Effective Leaders Are All Around Us

In the reading, Encouraging the Heart by James Kouzes and Barry Posner, they seek to explore one of the most indescribable leadership skills of all caring. Caring is said to be an essential skill to be a successful leader, yet one of the most difficult to master. Kouzes & Posner propose that caring leadership is composed of seven essentials: setting clear standards, expecting the best, paying attention, personalizing recognition, telling the story, celebrating together, and setting the example. The book seeks to describe how and why caring leadership works, and goes beyond outlining practices and principles associated with this type of leadership. This book is an inspirational and uplifting blend of theory and principle, true-life stories of caring leadership, and self-reflecting questions.

It is impossible to escape the message here that if people work with leaders who encourage the heart, they feel better about themselves. Their self-esteem goes up. These leaders set people's spirits free, often inspiring them to become more than they ever thought possible. This, indeed, may be our ultimate mission as leaders.

Empower and influence the people: To have the influence and to empower people is one of the important qualities in a leader. They are what the “followers” need to improve themselves, their skills and the leaders provide

Abstract: There are numerous definitions of leadership, all of which contain elements related to people (the leader and the follower(s)), communicating in person or by the written word, actions (organizing, directing, coaching, and/or motivating), and for a purpose (meeting a goal(s) or accomplishing a task(s)) (ADP 6-22) (Fisher 2015) (Bolden 2013) (Hogan 2005). Additionally, everything done occurs within a given context. Effective leaders are poised, proficient, pertinent, and practical in the application of the art of leadership. This means leaders are ready to engage the group with effective methods and

Being a good leader is done by making the correct choices and inspiring people to complete their tasks and work together as a team. In order to be a great leader you need to think outside the box and travel the road that is seldom or never traveled. A great leader will use their inspiration and determination to complete the tasks no matter what hurdles or problems they

Leadership is defined as the ability to accomplish a set goal(s) due to the act of inspiring and motivating a group of your peers. Former United States president Dwight D. Eisenhower made famous a quote that stated, “Leadership consists of nothing but taking responsibility for everything that goes wrong and giving your subordinates credit for everything that goes well.” (Notable-quotes.com). One of the most important aspects of the work area is leadership. Without leadership, there will be no guidance to for teamwork and the percentage of successful goal will be slim to none. Becoming a great leader is no easy feat however. An exceptional leader must lock in on specific attributes such as intellect, moral character, and human

Effective followership is an essential component of effective leadership in that, without good followers, the leader’s work is difficult and cumbersome. The role of the follower is many times understated. As illustrated by Kelley (1998), “effective followers are thinkers; energetic and assertive, self-starters, independent problem solvers, and carry out their tasks with these characteristics (p. 143). Effective followers also are characterized by their ability to perform tasks with little supervision, their intelligence, and ability to think for themselves. We are all followers, even those who consider themselves leaders; so to encourage this effectiveness in others; we must be role models for those under us, so that they may also be effective at following. Chaleff (2009) observed that “all important social accomplishments require complex

The two definitions demonstrate that there is much more to leadership than control and management. Effective leaders set strategies that include a mission to motivate the whole team and create a culture of people, passion and performance. Essentially they should want to build and maintain a well-balanced, mutually supportive and motivated team that will get the necessary results to achieve specific goals (Goleman, 2000).

A primary responsibility of any leader is to help build talent. In order for a company to grow and prosper, it is important that individuals are in the right roles and are given the best opportunities. In Encouraging the Heart, James Kouzes and Barry Posner explore the caring side of leadership. They show that caring is an effective skill when it comes to successful leadership, but is also one of the most difficult to master. Kouzes and Posner studied and communicated with successful leaders and identified seven essentials for encouraging the heart.

The heart of leadership has to do with what a person believes, values, dreams about, and is committed to. - Sergiovanni

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”.

An effective leader should be able to organize, lead, and control the group. It is the responsibility of the leader to ensure presence effective communication, coordination, and teamwork (Leicher, & Mulder, 2016). The effectiveness of the leadership is based on

An organization must have trust in their leadership team. Being an effective leader means to influence, inspire, support and instruct your team through challenges and uncertainty while standing strong, remaining calm, empowering and focused. Pseudo-transformational leaders are far from being effective. Leading by fear, leading by force, can be detrimental to any organization.

According to Yukl (Yukl, 2013) one of the many definitions of leadership is “the ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and enable other to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organization”. Therefore it is of importance to have an effective leader in an organization to guide the company in the correct direction, in order to achieve the company’s’ main goal.

Having effective leadership not only inspires employees to reach their highest potential, but furthermore it is a good confidence builder. For instance, I live by certain leadership principles of knowing myself and seeking self-improvement, being proficient at my job, making informed decisions, leading by example, motivating my subordinates and keeping my subordinates current on any potential changes. My responsibility is to provide guidance and mentorship to motivate them to be the best they can be.