» J.M. Burns, 1978
» J. Gardner, 1990
» J. Rost, 1991
» B. Nanus, 1992
» Rosenbach, Taylor (eds.), 1993
» G. Wills, 1994
» M. Chemers, 1997
» P. Northhouse, 1997

The following definitions of leadership in the scholarly literature represent the most recent attempts to formally conceptualize leadership. There is one exception to this list. In 1978, James MacGregor Burns' leadership challenged and changed leadership theory for a generation of leadership scholars. His impact is still felt in scholarly and popular conceptualizations of leadership. It is with Burns that we will start our list and then move on to more recent conceptualizations.

J.M. Burns, 1978
"Some define leadership as leaders making followers do what followers would not otherwise do, or as leaders making followers do what the leaders want them to do; I defined leadership as leaders inducing followers to act for certain goals that represent the values and the motivations - the wants and needs, the aspirations and expectations of both leaders and followers. And the genius of leadership lies in the manner in which leaders see and act on their own and their followers' values and motivations. þleadershipþis thus inseparable from followers' needs and goals" (p. 19)

"Leadership is the reciprocal process of mobilizing by persons with certain motives and values, various economic, political, and other resources in a context of competition and conflict, in order to realize goals independently or mutually held by both leaders and followers" (p. 425).

"We have conceived of leadership in these pages as the tapping of existing and potential motive and power bases of followers by leaders, for the purpose of achieving intended change" (p. 448).

J. Gardner, 1990
"Leadership is the process of persuasion or example by which an individual (or leadership team) induces a group to pursue objectives held by the leader and his or her followers" (p. 1).

J. Rost, 1991
"Leadership is an influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend real changes that reflect their mutual purposes"(p. 102)

B. Nanus, 1992
"Effective leaders have agendas; they are totally results orientated. They adopt challenging new visions of what is both possible and desirable, communicate their visions, and persuade others to become so committed to these new directions that they are eager to lend their resources and energies to make them happen" (p. 4).

Rosenbach, Taylor (eds.), 1993
"However, we believe that if one is to understand leadership, one must understand its essential nature - that is, the process of leaders and followers engaging in reciprocal influence to achieve a shared purpose. Leadership is all about getting people to work together to make things happen that might not otherwise occur or prevent that which ordinarily would take place" (p. 1).

G. Wills, 1994
"The leader is one who mobilizes others toward a goal shared by leaders and followers" (p. 17).

M. Chemers, 1997
"Leadership is a process of social influence in which one person is able to enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task. The main points of this definition are that leadership is a group activity, is based on social influence, and revolves around a common task"(p. 1).

P. Northhouse, 1997
"Leadership is a process where by an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal" (p. 3).

NCLL's analysis finds that while all these definitions differ there are a number of criteria, elements, and themes that form the core "consensus" components of how leadership is currently conceptualized.

First, leadership is viewed as a process. Rather than emphasizing the traits and attributes that reside in the leader, leadership scholars are focusing in on the transactions between leaders and followers.

Secondly, leadership emerges out of a reciprocal relationship of influence between the leader and those being led. In this perspective followers shaped leaders and their agenda as they are shaped by them.

Thirdly, leadership occurs in a group or community context. It is a group activity. There are some scholars who argue one to one influence, while socially significant, cannot be understood as leadership because one individual does not make a group.

Fourthly, leadership organizes, mobilizes, supports, resources, and/or inspires a group to pursue and achieve mutually held goals and objectives around shared purposes, values, and visions. Leadership is directed to making something happen the group being led wants to see happen, and furthermore, believes should happen.

Lastly, leadership is intentional about making real changes that might not otherwise occur. There is forethought to what is to be undertaken, done, and achieved. These five components can be identified as central to any understanding of leadership. They are:

• Leadership is a process
• Leadership emerges out of a reciprocal relationship of influence
• Leadership occurs in a community or group context
• Leadership involves goal attainment around shared visions, purposes, and values
• Leadership is intentional about making real or concrete change