Leadership

Leadership can refer both to the process of leading, and to those entities that do the leading. The process of leadership can be actual or potential:

Leadership as a vanguard

Sometimes followership can occur without intentional leadership. A well-known (but probably mythical) example of this involves swarms of lemmings which follow the first lemming off a cliff. The animal kingdom also provides the model of the bellwether function in a mob of sheep. And human society also offers many examples of emulation. The fashion industry, for example, depends on it. Fashion marketers design clothing for celebrities, then offer less expensive variations for those who emulate the celebrities.

Related Topics:
Lemming - Bellwether - Sheep - Fashion

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Another example of followership without intentional leadership comes with the market leadership of a pioneering company, or the price leadership of a monopolist. Other companies will emulate a successful strategy, product, or price, but originators may certainly not desire this - in fact they often do all they can legally do to prevent such direct competition.

Related Topics:
Price leadership - Monopolist

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The term "leadership" sometimes occurs (confusingly) to a winning position in a race. One can speak of a front-runner in a sprint or of the "leader" in an election or poll as in a position of leadership. But such "leadership" does not involve any influence processes, and the "leader" will have followers who may not willingly choose to function as followers. Once again: one can make an important distinction "in the lead" and the process of leadership. Once again, leadership implies a relationship of power - the power to guide others.

Related Topics:
Relationship - Power - Guide

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Leading from the front, in a military sense, may imply foolhardiness and unnecessary self-exposure to danger: these do not necessarily make for successful long-term leadership strategies.

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