Thinking Like a Leader: An Analysis of Leadership Across the Political, Business, Sports, and Academic Fields

Abstract

No matter if a person is a leader or not, they play an important role in leadership. Leadership appears in a group dynamic when one person helps the group work towards a common goal. Even though this theory is present in every aspect of life, it is not fully understood. Research around leadership commonly talks about the general characteristics that make a good leader. Some accounts assess leadership in specific fields. There is a gap in the literature that details the perspective of leadership across different fields. Studies that show whether leadership skills used in one field can help that same leader in another field are lacking in the general literature. Talking to leaders in different fields about leadership, in general, gave insight into how they think leadership applies to their field. By analyzing the qualities that they spoke about, it can be said that leadership skills are transferable. Though some fields may be easier to switch between than others, leadership skills are transferable. One leader can mobilize a group to complete a sought goal in one field and another field. Each field has a unique goal and a specific way to measure success. There are individual traits that will help a leader be successful in these unique areas, and knowledge about the industry and the group members will contribute to the leader’s success as well. Leadership is assessed in this paper through the lens of the policy, business, sports, and higher academics fields.