People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. The leader leads, and the boss drives” (Theodore Roosevelt). There are very few recognizable differences between a leader and a boss, or manager. This can be a tricky concept to fully grasp, all leaders are managers, but not all managers are leaders. I came to notice this when I started working as a marketing/advertising intern at Water Conditioning Systems. I started to develop a strong relationship with my boss because he treated me as an equal, not as a lower ranking employee. For my interview paper, I took the opportunity to ask my boss some questions about his leadership style, and to ask what shaped him as a leader. My boss, Larry L Winkel, is the president and CEO of Water …show more content…
Larry expressed that effort is one of the most important things he looks for. Showing effort is not only important for your job, but it drives all facets of life. Another thing that I learned for the interview is that you shouldn’t educate yourself in just one subject. Larry, a University of Iowa graduate, expressed the importance of education, and how it’s best to develop a diverse educational background. He explained that after he graduated with a degree in accounting, he never went back to that field of study again. When he came back from the Air Force, his morals and ethical boundaries changed. He looked around for jobs, but nothing interested him. He didn’t know anything about water softeners, but he did understand how bad the water quality was in Iowa City and Coralville. He wanted to help give people the pure water that they deserved. Northouse describes vision as “A mental model of an ideal future state. (Northouse 149)” Larry was, indeed, a visionary for clean water in the Johnson County area. When Water Conditioning Systems opened, there was one competitor stationed in Des Moines, along with cheap unit’s at large hardware stores. Throughout the interview, I asked a few questions pertaining to task or relational style of leadership. One of the main reasons why Larry wanted to start a retail sales business is for the human interaction involved each day. Whether he was selling a
By definition, leadership is the position or function of a leader, a person who guides or directs a group. But can we really sum up “leadership” in a single sentence? Recently, an article was run in Business News Daily (2015) that listed 30 ways to define leadership. In those 30, there were many quotes by CEOs, COOs, Founders, and company Presidents. Common attributes like “behavior”, “ability”, “vision”, and “followership” were mentioned. So it goes without saying that if these prominent individuals can figure it out, why can’t those below them? Thankfully, most do, and some will even rise to the top like those previously mentioned. The key point to all of this though is that it takes more than just one characteristic to make a leader. Throughout this piece, I’d like to explore the aspects that make up a Leader, how I fit the role of a leader, and what I’ve learned throughout this course in leadership.
Businesses also have a variety of different leaders controlling the organization. Some executives attain a high-level position, placing them in a leadership role. However, there are many leadership positions that do not actually “lead” a team. A leader does not decide to be a leader overnight. A leader possesses a particular set of qualities and
“At Southwest Airlines, although we have Manager titles, we prefer to use the word Leader because we want all our People to realize they have the potential to be a Leader” (Blanchard & Barrett, 2011). An individual can make a positive difference in anyone’s work regardless of the position they are in. “Anytime you seek to influence the thinking, behavior, or development of people in their personal or professional lives, you are taking on the role of a leader” (Blanchard & Barrett, 2011).
Leadership can be defined as the ability of a company 's management to make sound decisions and inspire others to perform well (Investopedia, 2014). From the beginning of time, in the middle of all the major changes and historical events there where effective and motivated leaders having a wide sphere of influence and inspiring other groups of people to be creative and efficient. A leader is defined as a person or thing that holds a dominant or superior position within its field, and is able to exercise a high degree of control or influence over others (businessdictionary,2014).Leaders have always played a major role in the evolution of technology as well as in forming the very lifestyle of today’s society. Effective leaders are able to set and achieve challenging goals, to take swift and decisive action even in difficult situations, to outperform their competition, to take calculated risks and to persevere in the face of
Who are the Phaecians? They’re a society that resides in Phaecia and are adored by the gods. They excel at nearly everything. From dancing to games and sailing, these masters have gained control of it all. Yet there is something they have yet to lure into their grip. The one and only Cyclops. For instance, the Phaecians once lived upon an island, Hyperia, where they danced to their heart’s content all day long. However, they lived “all too close to the overbearing Cyclops, stronger violent brutes who harried them without end” (6.6-7). Finally, they ended up forfeiting the battle for land and evacuated. The silent battle between the two societies caused the Cyclops to become enemies in the Phaecians’ eyes.
There were many options to interview for this assignment, after careful thought on whom to interview, I decided to interview someone outside of my work environment. I chose to interview a healthcare director who is much energized towards making change and being the best leader they can be. I liked the idea of interviewing this individual for the experience of having some awareness into an organization which I knew very little about, it was insightful to see leadership within a different frame of reference than I typically see within my work environment. The person I met with asked not to be named directly, his title is a director level at a large healthcare organization. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Ferris State and a Master’s degree (I don’t recall the college) in healthcare administration. He is a very energetic person and is very clear in the importance of good leadership. He was quick to start our meeting and take the lead by emphasizing to me how critical leadership is and that it’s a critical component towards the success of any organization, effective leaders help ensure that everyone works together seamlessly and they are much more likely to achieve the organization’s goals and success. A successful leader will be vital in motivating employees, communicating strategic directions and achieving organizational goals, without a good leader all of the organizations resources are less effective than they could be.
At the moment of birth the placenta (previously responsible for mediation in the respiratory, circulatory and hepatic functions between mother and a developing baby) is removed from the circulation and the neonates body must make several adjustments to undertake the respiratory and hepatic system roles as well as direct blood into its lungs to oxygenate it.
Before going through this journey of self-discovery, my view of leadership was accurately described by John C. Maxwell “ Leadership is influence.” (Maxwell, para. 25, 2012). I believed, before taking this class and Northouse’s (2013) assessments, leaders were defined by the extent to which they could influence others to achieve company goals. I thought that, when discussing leadership, the leader was the most important aspect of the leader-member dyad and that it was the leader who had the greatest influence over how successful the organization was. Leaders themselves, in my view, should have been the focus of leadership studies and it should have been up to the leader to develop his/her skills in
Fifteen weeks in the Business Introduction class, I learned how to become a leader with the guidances of, “The Student Leadership Challenge:Five Practices For Becoming An Exemplary Leader”, Student Leadership self assessment, Myers Briggs Type Indicator results, and SWOT analysis. From all the readings and assessments, A leader to me is someone who is able to set a positive example to their peers but also capable of receiving feedback. Leaders make
In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare one of the main characters named Lady Macbeth changes dramatically during the play. Lady Macbeth is the wife of Macbeth whose prophesy was to become king of Scotland. Excited Lady Macbeth will stop at nothing to make her husband stand in what she thinks is his rightful position. At the starting point of the play Lady Macbeth has determination and cruelty, but at the end of the play she becomes depressed and anxious.
Leadership is multidimensional. There is no straightforward way to describe what a leader is or explain who makes a great leader. The description will be shaped by the purpose of the work being done and the followers one achieves. Dye (2010) states that leadership is a “living phenomenon” (p. 14) and supports the need to provide personalization to the leadership style. There is much discussion on the development of a leader. Some believe that you are a natural born leader who fine-tunes those skills through “persistence and perseverance of failures and successes” (Blanken, 2013, para. 5). Others, like Blanken (2013), feel that exposures early in life begin the development of leadership traits, and “education, jobs, and life experiences then shape the leader’s philosophy and psychology” (para. 7). A dominant style might be apparent in a leader; however, the adaptability in leadership approaches allows the leader to be focused on
Leadership is, and always has been, a vital aspect of social and economic constructs. It is essential to the survival of societies, industries, organizations, and virtually any group of individuals that come together for a common purpose. However, leadership is difficult to define in a single, definitive sense. As such, theories of leadership, what constitutes a great leader, and how leaders are made have evolved constantly throughout history, and still continue to change today in hopes of improving upon our understanding of leadership, its importance, and how it can be most effective in modern organizational cultures.
The word ‘leadership’ often times triggers a preconceived image of an ideal leader—typically accompanied by the aura that the effective leader should be at the top of the hierarchy, ready to produce the solutions to complex problems. However, this is not true of leadership, given that effective leadership is not achieved by position but rather through style and situational awareness. Examining leadership requires the consideration of the catalysts for different types of leaders. Popular leader development theories tend to focus on the natural servitude of the leader, his or her capability to manage, and leader behavior.
For decade’s individuals, companies, and organizations have spent an unprecedented amount of money on researching, molding, modeling and working to define what a leader is and what characteristics make successful leaders. Despite all the research, there is not a quick answer or even full agreement as to what makes an individual an effective leader. The definition of a leader is “someone who can influence others and who has managerial authority.” (Robbins, Decenzo, Coulter, 2015. P.370)
Solo leadership refers to the control, influence and direction to the followers by one sole person who leads them towards achieving desired goals and objectives. Solo leaders are those leaders who donot share power with any other person and ensure that they receive all the credits and profits from effective productivity of their followers. They have no partners in decision making and power sharing. They set the vision and goals and also make strategies to achieve those goals. They are the sole directors of their followers and give strict directions and orders for achievement of any objective. They are autocratic by style as they are sole controllers and play unlimited roles without interfere