What Is Leadership In the 21st Century?

This useful material is a supplement to my Hub concerning the qualities that are possessed and developed by Managers and by Leaders, and how these sets of qualities can differ.That Hub is entitled: The Difference Between a Manager and a Leader. Thanks for visiting.

Many courses and seminars are conducted to increase leadership skills in attendees. NASA related companies run Space Camp® for corporate employees to determine which ones show leadership skills and which ones need some training and better understanding of these skills.

All in good fun, the space launch and exploration experience can be exciting and effective education all at once. Companies and individuals offer 100s of classes and experiences that are said to bring out leadership skills - one of these is the High Ropes Course used with at risk-youth and corporate executives as well. Many more venues exist, from the Sunday School class to US Federal Government branches to the Pre-K classroom. Which ones are correct and effective? Sometimes this is difficult to determine.

The following free assessment instrument is a simple and fun way to determine how much you and your friends and colleagues - even your coworkers, students, or employees - understand about the concept of Leadership as it is defined in the first decades of the 21^st century.

A professional looking copy of this survey is included below for you to copy and print out for your own use. It can make a good foundation for a discussion about what defines a leader and differences exist between a Leader and a Manager.

An interpretation key is provided below the survey, but fill in the ratings you feel are accurate for each question or item and then add them all up to get you score. You may be surprised at your results, or you may not. You might want your boss to take this questionnaire as well.

Rate the following survey items according to the Rating Options below. For example, if you slightly agree with Item 1, put a 4 in the blank in front of the number 1.

When you are finished with the survey, add up the point values and interpret your total rating with the Interpretation Key at the end of the survey.

Rating Options

Strongly disagree - 1 point

Disagree - 2 points

Slightly disagree - 3 points

Not Sure - 3.5 points

Slightly agree - 4 points 

Agree - 5 points

Strongly agree - 6 points

QUESTIONS

____1. Leadership is the set of behaviors by which one is able to guide people and activities toward specific goals.

____2. A good leader influences others through confidence, communications skills, awareness of one's impact on others, and one's own perceptions about different situations.

____3. Qualities of a leader are important and have social value.

____4. Within social values, political considerations, economic conditions, structure, and types of followers are all important factors that together determine a leader's ability to influence others.

____5. Leadership is very important to organizational success.

____6. Almost every aspect of work is influenced by leadership.

____7. The leader is responsible for attaining the overall team objective and keeping the team focused.

____8. Leaders have limitations.

____9. Good leadership is responsible for employee motivation.

___10. When you're under the jurisdiction of a good leader, you feel confident.

___11. Feeling confident as a result of good leadership builds morale within an organization.

___12. A good leader is selfish and puts his own goals above others'.

___13. A good leader will overcome objections to achieve cooperation from others, despite envy. People envy a good leader and refuse to cooperate at first.

___14. A good leader can serve as a friend, philosopher, and guide.

___15. Leading a team is not easy.

___16. Good leadership respects others.

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Interpretation Key

86 - 100 -- Top understanding of leadership qualities

76 - 85 -- Good leadership understanding

66 - 75 -- Needs some improvement in understanding

65 - Below -- Could benefit from some leadership training

I think this survey can be used as a facilitating document from which to begin discussions with friends and coworkers, and an impetus for beginning to look for more information about the concept of leadership and what it means.

The 21st century may bring changes to the definition and function of Leadership. We need to understand the particular world of work where we are employed and determine what leadership means in that specific world. Understanding this, we can begin to work to become successful in that world, or to position ourselves in such a way as to be able to change and mold that definition through our influence.

For additional fodder for discussion, below is the list of Top 20 Leaders & Revolutionaires of the 20th Century, taken from the Top 100 List from Time Magazine. You may consider some of them bad leaders or bad human beings. They are listed in alphabetical order:

David Ben-Gurion

Ho Chi Minh

Winston Churchill

Mohandas Gandhi

Mikhail Gorbachev

Adolf Hitler

Martin Luther King

Ayatullah Khomeini

V.I. Lenin

Nelson Mandela

Pope John Paul II

Ronald Reagan

Eleanor Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Teddy Roosevelt

Margaret Thatcher

Unknown Rebel - A lone man protested in

...Tiananmen Square, Beijing on 06/5/1989.

Margaret Sanger

Lech Walesa

Mao Zedong