Public Administration

The concept of leadership is somewhat ambiguous and fuzzy. Dictionaries offer quite a number of various definitions of the term. As studying this phenomenon has become increasingly popular, recent studies of leaders and leadership suggested multiple perspectives on what leadership is about, but also has deepened our insight into the leadership as a process. So, what is leadership as I see it? Leadership is both a quality and a process. As a process, it implies exercising social influence, optimizing and maximizing the efforts of those led, towards the achievement of a goal pursued by the leader. And respectively, as a quality it is an ability to do this. Further, I will concentrate on political leadership, although business leaders may play an equally prominent role. Great leadership goes far back for millennia into ancient history. One of the most prominent Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep IV-better known as Akhenaten,-has transformed Egypt into totally different state and society, much more consolidated and flourishing. His reign marked the revolutionary period in Egyptian history, as he instituted a new effectively monotheistic religion, shattered the over-powerful priestly class serving the multitude of deities, and even introduced innovations into visual public arts style, and vernacular forms into the written language. Alexander of Macedon was a leader with a global ambition of conquering the world. There is no doubt that he was an inspiring leader, and an outstanding military commander and personality. Having put together a huge empire, he was extremely sensitive to cultural differences among nations and realized that varied cultures need different styles of governance. Therefore he adapted his leadership style according local requirements, prompted intermarriage between representatives different cultures, rare trend in ancient Hellenic world. But let us come back to contemporary times. I would like to discuss now the complex concept of global leadership. Does it require the same qualities? – i.e., if one is recognized as an effective leader, could this person manage, if circumstances allow, become an effective global leader? The question arises as to what are the respective criteria, who should be considered a global leader, and what qualities should such a person possess to perform effectively: But first, I would like to define several types of globe leaders: