Leadership : An Authentic Leader And Meets People Where They Are

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.

Being a leader is not considered a job or position. Becoming a leader is not a talent, job or position. Although, leadership can be rewarding and difficult at the same time. In today’s society, “the kind of leadership necessary to move social movements forward is very different from the type of leadership required in a military setting, especially on the battlefield. A more sharpened focus on leadership processes versus individual leader traits and behaviors deepens our understanding of the complexities and interactive nature of leadership” (Komives, Lucas and McMahon 2013, 46). My goal is to understand how to face the complexities in life as a leader to communities, universities, organizations, the workplace and the world. As a leader,

Leadership is the elaboration of group inspiration. One person entrusted as leader can implore the aid, and support of supporters in the accomplishment of a common mission. According to Gurdjian, Halbeisen, and Lane “Becoming a more effective leader often requires changing behavior. But although most companies recognize that this also means adjusting underlying mind-sets, too often these organizations are reluctant to address the root causes of why leaders act the way they do” (Gurdjian, Halbeisen, and Lane, 2014) However, today abundant businesses engross importance on the improvement of leaders. Some of the ultimate leaders were formerly followers, such as in instructive businesses. One aspect as leaders many have to contemplate in striving

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

I believe my former manager was authentic in his effort to be a company man. He was for the organization and concerned mostly about building morale during a time that the Cuyahoga County was freezing pay raises and promotions. Morale was at a low point and as a result job performances suffered. Employees began to be okay with doing the minimum or what was required and nothing more. Our department meetings were bombarded with the “be glad you got a job theme,” and that got old very quickly. My manager tried to infuse in our meetings some humor and come up with ways to keep us engaged and interested, but in my opinion failed on all accounts to build morale. As a matter of fact, most people spent more time looking for jobs and writing

Knowledge is power and with great power comes great responsibility (Anonymous). This writer had attended seminars for leadership and management in the course of her career. However, the course presented this writer the opportunity to acquire deeper knowledge and understanding of leadership principles which will prepare her for future opportunities in a much

This student has held a lifelong interest in the area of leadership. From as early as age 8, this student has been intrigued with the sense of exuberance, found in personal success and achievement and began to wonder if others could be made to feel the same sense of excitement and belief in themselves. Thus, began this student’s endeavor to helping others “become”, “believe”, “expand” and “succeed”. But, was that leadership or the expression of a trait, or perhaps it was something spiritual or maybe it was an exertion of power over my life or the life of another. To answer the question, “What does leadership mean? ”, this student has selected the article “Leadership is about What We Deliver; Shaping culture, Creating Patterns of Success.”

“In leadership literature, more than 100 different definitions of leadership have been identified” (Rost, 1991). Through these hundred ways, we all interpret leadership differently. Before this course, when someone asked, “What does leadership mean to you?” The answer was simple. Prior to taking this course all leadership meant was being in charge. Under the teachings of this course I have gained a new interpretation of leadership, and an overall sense of what being a leader means. In this course we took the StrengthFinder assessment. When taking the assessment, I really thought about the way I am and began understanding the asked questions. I realized that I now understand how to improve situations, and I have become more well rounded in understanding the differences in individuals and their ideas. After realizing this, I continued taking my test; the results, amazingly, coincided with what I had just noticed.

Throughout my life I have experienced a variety of things. Among those things I have dealt with is leadership. Leadership is having the ability to lead or guide others. Anyone can become a leader if they set their mind to doing it. A quote I always liked said “Leadership is unlocking people’s potential to become better” –Bill Bradley. This quote to me simply says that you have to enhance the lives of other if you want to be a great leader yourself. In my paper I would like to discuss a few leadership experiences I have been involved in while here at The University of Southern Mississippi.

Robins & Boldero (2003) propose that dyadic relationships will become more intimate and trusting as

“Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal” (Northouse, 2010, pg. 3). Leadership has engaged in many practices throughout time. Leadership has been given great importance within organizations, since this can be done based on leader’s styles, making people more productive. From its beginnings, leadership has always been focused on the leader, in the style it handles and theories under which it is recognized. As I reflect on the information that I have learned about “Leadership Theory and Practice” I find it extremely important to see the application in real life. Therefore, I considered Mrs. Magana, to interview and go further with my curiosities about her leadership style. She has made a great impact through her path as a leader here in Fort Worth ISD. Mrs. Magana’s greatest assets are the followers that she has been given the pleasure of leading. She always will be the first to tell you that, without dedicated and committed team members who enthusiastically choose to follow, they can accomplish little. She also tells you that the best investment is the time she spent with her team members, time spent in learning about each team member 's wants and needs, time learning about each team member 's values and priorities. She uses this information to help each individual grow, she prioritizes each individual 's talents so that they are given the opportunity to excel and advance. Knowing this, I was inspired to

Leadership is a process of continuous learning and increasing leadership effectiveness requires understanding, reflection, and the application to the appropriate subject matter. To become an effective leader, one should strive to enhance their skills and abilities associated with applying new data, information, and ideas objectively and subjectively. Even though everyone in the world has in their possession some sort of leadership characteristics and attributes, not everybody is set out to make the necessary sacrifices it takes to become a truly effective leader. Utilizing authentic leadership practices entails learning how to be true to yourself and others. An essential element facilitating meaningful leadership is trust. Influential risks, changes, and challenges will inevitably occur throughout the various stages of life. According to Erik Erikson, human life stages comprise of infancy, early childhood, play age, school age, adolescence, young adulthood, adulthood, and old age (Armstrong, 2012). This paper’s objectives include revealing several moments in life where challenges to leadership occurred, predominantly focused on the adolescence, young adulthood, and adult stages in life. The paper highlights specific instances in life where leadership challenges became noticeably obvious, influencing various personal and professional motivational elements. Life is full of challenges, highlighting previously endured leadership examples helps to recognize and learn

There are always chances and possibilities to become a good leader regardless the odds against you, gender, age, race, education, previous experience, etc. This paper defines what leadership is and it explains the relationship between leadership and influence. It also highlights the importance of finding opportunities to develop skills and creating strong to become a good leader. It is also emphasized the power of influence that comes from motivating your team, to improve performance and satisfaction and that setting a clear goal is mandatory for good leadership. The conclusion summarizes all the topics under discussion.

Authentic leadership is in its infancy, which means the concept still lacks certain universal answers or theories to specific questions. As we will explore in the section about the advantages and disadvantages of the theory, the lack of proper theory or model is sometimes criticised.

Large corporations have this idea that the harder they push employees and the more they drive productivity, the higher the revenue. What they often misjudge is the impact, over time that this approach can have on managers and their staff including burnout, loss of vision, and loss of compassion for their work. Furthermore, leaders that adopt this bureaucracy approach to leadership potentially risk losing profit margins for those reasons alone. On the contrary, "the heart of leadership is in the heart of leaders" and portrays the belief that leaders who lead with heart develop visions they are compassionate about, providing guidance in times of triumph and tribulation for not only themselves but their staff (Masters, 2014). Additionally, a compassionate leader inspires others to reveal their leadership qualities knowing their efforts will be met with love and understanding. A good leader makes intelligent decisions that support their organizations goals while maintaining their soulful vision. This prevents loss of compassion and continues to fuel their reason for being. Leading with heart takes courage and vulnerability because it demands leaders to search their own soul for purpose and reason, frequently uprooting past emotions and buried fears, but one is incapable of leading with heart until they know their own heart. They need not only to provide structure and constructive criticism, but they as well need to be inspirational, honest, and empathetic. Leaders who allow