Leadership – an elusive concept. (2012)

“Leadership is a word I am most uncomfortable with. It has so many meanings and nuances of meaning, many of which are contradictory …. Wanting a strong leader may be an abrogation of responsibility

Harry Gray, Principal of Harry Gray Associates, Whittington, UK

The International Journal of Leadership in Public Services
Vol. 8 No. 2, 2012 pp. 99-107

The author argues that the word “leadership” is often used too casually and too carelessly. He illustrates why leadership is not a matter of personal qualities but a “function of the organisation” in which the overriding consideration is context and organisational purpose.

“Leadership is a word I am most uncomfortable with. It has so many meanings and nuances of meaning, many of which are contradictory. I find it difficult to understand why it has become so popular when there are so many more precise terms available.

“….For instance, it always seemed to me that the meaning of “leadership” in the title ‘patrol leader’ in the Scouts is different from the meaning in the idea of leadership in ‘scholarly leadership’ in universities.

“…Likewise, there is a deficiency in the idea of leadership in military situations … Military leadership by definition is essentially controlling the behaviour of people in situations of extreme constraint and for limited purposes.

“…The fact is that there are several dimensions to any management role and the parts may not coalesce or combine beyond a specific point of intersection. For example, actively encouraging an individual rambler to jump over a stream is not the same as deciding which way a group of people finish up at the end of a walk.

“….The problem with the idea of leadership is that it consists of so many different and contradictory things that it cannot be considered a unified concept or a single set of behaviours. It may be a broad useful idea but it is hardly a coherent concept.

“….There is danger in assuming that leaders are naturally exceptional in their mental and physical abilities overlooking the reality that many in leadership positions are ordinary people with no outstanding personal qualities. Indeed, one of the reasons so many leaders fail – and most do – is because they are more normal than extra-ordinary but have big faults – the ‘fatal flaw’ of Shakespearean tragedy.

“…It is much more likely that an effective leader is someone who other people allow to be leader because they simply see it as in their best interests to do so.

“…Wanting a strong leader may be an abrogation of responsibility.”

Access the full paper here: Leadership – an elusive concept.