What is Leadership?

By Arlo Moore-Bloom
Google defines leadership as “the action of leading a group of people or an organization” [1], but I think it’s a lot more than that. Ever since elementary school, or even earlier, I have seen leaders come in all shapes and sizes. I’ve seen someone who taught a person right from wrong, and she’s a leader in my book. I’ve seen someone teach about how to be a good sport, which is another way to be a leader. My dad is a leader in the way that he somehow always gets my family up and over the hump of a brutal mountain we’ve been walking on for hours. My mom is a leader in the way that she always somehow finds a way to keep me in check no matter how I really feel. In my eyes, my sister is a leader in the way that she inspires me every day. In my opinion, everyone who inspires or teaches is a leader. Teachers are some of the best leaders in our community. They inspire kids from an early age and teach them how to be good kids. Most of all, a leader is someone who doesn’t dictate action, but leads action. It’s someone who doesn’t say to make things happen, but actually makes things happen. And that’s a lot harder than it sounds like. And that’s what my image shows. A “boss” is someone who orders his workers to do his bidding. The boss can be seen doing nothing except barking orders and watching his workers not only carry the weight of the mission, but the boss as well. In the “leader” image, the leader can be seen in the front of the pack, taking on just as much as his other workers. No longer encumbered by the weight of the boss, I bet the workers are able to make a lot more progress than previous. The leader is leading the way, calling the shots but accounting for them as well, as any good leader should.

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