Through the readings of Concepts of Leadership: The Beginnings and The Meaning of Leadership, both written by Bernard M. Bass, it was interesting to read about the different meanings of leadership and leaders themselves, as well as how they maintained their power. In Concepts of Leadership: The Beginnings, Bass talks about how different stories and myths were created about different leaders, and that helped civilizations. Bass mentions the story Beowolf and others which were used as explanations for why various leaders had their power in society. In the same reading, Bass continues to talk about how leaders got support from the common people. The preferred way was if the leader gained this respect through popularity, but if this couldn’t be accomplished, the leader needs to create power through violence and anger.
This connects to the reading The Meaning of Leadership since Bass talks about the many different definitions of leadership. He continues to mention the confusion that the word “leadership” has with it. Continuing on this, Bass states that the definition of leadership is dependant on the environment it is said in and has to do with the ability to getting the compliance of the people in which you are “leading”. Overall, it was fascinating to read Bass talk about how the terms “leadership” and “leader” have different meanings depending on the person one would talk to. Hence it is important to consider the person someone is with when mentioning in the idea of who is a leader and who is not.
I agree that it was interesting to read about the different meanings of leadership and leaders and power was maintained. I think Bass did a good job of using different explanations to explain how leaders embody leadership mindsets and actions, which help them gain the trust and support of the people.
I also found it fascinating to read about how Bass explained “leader” and “leadership” to be quite different. I always thought of them very similarly, but if you actually look at them and try to comprehend their meanings, it is much more complex than that. I also agree with Bass (and you) that there is a lot of confusion surrounding the topic of leadership, which is why I feel like it something that is almost impossible to “finish” studying.
I also found it interesting how myths and stories were created in order to explain as to why a select few people became leaders. My question for this is that if these stories were all made up, then why is it that other common people didn’t claim to be the leaders of another region close-by or claim that they are the “true” leader of that area? Why didn’t people challenge those stories as they were being created/before the people were named as leaders? Did the people making up those stories suppress people if they rose up? This brings me back to our podcast and how it explained that we don’t have the full history of everything. We only have little pieces that were recorded by the wealthy.
I also found it interesting to read about the different interpretations and definitions different scholars have for the term “leadership.” Bass’s articles opened my eyes to how complex the word truly is and how difficult it is to explain in simple terms.
I agree, Henry! Bass does an excellent job explaining the basics of what makes a leader vs what makes good leadership. It was an interesting read and opened my eyes, and I agree with you. The study of leadership does not end, as the idea and actions of leaders continue to evolve over time. Ex. Power through violence has ceased in the United States. I can’t wait to read more into how leaders retained power in past centuries.