legitimate , reward and coercive power , followers contribute to the personal power of the leaders that contain forces like referent and expert power . However , in both the cases leaders bear the responsibility to treat power as a shared resource to ensure that they are not power wielders . This structural assessment of leadership therefore , keeps no room for coercion , which is another process wants to bring change in the followers by threats and punishments , because then the desired outcome no longer...