Leadership is about moving people. It is the ability to influence in order to bring about a desired outcome (Jong & Hartog, 2007). I see leadership applied in two ways, individually and collectively and I have come to embrace Authentic and Transformational leadership as foundational to the development of my leadership.

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              I have come to believe that leadership is personal and starts with leading oneself. This is being an Authentic Leader which is knowing how to lead oneself before beginning to lead others. (Nahavandi, 2015) Being an authentic leader means you are committed to continual personal development (George & Sims, 2007). This commitment to personal development shows the unique role as leader and follower, also known as followership. Leaders are those who know how to influence and inspire others but also know how to receive from others for their own development (Zachary, 2011). Leadership is therefore the ability to move oneself in areas of needed development for continued growth and usefulness.

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            Leadership is about moving people collectively. It is the ability to move an organization toward a desired outcome. Transformational Leadership (TL) most closely reflects my values on how to lead others and it is the relationship between the leader and follower in which both help each other move to higher levels of motivation and inspiration (Nahavandi, 2015). It begins with the leader, whose use of inspiring influence unlocks the potential found in the follower which the leader, in turn, learns and grows from.

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            As I look out into the world around me I see the possibilities of developing leaders and instilling leadership all around me. Leadership is not for a select few, it is for everyone because everyone is responsible for their own life and its development. Leadership is needed in organizations of all types because organizations are made up of people, which make up families, classrooms or large corporations. An organization, regardless of size, has people and needs a leader to organize them so that it can achieve their purpose. People, both individually and collectively need to be lead, to see greater possibilities and ways to achieve them. I believe when you help a person in this way you are being a leader and displaying leadership.

 

 

 

Reference:

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George, B., & Sims, P. (2007). True north: Discover your authentic leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass/John Wiley & Sons.

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Jeroen P.J. de Jong Deanne N. Den Hartog, (2007),"How leaders influence employees' innovative behaviour", European Journal of Innovation Management, Vol. 10 Iss 1 pp. 41 - 64 Permanent link to this document: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14601060710720546

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Nahavandi, A. (2015). Organizational behavior. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Thomas, R. J. (2008). Crucibles of leadership: How to learn from experience to become a great leader. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Press.

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Zachary, L. J. (2011). The Mentor's Guide: Facilitating Effective Learning Relationships, 2nd Edit. John Wiley & Sons.