Kurtz's Guide to the Galaxy An effective leader is a person who focuses on his own strengths, acquires trust and integrity, and can be seen as a role model to others. In both The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams and The Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, almost every character possesses one or more of these three traits. There is one character in particular who acquires all three of these characteristics and these lead him to become one of the most powerful positions in the galaxy, President of the Galaxy. Mr. Kurtz, an ambitious agent of the Company, is consumed by the Congo River and transported into a diverse Galaxy. He soon learns what it is like to become a real leader. Kurtz is a strange man living in the wild terrain …show more content…
He is apparently chosen by the government, but the qualities he is required to display are not those of leadership but those of finely judged outrage" (Adams 25). The position of President of the Galaxy is perfect for Kurtz because he doesn't fully fit the guidelines for being an efficient leader. The main job of the President is to draw attention, which is Kurtz's specialty. Kurtz is a very unique man who can become quite demented at times. This will help him in this diverse Galaxy because of all the strange events that occur. Even though Kurtz has his flaws, he does possess a few real leadership traits. An effective leader focuses on his or her own personal strengths. Kurtz does this by utilizing his ability to speak well. Another characteristic includes acquiring trust and integrity. Kurtz can be quite selfish and greedy at times, but he can also be trusted to do what is best for the people he is leading. The natives in Africa trusted and admired Kurtz so much that they made him their ultimate leader. This trait will continue to stay with Kurtz no matter who he is leading. The last and perhaps the most important aspect of a leader is the ability to be seen as a role model to others. Kurtz definitely acquires this trait because of his experience with the natives. They saw him not only as a role model but also as a god-like figure. All of these aspects will help Kurtz to successfully lead the Galaxy as
Many people possess leadership qualities although they don’t rule a country. Meriwether Lewis, the official leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition has been called “undoubtedly the greatest pathfinder this country has ever known.” Just like Hazel, Meriwether Lewis led a group of followers into unknown territory. The two guides faced many difficult situations that they were able to overcome since they had the qualities of a notable leader. Both of the journeys were rough, but because of the brave leaders both expeditions were successful.
“A good leader inspires others with confidence in him; a great leader inspires others with confidence in themselves” (unknown). Black Hawk’s actions throughout his life time proved his ability to be a great leader. He involved himself in many great feats that would attract many followers to him for instance, becoming a warrior at the early age of fifteen and beyond that being successful in heading up many other attack expeditions at a very young age. Playing a large role in two major wars also helped Black Hawk to become a leader.
The leader has to take charge of the group, make heavy decisions, and have knowledge and understanding of the world around him. It is the leaders' duty to prepare his people and make sure that they are able to survive and care for themselves. In the novel, we can see this in the character of Ish. From the moment Ish realized what had happened to the he had the desire to be a leader. When he met the black family in his cross-country trip and thought to himself, "I could be a king here if I remained." Later in the novel Ishs desires for leadership are even more noticeable when The Tribe first comes into contact with Charlie.
“A leader must be willing to sacrifice likeability in order to make decisions that are for the good of the people.” This is entirely true. When someone is a leader, their job is to watch out for the people and make the right decisions. Not every decision will be favored, but it’s most likely the best. A leader will understand that.
Thus, the question is what makes a leader a leader. For example, back in the early days of homosapian they were so immensely surrounded by danger everywhere either the whether or carnivorous animals harming the very existence of the homosapian race. This caused the homosapian to become social with fellow homosapians which resulted in many pros and lessened the cons for example, a pro would be an increase in safety causing comfort a circle of trust. An environment in which the homosapian could prosper in a calmer as well as trustful manner due to these leaders would prosper those who would stay up in the night to spot danger to worn the rest of a tribe.
Our world is filled with many successful leaders. The gift of being a leader can be learned; however some individuals have a natural born talent to be a leader. Each leader has his or her own unique leadership style. The gift of being a leader can be learned. Certain individuals are born with a charismatic style and can easily be a leader. A successful leader is one who can inspire and motivate people towards a goal. Martin Luther King Jr. was an individual with a born gift to lead people. The following paper will discuss how Martin Luther King Jr. was able to inspire and motivate people with his effective leadership style.
He was very persuasive too when he convinced his crew to carry on working. These are all characteristics of what I would say makes a perfect leader.
Leaders do not just appear out of thin air and automatically start making great things happen in the world. A leader must learn from prior leaders or role models that they are surrounded by that they look up to. Not everyone can be a leader, only some people have the correct characteristics it takes to lead others in the right direction. Those who do great things, for example volunteering at a homeless shelter, are not leaders. Many people mistake a “great person” as being a leader, which is completely incorrect (Kouzes and Posner, p. 3). While playing an active role in your community is a positive thing it does not make someone a leader of that community. All leaders have a group of people they have inspiration too and that is a good way of determining who your personal leaders are. My mother, brother, and grandfather are my leaders because I have always looked up to them and tried to mimic some of the great things that I have seen them do. My mother has always been an independent women with goals and an action plan to accomplish those set goals. Stephen, my elder brother, is outgoing and tends to have a leveled head when it comes to evaluating stressful situations. My grandfather is the most caring person I know and he is amazing at keeping situations under control in order to please everyone. These are all the qualities I want to combine into my own leadership style. I know I am not a efficient leader of these actions yet, but I plan on growing into this as I more on into my career, fulfill my set goals, and adjust to the curve-balls that life throws at me.
In order for a leader to be a leader he/she must begin with the assumption that you are the one who matters most. As a leader you have to possess that level of confidence in yourself that you are capable of leading yourself “before you can lead others”. And when you develop this belief then you are better able of affirmative influence “on others”.
Perhaps the most important qualities of a leader are passion and motivation. Especially when leading a group for a particular cause, a leader must be personally attached to that cause. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., for example, is a legendary leader because he fought for a cause that directly affected him. had he not been pushing for a personal reason, his actions would not have been as passionate. This would have caused a lack in motivation, another essential leadership quality. A leader faces many roadblocks and opposition and thus, must be motivated to continue fighting and leading. A leader’s attitude and opinions are valued by the group and therefore, if a leader is motivated, the group will be, too. The continued actions and successes, no matter how small, which move the group closer to its goal also help its motivation and drive.
The leadership is a result of a combination of traits, with special emphasis on the personal qualities of the leader, which he should possess certain personality traits that would be special facilitators in leadership performance. This theory shows that leaders are born as such, there is no likelihood of 'making' them later with personal development techniques.
In the movie we appreciated that he developed his leadership throughout the years. At the beginning he was not such a good leader, he was very intelligent but he did not possessed clear leadership attributes. He was able to mobilize people through charisma and his leadership developed and changed with experience. He was not good at handling men. An example of this situation could be when he was in the train; he demonstrated that he was not yet prepared to deal with the injustices of people towards him, when they asked him to move to second class.
As Yukl (2010) indicates, such factors (e.g. personality, values and capacities) attributed to a leader. Normally it is widespread acknowledged that someone is born to be a lead...
One of the most important components of leadership is the leader. A leader is responsible for his or her followers and the overall goal of the group or organization. Leaders are the people held accountable or everything that happens, good or bad. On the other hand, the second major component of leadership is the followers. Without followers, a leader would be worthless. Followers make up the backbone of a leader because they are the masses that get goals accomplished. A leader is just one person, but the number of followers is countless. In order to be an effective follower, there are a countless number of characteristics that allow a follower to be the best they can be. Five of these characteristics include a positive attitude, communication skills, being part of the process, being open to new ideas, and patience.
The most important quality that differentiates a leader from other people is the ability to think strategically. Vision is the most important aspect that drives a leader’s strategy. It is all about where you want to be. Other qualities include Decision making, problem solving, time management, self-motivation, emotional intelligence and many more. Once we know the type of leadership, it is easy to find what leadership skills we have and which we need to develop which is explained in the book “Leadership: Theory, application, skill development (5th ed.) by Lussier and Achua.” Also, Keirsey Style Sorter personality type helps to knowing our temperament type, and work on our weakness and to emerge out as a good leader.