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in which the leader and followers exist. Researchers such as Smircich and Morgan, Bergamini, and Smith and Peterson add that leaders make sense of the environment for followers: structuring experience, organizing meaning, and providing a basis for understanding the significance of activities.

Definition

While those who study leadership disagree on its definition, they agree on several common characteristics:

1st Leadership is social and interactive. It is impossible to lead without followers.

2nd Leaders influence group members toward the achievement of cmmon goals.

3rd Leadership is hierarchical. Even relatively flat organizations place the leader at the top.

The following definition of leadership is used in this book:

Leadership is an interactive process involving a leader influencing followers in the pursuit of a common goal.

Leaders work with groups of people, whether small or large. There may also be more than one leader in a group: Anyone who influences a group is a leader, and this influence is not restricted to the person with a formal position of power. Leaders and followers may exchange roles in some situations, for example when followers possess knowledge that the leader does not, as often occurs in a technical environment.

Leadership and Management

Management, although it parallels leadership in that both involve the achievement of common goals through people, is not the same as leadership. At times the two activities may appear outwardly similar; however, the mindset of the leader is distinct from that of the manager. According to W. Glenn Rowe, managers believe that they react to decisions that are made for them by the organization, while leaders believe that they have the freedom to make choices that shape the environment. Leaders set the direction and managers handle the details. Leaders provide the focus toward which managers drive. A leader inspires others to voluntarily follow, connecting with people and effectively communicating on an emotional as well as a cognitive level. A leader empowers other people and seeks to develop others' potential. While most successful managers easily gain the respect of their superiors, a leader gains the respect and loyalty of her subordinates as well.

Both functions are vital to the success of an organization, and John Kotter suggests that organizations need leader-managers: those who can inspire and motivate people while also planning, organizing and controlling. Leaders are more likely to be managers than mangers

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