| Summary: | Nowhere in the world of business are you likely to find a more strongly debated yet elusive concept than leadership. The earliest definitions of leadership painted it as a skill that only particular people possessed, a skill that made some people better than others at motivating and stimulating followers. But over the years, many theories of leadership have emerged - transformational, transactional and charismatic to name but a few. In his book Managerial Leadership (Routledge, 1996), Peter Wright makes the point that the term "leadership" is deceptively easy to use in everyday conversation. Just think of the instances over the last few weeks where you may have said "that person is a great leader" or "he or she showed good leadership in that situation."However, despite this fact it simply is not possible to provide a single, concrete definition of the term "leadership." A noted author in this field, Bernard Bass, summed this up perfectly when he said that there are almost as many definitions of leadership as there are persons who have attempted to define it!Wright is willing to concede, though, that a common theme in leadership definitions can be identified. This theme relates to the term "influence." Several definitions centre on the fact that leaders exist to influence the behaviour and feelings of followers. However, the degree to which personality and other personal characteristics impact on leadership often creates plenty of controversy. Is a leader born? Or does a person learn how to become a leader? This challenging question is sparking some interesting debate. A slight majority of respondents support the latter statement, a view also held by management professor Andrew Kakabadse who stated that "From a survey in which I have been involved, covering 8,000 organizations across 14 countries, the overall finding is that leadership qualities are all learned."So what are the key areas to learn about when it comes to the subject of leadership? It follows that if leadership qualities, traits and characteristics can all be learned, quality resources in this area are essential
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