Leadership : The Truth About Leadership

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.

Situational approach is either applying supportive or directive behaviors to specific situations. Every situation is unique which is why different methods should be applied accordingly, depending on the dynamics of the situation. To determine what behaviors are needed, a leader must analyze his or her followers’ commitment and competence.

The book begins by exploring reasons for the interest in leadership today. The authors suggest a variety of reasons, including the rapid pace of change, and they also set out some parameters for understanding leadership, including the question of ‘leader’ or ‘leadership’. Here, as throughout the book, what I found most stimulating was the way in which the authors take a step back and ask questions which are not always being asked elsewhere.

I can honestly say that I am fortunate to feel like I have been training my whole life to be an extraordinary leader. Every experience has been a lesson and every lesson has paved the path to where I currently stand. I never really thought of it being something you are born with but something that needs to be nurtured and matured. I am not the same leader I was as a kid fresh out of high school running Little Caesar pizza in Willow Grove on summer breaks and whenever I would come home from Norfolk State. The role of leader has evolved as I am sure I have also. Today’s leader is multidimensional and has an integrative view of leadership that is based on building relationships through shared purposes and aspirations. As I think about the leader

In the beginning section, Joan Gallos compiles works that seeks to answer the common question concerning leadership, what is leadership? John Kotter contends, “Leadership is different from management” (as cited in Gallos, 2008, p. 5). Kotter insists that there are clear differences between leadership and management. For example, leadership deals with change within an organization. Whereas, management concentrates on developing a system to bring order to an organization. Consequently, skills needed for leadership are divergent from the skills needed for management.

The study of leadership and the actions it entails can be dated back as far as 2300 B.C (Bass and Stodill, 1990), however in the modern day the study has evolved greatly, with theories and writers inputting their views and constantly updating and changing the definitions of what they believe leadership to be.

Leadership is the ability to obtain followers. Commitment will follow your leadership as you climb up the ladder your commitment will rise as well. People do not want to be managed they want to be led. There are many principles that will represent a great leader and help an individual obtain the followers trust. The principles mentioned in this book are influence, priorities, integrity, positive change, problem solving, positive attitude, attitude, vision, self-discipline, and staff development. These ten principles will achieve an individual the needed followers to become a leader.

My personal understanding of leadership in this class began first when we were assigned to read Grunig’s discussion of the Theory of Excellence. This discussion was a detailed paper outlining Grunig’s personal opinion on how to achieve excellence through individual and group participation. According to Grunig, he mentions five areas that public relations is developing which includes public relations becoming a management function, public relations involving more strategic counseling, public relations being backed by more scholarly knowledge, public relations becoming more global and more diverse in gender and race. In addition to Grunig’s five trends, a current trend that is gaining a lot more traction as the years go by and technology

This concept of leadership, as indicated, is an application of ideas and practices that can be utilized in all phases of daily activities. The historical aspect is a relevant factor when considering in the discussion of any topics that related to leadership. It can provide us a gleaming of how it was conceived, transformed, and evolved over time. Leadership ideas and concepts have been

The concept and definition of leadership has been developing through time widening the spectrum of what we consider today as leadership. Starting with a focus on the leader and continuing to move to a follower center perspective, leadership styles have developed becoming adaptive to which ever time in history a great leader and its followers exist. By this I mean, specific time in our history seems to have develop specific leaders, who shared similar traits, and develop certain behaviors and skills. While we could look at our past, I choose to look at our present for an example of this. Today’s leaders, have evolved in approach and styles, by they all share similarities. Leadership through the net, is today one of the most successful

Chaos. Uncertainty. Unpredictability. Constant change. These are all characteristics of the world in which we now live, and all indications are that the world of the future will be even more chaotic, more uncertain, more unpredictable, and in even greater states of constant and unprecedented change and flux. Such circumstances desperately call for new leaders. Indeed, “if there was ever a moment in history when a comprehensive strategic view of leadership was needed,... this is certainly it.” For almost a century, writers have attempted to describe leadership, and researchers have attempted to identify the defining characteristics of leaders. The outcome has been one very clear conclusion: “Leadership is one of the most observed and least understood phenomena on earth” It is multidimensional and multifaceted—a universal human phenomenon that many know when they see it, but few can define clearly.

This module comprises of eight units, firstly introducing us with leadership and management, where leaders are the one who have an ability to influence. The content includes the leadership roles and issues, leaders and visioning to be a strategic leader, leadership in the modern world and the current trends of leadership in practice. Furthermore the module discusses on the ethical issues of leader and the corporate governance in the globalized business world. The final unit discusses the lessons of leadership from the history.

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.

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

In the first leadership lecturer, it discusses the idea of leadership in contemporary organizations. It is said that there is a shift in the leadership paradigm from a traditional paradigm to a new paradigm (Daft and Pirola-Merlo 2009, p.6). It is inevitable that the leadership concept in the twentieth century will be different with the leadership in past decades, in terms of the relationship between the leaders and the followers to share vision and to attain the goals of the organizations. In addition, the impact of internal and external environment of the organization on how the leaders should lead the followers.