The purpose of our research is to illuminate the definition of leadership as understood by degree seeking students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate business programs within institutions of higher education. The researchers’ classroom and professional experience anecdotally demonstrates that individuals, when asked, evoke characteristics of leadership rather than illuminating the relationship between leaders and followers that underpins much of the seminal work related to leadership theory (Cox, 2017; Johns & Moser, 1989; Senge, 2005). The researchers agree with the literature that demonstrates a correlation between a set of characteristics, when present, often results in great leadership.  Absent from the body of knowledge are two key ideas. The first, the realization that we have shifted our leadership paradigms away from relationship-based models. Secondly, the idea that the intensity of these characteristics is directly correlated to the strength of the relationships of the individuals involved.

The body of scholarly knowledge has demonstrated that leadership permeates an organizations culture, in both positive and negative ways, beyond our well-defined organizational structures. More specifically, leadership is the direct result of the sphere of influence of each member of an organizations community (Thrasher, 2018). It is this very idea that requires a fundamental shift in the way that we come to understand the concept of leadership.

Traditionally, when we consider the definition of leadership, there is the propensity to identify the more visible and measurable elements of this concept. For example, individuals will often define leadership as:

• The ability to Motivate;
• Someone who is Charismatic;
• The ability to Communicate a Vision;
• Someone who is Courageous;
• Someone who is Empathetic

Rarely mentioned is the word Relationship.

If the definitions of leadership as understood by degree seeking students enrolled in our institutions of higher education are illuminated, it can be determined in a more rigorous manner the anecdotal experiences underpinning this study. These results can then be applied towards future research that work towards identifying if we have shifted the interpretation of our leadership paradigms away from relationship-based models, and furthermore, the idea that the intensity of leadership characteristics is directly correlated to the strength of the relationships of the individuals involved.