Leadership can be described many ways, and this depends on the individual describing.

believe leadership is to lead others in showing them your vision and to work together to achieve

what may seem impossible. I believe it is important for a leader to carry certain traits or

characteristics because it will define a good leader. I would say anyone can be a leader but

ultimately it takes a lot of learning to be a great leader. I wouldn’t say I was a great leader when I

first started working at Starbucks. I was quiet, and I came to work to do my job. My manager

saw potential in me and promoted me to supervisor but with that I had to learn to become a good

leader. I believe I am still learning each day to better myself as a leader and learning about all my

followers to better understand their needs.

Kath Checkland article “Leadership in the NHS: does the emperor have any clothes?”,

discusses why she believes followers would be a better emphasis than clinical leadership. The

author describes how leadership requires the concept of ‘followers’ (Checkland, 2014, p. 254). I

believe this to be true because without followers who will the leader lead. How can a leader be a

leader without anyone to teach or to lead? As stated by Northouse, “Leaders need followers, and

followers need leaders” (2014, p. 6). It is important to have both for the leadership process.

Checkland describes it would be better to put more emphasis on good followers because they

will hold the care and focus on the organization (2014, p. 253). I think it is important to have

good followers, but I think having good leadership will also give the organization a successful

route.

Leadership and management need to both be intertwined together for an organization to

function properly (Northouse, 2019, p. 13). Leadership is to create a vision and share your vision

with others by inspiring or empowering others to see what you see. Management sets plans and

establishes policies to follow. As discussed in the article, administration is described as old and
bad, and management as new and good, and essentially favoring leadership (Checkland, 2014).

Checkland is suggesting, instead of turning to leadership we should emphasize on good followers

who will persistently maintain care, quality, and efficiency (2014, p. 253).

As stated by Northouse, “… leadership is a phenomenon that resides in the context of the

interactions between leaders and followers and makes leadership available to everyone” (2019, p.

7). Within the article the author believes leadership cannot be learned because of the clinical

leaders put into placed and states that this represents a desirable shift in failure management

(Checkland, 2014, p. 254). She sees a reoccurring pattern within management to believe

leadership cannot be learned.

“Leadership is a process whereby an individual influence a group of individuals to

achieve a common goal” (Northouse, 2019, p. 5). To process leadership means it is not a trait

within an individual but a process between the leader and followers (Northouse, 2019, p. 5). The

leader affects the followers and is also affected by the followers. For example, when discussing

the plans for my shift at work, I will explain in detail what is expected in hopes for a voluntary

response to complete the task. I think leading others by example would be a good process to

affect others, so they may see a good leader. Leaders must influence others for leadership to exist

(Northouse, 2019, p. 6). I think it is important for leaders to lead but also influence others to be

successful. Leaders should want to influence others because it is important to show you’re your

vision and why it is important. Working together to achieve a common goal is good leadership. It

is important to pay attention to the goal and the followers who are also trying to achieve the same

goal.

Kotter’s perspective about leaders and managers are described as different functions

(Northouse, 2019, p. 12). Leaders produce change and movement and managers provide order
and structure (Northouse, 2019, p. 12). With Kotter’s perspective, managers are about set rules

and obligations to follow. Leaders are about motivating, taking risk, and empowering the

followers. Zalenik describe leaders and managers as different types of people (Northouse, 2019,

p. 14). Managers work with others to solve a problem with low emotional involvement and

leaders are involved with the work, seek to shape ideas, and change the way people think about

what is possible (Northouse, 2019, p. 14). I believe that someone can be a leader and a manager.

It takes both skills to run an organization. A leader must stick with policies and standards to have

organization but can also take risks if it means to develop the organization. I believe that I do

both leadership and management because I follow standards but I also like to know how my co-

workers are feeling about the work they are doing.

Northouse describes the six bases of power which are a description between individuals,

the person influencing, and the person being influenced (2019, p. 10). Position power and

personal power are the types of power and no, followers do not have other power bases because

the other power bases are based on the position of power and most followers will have personnel

who is higher ranked. The power bases increase the leader’s capacity to influence others

(Northouse, 2019, p. 12).

After reading chapter one and learning about the definition of leadership, I believe that

leadership can be taught to those who are willing to learn and be humble about not knowing

everything. It takes a good leader to be understanding and patient with the followers and provide

guidance to those who are willing to learn.

Next to each task indicate if the task is a management or a leadership task:

Scheduling work- management

Plan and prioritize steps to task achievement-management

Use analytical data to support recommendations- leadership

Explain goals, plan and roles- leadership

Provide feedback on performance- leadership

Motivating staff- leadership

Provide focus- leadership

Create a ‘culture’-leadership

Inspiring people-leadership

Delegating tasks- management

Ensuring predictability- management

Co-ordinate effort- management

Co-ordinate resources- management

Give orders and instructions- management

Act as interface between team and outside- leadership

Take risks- leadership

Guide progress- leadership

Monitor progress- leadership

Create a positive team feeling- leadership

Monitor feelings and morale- leadership

Look ‘over the horizon’- leadership

Appeal to peoples’ emotions- leadership

Follow systems and procedures- management

Provide development opportunities- leadership

Ensure effective induction- management

Monitor budgets, tasks etc.- management

Use analytical data to forecast trends- management

Monitoring progress- management

Unleashing potential- leadership

Be a good role model- leadership

Appeal to rational thinking- management

Build teams- leadership

2. List your daily tasks and indicate if they are management or leadership tasks.

Check in with each partner and ask how they are feeling today- leadership

Plan the floor roles- management

Be a good example of a leader- leadership

Provide feedback on initial tasks- leadership

Support partners throughout shift- leadership

Explain goals and the plan for the day- leadership

Checkland, K. (2014). Leadership in the NHS: Does the Emperor have any clothes? Journal of

Health Services Research & Policy, 19(4), 253-256. doi:10.1177/1355819614529101

Northouse, P. G. (2019). Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE

Publications.