Applied Learning Paper: Chapters 1-3
In chapter one, the concept and definition of leadership was introduced and according to the text, more than one hundred definitions of leadership have been identified by scholars and academic studies. What is clear is that leadership requires certain skills and traits of an individual that give them the ability to influence others in a way that motivates them to work toward and accomplish a common objective and goal effectively. While most traits seem to be somewhat inborn and natural to most leaders, it is true that others can be taught and develop the skills over time.
The use of both behaviors is necessary to be effective, and it is the challenge of leadership to determine when to engage in, which
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Personality traits and characteristics have a profound effect on our ability to lead others. By recognizing our own strengths and weaknesses we become stronger, more effective leaders. Over time, researchers have discovered that there is a long list of specific traits that contribute to the leadership process and effective of the leaders, but six that are considered to be key traits: intelligence, confidence, charisma, determination, sociability, and integrity.
Chapter 3: Recognizing Your Philosophy and Style of Leadership Chapter 3 introduces the concept of leadership philosophy, which affects how others respond to you and how effective you are as a leader, as well as, what type of leadership style you adapt. (Northouse, 2015) Leadership philosophy is developed as the result of personal experiences and perspectives based on individual beliefs and attitudes towards others. Our leadership philosophy affects which leadership style or styles we adopt as individuals.
Douglas McGregor developed two general theories, theory x and theory y, to provide an understanding of why people develop certain styles of leadership. Each style correlates to certain assumptions that individuals make about people. Theory X suggests that there are three common
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
A personal philosophy of leadership is like a road map, without one leaders would be drifting aimlessly without any sense of direction. If a leader is lacking sense of direction it would be impossible for an organization to follow that leader anywhere simply because it would be impossible to set goals and provide direction without having a leadership philosophy.
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 .
1. Leadership is not only a talent. It is also a science that it can be taught, 2. Mobilizing others is the key world of leadership theory. Inspiration is the basic tool that a leader can use, 3. Leadership is not dictatorship. It is a common effort that aims to a common goal, 4. ethics is a significant issue in leadership theory, 5. leadership is interesting to the feelings of the employees who work in a project. People are not numbers but personalities with particular characteristics and wishes, 6. a leader does not need types to be respected by the employees. He gains them with his personality and they follow him because they agree with his recommendations and they trust him.
Leaders are characterized by their traits. These are sought by their followers. The followers look for honesty, integrity, compassion, drive, determination and a vast array of other traits, which set a leader out from the crowd. Being treated fairly and with empowerment can make admirers follow a leader into almost any situation.
Everything in leadership will be determined by the competency of the leader. John C Maxwell is credited with saying “everything rises and falls on leadership. The leaders are often the ones making the decisions influencing success or failure. When I think of competency, I believe it is important to acknowledge the difference between competency and confidence. Confidence is the belief that I can lead; competence requires results of successful leadership. Confidence is the place people get the idea a person is a “good guy.” Being a good guy or even being confident is not a qualification of competency; it merely means one has the right to have dinner. Being a good guy allows
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.
It holds that various situations require different leadership styles to result in effective outcomes. According to this school of thought, it is the assessment of the competence, as well as the commitment of the leader’s subjects that makes the whole practice a success. As a result, a leader should access the two factors before deciding on either directive or supportive form of management.
Reviewing this chapter as whole, I noticed that there is no fixed approach mentioned towards a leadership style, rather it suggests that range of different leadership style must be adapted based on the situation. Furthermore, I found out that this chapter lacked some useful information which should have been discussed e.g. it did not emphasis much about leadership styles and strategies in a service industry. However, some distinctive traits successful leader must have were highlighted such as good interpersonal skills, sociability and dominance. Some philosophers believe that leaders are born as a leader which perhaps I don’t really agree to, not all successful leaders were born as a leader. Leadership style can however be adapted in response to situation and needs of the business environment.
Leadership has been defined in different ways, a definitaion of leadership that would be most commonly accepted would be “the ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organization…”(House et al., 1999, p. 184 as cited in Yukl, 2013, p. 19). After a comprehensive review of different leadership literature, Stogdill (1974, p. 259, as cited in Yukl, 2013, p. 18) concluded that “There are almost as many definitions of leadership as there are persons who have attempted to define the concept." Leadership can be viewed from two different angles one is shared influence process and other as a specialized role. Researcher who view leadership as a specialized role consider attributes as a factor in selecting a designated leader. On the contrast, theorist who emphasises on influence process considers “Leadership” as a social process or a pattern of relationship.
Leaders can have a powerful impact on the futures of many, and the way in which one approaches leadership is paramount to the type of impact one will have. Continual growth in the areas of knowledge I have and seek to acquire, as well as recognizing my leadership style and utilizing my personal strengths to the fullest, is vital to the successful implementation of my personal philosophy of leadership.
Leadership is trait that is extremely important in any society. Leadership is known as the way people attempting to make a difference in a situation. However, I believe that it is better said to be a way of influencing others actions. Leadership is usually connected to a great leader that affected his or her followers in a dynamic way. Throughout the semester for my leadership class, I have expanded the knowledge in numerous ways. I now have fully understanding of the purpose and process of leadership to a society. Being a leader one must maintain an image of being the role model. I believe that this is leader should be who is someone who has the ability to influence, encourage, listen, and nurture. They are able to inspire, stimulate, persuade, shape, and have an effect on others.
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.
Another aspect of leadership includes leadership traits such as being influential and inspirational. There also different contexts of leadership, e.g, leading oneself, leading other individuals, leading groups, leading organizations. Some traits that are often associated with being an effective leader include a measure of intelligence, high energy, self confidence, dominance, and a need for achievement. An effective, charismatic leader must lead by example. That leader must be able to know what is going on, the job or task that is being accomplished, and be able to lead the group into performing the task at hand successfully.
Many people associate leadership with a specific job title or form of power within an organization. However, through personal experience, I have concluded that leadership can come in many forms and position as well as from multiple sources of roles and job titles both with and without power. Based on the definition of leadership, anyone can be considered a leader as long as they have the ability to influence people to achieve a particular result or goal which benefits the organization or group as a whole. Individuals with a secure sense of self and understanding, acceptance of diversity within an organization tend to be the strongest leaders that not only make others want to follow, but they also encourage other leaders to gravitate to their