The Leader's Companion

Leadership

Few agree on what leadership is or how to define it. Historian James MacGregor Burns claims that leadership is “one of the most observed and least understood phenomena on earth.” Throughout history, great minds have studied leadership and tried to explain it to others. This includes philosophers such as Aristotle and Plato, writers such as Leo Tolstoy, politicians such as Machiavelli, and social activists such as Mohandas Gandhi and W.E.B. Du Bois.

These thinkers differ radically on even basic definitions. Thomas Carlyle believed in the “great man” theory of history, with Napoleon as his model, while Tolstoy called leaders “history’s slaves.” Throughout the ages, scholars have debated questions related to leadership: What is the leader’s role? How should the leader relate to his or her followers? Who are the followers and what is their role? What about the effects of gender on leadership? How do the demands of leadership change from one environment to the next?

Where Are Today’s Great Leaders?

Although the definition of leadership is slippery, many agree that, whatever it is, it’s sadly lacking in today’s world. They charge that finding good...