Over the next few blog posts, we will be doing a series on leadership and leadership in sport. We will take a look at the different approaches to leadership that have been studied over the years and also a look at the leadership models that are out there. We will finish up the components of leadership and hopefully put it all together.
Definition of leadership
Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal. (Leadership: Theory and Practice, 5th Ed + Cases in Leadership, 2nd Ed, 2010)
The process of influence typically involves facilitating motivation in others, where the leader focuses on getting individuals to collaborate in the pursuit of a common goal. (Vroom and Jago, 2007)
What’s the difference between a leader and a manager.
A manager is concerned with planning, organising, scheduling, budgeting, staffing, and recruitment, although leaders will usually perform these same functions (or delegate them), Leaders act in other critical ways. Leaders also provide vision and direction for the team, including goals and objectives. Leaders will also provide the resources and support to get the job done.
Too many teams are over-managed and underlead. (Martens, 1987).
I want to keep these posts short as there is a lot of information on leadership. In the next part, we will start to look at the different approaches to leadership and what people thought made great leaders.
