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What Makes A Leader?

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Every person has a different definition of what makes a leader. Some feel a leader is inspirational, while others regard leadership as someone who can give criticism and make the tough decisions. Each definition is unique, and each is vague. This is why the definitions of leadership people use aren’t always accurate. Bolman and Deal, however, do an excellent job of presenting four frames of leadership people use to successfully—or unsuccessfully—support and lead a group of people. The four frames presented by the authors are: human resource, symbolic, structural, and political. The human resource frame is used by leaders to empathize with their followers, the symbolic frame is used to inspire and unite followers around a vision, the structural frame is used to emphasize the importance of a process, and the political frame establishes competition and focuses on creating allies. One man who is a hardworking and trusted leader is Peter Heinke. He is caring and compassionate about his employees, yet tough and dedicated to the job. He works hard and he never gives up. This is why he is able to easily embody all four leaderships styles Bolman and Deal propose—flowing seamlessly between them every day. However, Mr. Heinke uses the structural and symbolic frames to effectively and efficiently lead his life and his company, which has granted him unyielding success in all his endeavors.
Mr. Heinke remembers sitting at his dad’s desk as a young boy, pretending he was an executive.

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