ABSTRACT
Leadership is defined in many ways. Stogdill (1974:259) wrote that ‘there are almost as many definitions as there are persons who have attempted to define the concept.’ Bennis and Nanus (1985) reported finding over 350 definitions in the literature and since then many more have been added. Burns (1978:18) tells us that leadership over human beings is exercised when persons with certain purposes mobilize, in competition or conflict with others, institutional, political, psychological and other resources so as to arouse, engage and satisfy the motives of the followers.’ Sergiovanni (1987:2) believes that leadership is the process of persuasion by which a leader or leadership group (such as the state) induces followers to act in a manner that enhances the leader’s purposes or shared purposes.’ Greenfield (1986:142) describes leadership as ‘a wilful act where one person attempts to construct the social world for others.’ Beare, Caldwell and Millikan (1989:123) point out that ‘leadership is concerned with gaining commitment to a set of values, statements of “what ought to be”, which then become the heart of the culture of the school.’ So before proceeding it is necessary to clarify exactly what is meant by the term leadership in the context of this book.
