Leadership Definitions and Issues
There are many definitions of leadership as many people have tried to define it in their own way.
Since we cannot cover all of them let us have some of the definitions of leadership and try to
infer what leadership is.
S.No
Name of the Scholar
Definition
Remarks /Citation
1
Peter Drucker
the only definition of a
leader is someone who has
followers
(Kruse,2013)
2
Warren Bennis
Leadership is the capacity
to translate vision into
reality
3
Livingston
Leadership is the ability to
awaken the desire to follow
a common objective’
(R, n.d.)
4
C.I. Bernard
Leadership is the quality of
behavior of the individuals
whereby they guide people
or their activities in
organized efforts’
5
Bernard Keys and Thomas
Leadership is the process of
influencing and supporting
others to work
enthusiastically towards
achieving objectives’.
6
Keith Davis,
“Leadership is the ability to
persuade others to seek
defined objectives
enthusiastically. It is the
human factor which binds a
group together and
motivates it towards goals.
(“Leadership Basics –
Meaning, Characteristics,
Theories, Qualities and
Useful Articles”, 2021)
Apart from the definition given by academic scholars let us have more definitions given by some
of the top CEOs’ about leadership.
S.No
Name of CEO
Definition
Remarks /Citation
1
Mark Hurd, Former
CEO, Oracle
The most basic
definition of
leadership is you set
the destination. You
come up with a
strategy to get to that
destination and do
your best to align and
supply the resources
to make that happen.
2
Marissa Mayer,
Former CEO, Yahoo!
Leadership is helping
believe in a better
tomorrow or a better
outcome than you
have today.
(Morgan, 2021)
3
Ajay Banga, CEO,
MasterCard
A leader is someone
who can think
strategically, simplify
the strategy so
everyone in the
organization can
understand it and
communicate that
strategy simply,
enthusiastically, and
in a caring way.”
4
Bill Gates
As we look ahead
into the next century,
leaders will be those
(Kruse,2013)
who empower others.
