John C. Maxwell's Leadership In Beowulf

Leadership is all about having the right amount of heart and determination to help make a difference in someone’s life. It takes certain qualities to be considered a good leader. A leader should want to help inspire others to make a change and to be the best that they can be. A true leader does not need to feel powerful, instead they empower those around them. Throughout my life I have come across various leaders who have made an impact on my life. It takes a very special person to inspire and touch people’s lives. Leadership is so much deeper than having power and bossing people around.

A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by quality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.

Exceptional leadership has played a role in society for millennia. Every good leader has essential traits that define his or her character. Beowulf exemplifies authority in the poem Beowulf, displaying acts of courage and fearlessness throughout. Beowulf guides his warriors through life-threatening situations and emerges victorious because of his prowess as a leader. His capacity as role model instills confidence in those around him, which also establishes him as a great leader. Beowulf fits into a tradition of great leaders throughout history who lead through their courage, decisiveness, and inspirational qualities.

When we think of leadership, what comes to mind? Is it the bold, charismatic, and passionate person who takes the group on their back? Or is it really the more quiet and realistic leader who has a compromising attitude? Most people will think of a loud and passionate person who can grab the attention of an audience. But leaders come in all shapes and sizes. Leadership is defined by dictionary.com as the ability to guide or influence others to achieve a common goal. Although the term leader is used in our everyday lives, many people mistake it for close synonyms. Not all leaders have to be the boisterous, bold, and burly people that most people think of them to be. More often than not, a leader will be the commanding one in the group. But there

In the 21st century a good leader is someone who is courageous, understanding, selfless, fights for other and not themselves and not a person who has a big ego. Throughout history the meaning or definition of a good leader has changed much. In the Anglo – Saxon time period, Beowulf, was considered to be a great leader and a hero according to his people, for risking his life and saving them from evil monsters. But in today’s world and lifestyle and how much things and times have changed, Beowulf would not be considered to be a good leader or a hero.

“I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion” Alexander the Great. In the book, Lord of the Flies there were two obvious leaders. Ralph and Jack attempted to lead the boys in very different ways and for very different reasons. Being a good leader is about doing what’s best for everyone not yourself. There are many people in the world that would make effective leaders. A person I know that is an effective leader is my Uncle Eric.

To learn the characteristics of a leader, one would benefit from referring to this story. In Beowulf, the Geatish warrior, Beowulf, shows courage by stepping up to fight off Grendel and his mother when nobody else could, ‘For 12 years the monster Grendel has been picking off King Hrothgar’s best guys... they’re [the Danes] hopeless at exacting revenge’ (Post). When Beowulf arrives at Heorot, he gives the retainers the confidence that they need to win this battle, ‘He is absolutely fearless and supremely confident in his own abilities. The boasts he makes before the fight with Grendel signals a public, inspirational articulation of confidence...in

Risk-taking Beowulf the charismatic leader helped the people feel more at ease with their life when he defeated the monsters. In The Battle with Grendel’s Mother it's says the following about Grendel’s death “The rest of that ring-marked blade had dissolved in Grendel’s steaming blood, boiling even after his death.” This quote just simply explains the fact that Beowulf used a blade to kill Grendel and the blade was boiling in his blood. Also in this passage it explains how Grendel’s mother was assassinated by Beowulf. In lines 521-524 it says “And struck with all the strength he had left, caught her in the neck and cut it through,

Leaders come out and strive when needed the most but this pride can also go to their heads. The Oxford Dictionary states the definition of a leader “The person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country” (oxforddictionaries.com). In the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding, it mentions two characters fighting for leadership and they are named Ralph and Jack. These two boys are deserted on an island and must figure who is a better leader to lead the group of boys who are in need of leadership. Throughout the book, Jack and Ralph take over the island and are branched into two separate groups.

A leader comes in many forms, there are those whom support, love and protect their team, the public, and or the country, and those who hate, torment and bring despair to the people like in this very generation right now. Tom Loughman and John Finley created an article called titled “Beowulf and the Teaching of Leadership”, its main claim is about whether Beowulf was a great leader or not. The article states about Beowulf’s traits and the story to see if he is a leader or not. To support their claims, the authors used a model called “Conger and Kanungo’s (1994) Charismatic Leader Model”, a model that is made to use to describe any types of leaders who follow the model or not. The authors use the model to see if Beowulf fits well

During the Anglo-Saxon era, the poem Beowulf came about and portrays many leadership skills still valid in today’s world. In the poem, Beowulf shows skills such as being well known and protecting his people, he upholds truth and justice, and he holds an inspirational vision through influential actions and behaviors affecting his followers. The poem serves as great knowledge for people seeking to be strong, charismatic leaders similar to Beowulf (Loughman). In the article “Beowulf and the Teaching of Leadership” Loughman talks how in the epic poem Beowulf it includes ways for people in the current era to practice and teach these leadership skills to better themselves and others (Loughman).

Leadership is something that has been around since mankind. You would think that an idea so old would be straight forward but, we can see completely different ideas of what a leader, good or bad, should look like. While some of these stories may be fictional, they line up with a historical time line of expectations. We can also see how the role of a king and how their duties have evolved in real life. The Epic of Gilgamesh shows us how to control your power.

My idea of leadership is being able to inspire others, motivate, set a vision, communicate, respect others, and of course, lead by example. A leader must have an honest understanding of who they are, what they know, and what they are capable of. To be a successful leader, you have to be able to convince your followers, not just yourself or your superiors, that you are worthy of being followed. In my opinion, this can build confidence in their followers to have faith in you, in order to be able to lead. I strongly believe that good leaders are made rather, and not born. If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders are developed through a never ending process of self-study, education, training, and

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”.

If you are a true leader in whatever you do you have to treat the people like you would if you were in that situation. That goes to presidents, business owners, coaches, and men of the house. I’m not saying do everything that pleases them but in the difficult times stand up and do the correct action in love and unity. Whether that be a coach of a sports team stand up for you team if they are not getting treated fairly. Also in a business aspect if you are a manager, supervisor or CEO make an impact for your company. If you are a CEO you are in a place of leadership, make an impact to change the revenue of the business to divide the pay so that jobs won’t be lost in the hundreds or thousands. I could go on but being a leader is standing up to the giants in life and saying “I’m not going to take this no more” or who is willing to give up the little things to win the war, sacrifice, commitment and drive is in my eyes is what it takes to be a leader. Some other things that I thought leaders should have is a goal in mind to where their business, church, team, restaurant, etc. As a head coach for a football team, as a great example would be Seattle’s Pete carol, in 2 years he lead a mediocre team to super bowl champions, because why? They had a goal in mind. As a business owner, you have to know where the company is going to end up in the next 10 years, you have to have provision, without that how can anybody trust you to lead. As a church pastor you have