Successful leaders exhibit a series of qualities and characteristics, which drive their success. Whether these qualities are innate, natural, learned or trained is the premise of this work. There is overwhelming research that may be provided to support various schools of thought regarding leadership development. This work will discuss my personal perspective regarding leadership development, examine leadership theory and characteristics in order to evaluate the origin of strong leadership and reflect on the importance of leadership in higher education administration.
Personal Perspective & Theories
The primary leadership theory I believe in comes from John Maxwell and speaks to the dual nature of leadership: leaders are both born and made. I believe that some individuals are born with innate leadership qualities and that those characteristics, though infantile, if cultivated, evolve through lifelong experiences, training and development. Maxwell asserts that born leaders require cultivation: “Leadership is developed, not discovered. The truly “born leader” will always emerge; but to stay on top, natural leadership characteristics must be developed”(Maxwell, 1993 p. viii). Maxwell indicates that individuals who want to become leaders fit into one of four categories: the leading leader, the learned leader, the latent leader or the limited leader.
Maxwell maintains that the leading leader is born with leadership qualities and has seen leadership modeled throughout life. The leading leader has learned additional leadership skills though training and practices self-discipline. The “learned leader” is described with the same characteristics of the “leading leader” with the exception of “being born” with leadershi...
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...is & Thomas, (2002), Dotlich, (2005), Hartman & Harris (1992) and Maxwell, (1993). These studies reported that not only are leaders born and made, but also that genetics, parental influence, adverse life experiences and training and development all affect leadership development.
References
Avolio, B. J. (2005). Leadership development in balance: Made/born. Psychology Press.
Bennis, W. G., & Thomas, R. J. (2002). Crucibles of leadership. ead ership, 60.
Dotlich, D. L, (2005). Adversity: What makes a leader the most . Ivey Business Journal: Improving the practice of management. Retrieved February 16, 2014 from: http://iveybusinessjournal.com .
Eicher-Catt, D. (2005). The myth of servant-leadership: A feminist perspective. Women and Language, 28(1), 17.
Greenleaf, R. K. (2002). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate
The topic of leadership has been explored and written about by thousands of authors who are considerably more qualified than I am to write about the subject. However, I’ve always maintained that developing, evolving and articulating one’s own leadership philosophy is an essential part of a professional’s growth. Through academics and experience, I’ve concluded that leadership is a “soft” skill, more art than science, and that leadership principles can be universally applied. As a topic of discussion, leadership can be ambiguous and seldom does everyone agree on a single definition. Organizations and the people they consist of crave leadership, even if not overtly. Undeniably, strong leadership is essential to achieving
Kirkpatrick, S. A., & Locke, E. A. (2001). Leadership: Do traits Matter? Academy of Management Executive,5,, 48-60.
Leadership is a complex process with many different approaches. This is a summary of the leadership literature including the pros and cons of each approach. The trait approach implies successful leaders are born with those traits. This theory focuses on identifying certain traits that make people great leaders. Some of the major leadership traits identified in the trait approach are intelligence, self-confidence, determination, integrity, and social ability. There are many advantages to the trait approach. “First, it is intuitively appealing because it fits clearly into the popular idea that leaders are special people who are out front, leading ...
Leadership is a quality which cannot be acquired by any person from the other but it can be acquired by self-determination of a person. Leadership can best be called the personality of the very highest ability-whether in ruling, thinking, imagining, innovation, warring, or religious influencing. Leadership is practiced not so much in words a it is in attitude and in actions. Their actions leave a long lasting memory in the line of history and lead up to may events that occur today. To be a leader one will need many qualities. Leaders have a purpose and strategies to accomplish that purpose. They are driven and motivated. In the end they should be able to attain good results. These innate talents help to make up a leader that will succeed and be efficient in carrying out tasks. But, the purpose of this paper is determine what truly makes a leader successful. A successful leader should be considered more on their impact rather than their accomplishments of their organizations alone for they are not sufficient in determining the key to their success .
Leadership has always been a diligently studied subject; the art and science of being an effective leader is something that most people would like to successfully cultivate. However, reading every book on the subject does not guarantee successful leadership – it only assists in the understanding of how others flourished in their methods. A technique that worked in one situation may reap havoc on another – such as Spartacus taking over as the leader of the people in India instead of Ghandi. The key to leading is understanding the circumstances you are in and the kind of behavior that will secure covenantal followers. Furthermore, even if an individual was not born with specific personality traits that are advantageous to potential leaders, if
Lord, R. (2000). Leadership. In A. E. Kazdin (Ed.), Encyclopedia of psychology, vol. 4. (pp. 499-505). Doi:10.1037/10519-216
Leadership at times can be a complex topic to delve into and may appear to be a simple and graspable concept for a certain few. Leadership skills are not simply acquired through position, seniority, pay scale, or the amount of titles an individual holds but is a characteristic acquired or is an innate trait for the fortunate few who possess it. Leadership can be misconstrued with management; a manager “manages” the daily operations of a company’s work while a leader envisions, influences, and empowers the individuals around them.
I believe that leadership is not something that you are born with, but that has to be learned over time. You learn to become a leader from watching other leaders, and also from personal experience. People should become leaders; so that they can help others do their best. They should not become leaders for the title and power that may come with leadership. Being a leader does not mean you get to boss people around by telling them what to do. The purpose of a leader is to guide others by encouraging, showing them the way, and by challenging them to do the best that they can do. I learned leadership through personal experience. In high school I played sports and had many class projects to do. My senior year was the first time my school had a soccer program, and I along with two other girls was captains. As we all know, when a group of girls come together, the drama comes too. All three of the captains had to work together and show the girls that if we wanted this program to be a success and grow, they had to work together as well. It was hard at first, but when we encouraged everyone, it worked out better than expected in the end. Also, in my business class, we had a lot of projects that were mostly group projects. During the end of the year, we had a project where we had to make up a new product. My partner and I were both seniors and it was a stressful time with finals, SAT scores, graduation, and trying to become honor graduates. We were tired and just did not want to do another project, but our teacher, Mr. Brace, did not give up on us. He showed us what to do, and encouraged us constantly every day. He would tell us many positive things and would check up on us. He was a great teacher and a great leader. Leadership may be one wo...
Although there are many outstanding, albeit necessary qualities of a good leader, it is the leader’s beliefs in which greatness is given its first breath, fostered by action, and spread throughout the institution. A great leader believes in encouraging, not destroying; in setting the precedence instead of yielding to prominence ; in collaboration, not division; in giving, not taking; and in having high standards and volunteering to be the first of many to be held to them. A great leader does not take advantage of the people being lead, but instead, creates an advantage for the people by giving them the opportunities to lead. Only when people take ownership of an institution will passion be cultivated, action be taken, and greatness be achieved.
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.
I like the fact that the teacher pointed out that leadership can be found everywhere. Leaders don't necessarily exist only in a company where there are a lot of people following you. “Everyone has the potential and possibility to be a leader”. They could be the best at inspiring others, or best at solving problems or dealing with criticism. By and large we all have the necessities to lead and I find, during the group discussions, that the difference and uniqueness of us that give us our own perspective to view and do things. Leadership is also about understanding and combining many different talents and to make them work together to create the best result. There are many kinds of leaders out there, and so many leadership styles. Yet I think we shouldn’t categorised ourselves into one or identify our superiors into one. Why? Because I think it is crucial to be flexible and adapt to which way to lead according to the situations For example, the Democratic style maybe the most popular and most effective, yet it is proved to be counter-productive in urgent occasions requiring instant and firm decisions from one person only, and that is the
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...
The book On becoming A Leader was written by Warren Bennis who was an American scholar, author and widely known pioneer of leadership studies. This book was published in 1989 by basic books but revised in 2003 by Perseus Publishing in Cambridge, MA. This book states the many traits, qualities and factors of becoming a leader. Bennis showcases the depths and heights of how leaders drive their followers in different situations. This book emphasizes on theories of becoming a leader, it is not a “how to” book by any means. Bennis states how leaders contribute to society and how crucial they are along with the characteristics that come along with being a leader. He provides intriguing insight about leaders and emphasizes the integrity and authenticity such people carry.
Leadership is found not just at work but all around us. In any situation, leaders take a step forward and take charge of the situation. It can be at home, at work or at any other place. Leaders are never born, they become leaders because they have the credibility and people would love to follow them.
After conducting some research on leadership, many questions have been brought to my attention. Some questions include the following: What is a leader? Are leaders made or born? What is the difference between leadership and management? What are the theories concerning leadership? Answers to these questions, and many others, should become clear enough at the end of this research.