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Ten Definitions of Leadership

November 20, 2007

• "Warren Bennis:  Leadership is about character…Managers are people who do things right and leaders are people who do the right thing.
• Stephen Covey:  Managers do things right; leaders do the right thing [paraphrasing Bennis].
• Max De Pree:  The future leader leads through serving … [and] has consistent and dependable integrity.
• Peter Drucker:  Leadership is not rank, privileges, titles, or money.  It is responsibility.
• Lao Tzu (500s B.C.): When the best leader's work is done, the people say, 'We did it ourselves.'
• Norman Schwarzkopf:  Leadership includes two components: competence and character.  Ninety-nine percent of failure in leadership is because of a failure in character rather than competence.
• Sun Tzu (500s B.C.):  If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.
• Business Schools (various):  The ability to motivate or influence others to accomplish organizational goals.
• Harvard Business School:  The ability to ethically move an organization from Point A to Point B.
• West Point:  [Our mission is} to educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets so that each graduate is a commissioned leader of character committed to the values of Duty, Honor, Country (Lee, 2006, p. 120)."

Reference:  Lee, G. (2006).  Courage: the backbone of leadership.   San Francisco:  Jossey-Bass.

Courage is available on loan from the Ohio State University Leadership Center.  To borrow this resource or any other resource, please go to the resource search page http://164.107.48.88/winnebago/index.asp?lib

Learn how the Ohio State University Leadership Center is strengthening tomorrow's leaders today at http://leadershipcenter.osu.edu

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Created: 2008-02-28, Updated: 2009-01-06