Having read this post about leadership, I have two comments. First, if it’s true that “we” don’t know what leadership is, it’s not from a lack of trying. Some VERY smart and very well-meaning educators (largely professors) have spent decades studying what leadership is. So, perhaps the problem is that there are too many competing conceptions of leadership?

Second, you wrote “I think one of the problems is that leadership, whatever that is, is usually only one component of most administrative jobs.” Here I have to respectfully disagree. I think leadership IS the job; the ONLY job. It’s not a component of anything. From time to time, and hopefully as infrequently as possible, leaders have to do a bit of managing. But, at all times, leadership is the overarching job title.

Thanks for the affirmation.

You articulate it much better than I do. When I was at Marshall they were trying hard to define the body of knowledge leaders needed to study. That was a constant theme.

I think that leadership does permeate all aspects of a job in educational administration. It should at least. And those who fail often fail first and foremost to lead.

I also think that leadership is a portable concept that can be carried from job to job, certainly from task to task.

I guess I was trying to say that a) we don’t have complete consensus yet on the broad concept of leadership and b) it’s hard to find the edges of the concept, to draw contrast and say “that’s leadership but this is not” because it often depends on circumstance to some extent…

The bottom line: a leader is somebody that people follow. An individual will follow different kinds of leaders for different purposes, preferring one for president, and another for soccer coach. By the same token a ‘leader’ will attract different kinds of followers depending on where he/she’s going and how they’ll get there. The situation, or the followership, may indicate different leadership styles or personality.

Case in point: Most will probably agree that both Obama and Clinton are leaders. The more important question is, who wants to follow?

Well put. I think my favorite definition of all times is that a leader is someone who goes first. Administration often doesn’t allow for that type of leadership, replacing it with the idea that a leader is someone who delegates responsibility in an inspiring manner…