The importance of leadership is perfectly captured by the above African proverb. A leader can make a difference in whether a team is a success or a failure. The human history is full of examples that outline the significance of a leader, for good and for bad. Martin Luther King wasn’t the only one with a dream, but he was the only one who was able to articulate the dream with the nation and get people to follow his vision. Because of his leadership and his ability to empower people who agreed with his arguments, he was able to transform society and continue to inspire generations. But it’s crucial to note, leadership’s transformative powers are not always a force for good. History has also provided leaders such as Joseph Stalin, who’s leadership ended creating destruction and led to the deaths of millions of people. Nonetheless, the examples encapsulate the power of leadership.
Leadership is essentially a catalyst for action and it can ensure the different elements within the organisation are functioning as efficiently as possible. For good or for bad, depending on the type of leadership that’s present, leadership guarantees results. Leadership matters because it:
• Provides a vision – Leadership should always start with a vision towards which the organisation moves. No organisation or team can survive without a clear idea of where it wants to be and what it wants to achieve.
• Shows direction – The vision provides the organisation with a direction and guarantees it stays
Leadership is important because it helps followers reach a common goal. There have been several studies based on effective leadership. The definition of leadership has evolved over the years adapting to the different views of the world. Leaders have influence on their followers they are looked up to.
To me “Leadership means leading people for positive outcomes”. An effective leader may have many aspects but the relationship that exists between a leader and their followers is one of the most important aspects of leadership which can determine the success quotient in any organization.
Leadership is summarized as ‘the process in which an individual impacts a variety of individuals to attain a common goal’. The goal is attained by mutual collaboration and cohesive behavior. A leader infuses a sense of positivity and manages others to reach a specified goal. Leadership has had a very profound influence throughout my life by affecting my family, friends, teammates, and the overall decisions that I have made. By using my personal experiences with leadership, I have learned how to use these skills not only on the field, but throughout my everyday actions.
I think that leadership is important because if nobody was a leader the nothing would get done. Having leadership helps set a goal and make sure that the goal gets meant. Leaders help inspire people to achieve many goals that have been set. Leaders also have to help manage the task or event wanting to get achieved so that it can work smoothly.
According to organisational behaviour by McShane, leadership is defined as influencing, motivating and enabling others to contribute towards the effectiveness and success of the organisation of which they are members (page 382, McShane).Becoming an effective leader depends on the leader’s leadership style. Successful leaders have vision and charisma, also the leader should have an ongoing personality, talkative, careful and self-disciplined. The leader must also have self-concept
Leadership is about helping people, empowering people, setting clear goals and motivation, while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organisation.
Leaders create chances to change their societies, their communities, they enhance the domain they belong to. Leadership gives voice to optimism, it gives wings to critical thinking and observation, it is an influence rather than being an authority. It is about taking initiatives and formulating interactive strategies.
But, as I reflect on my studies, one of the most important takeaways from all of my courses and research has been that successful organizations and leaders have clearly defined visions or mission statements that inform everything that they do. This creates a clarity of purpose and mission and provides a strong foundation upon which to build a business or a career upon (Calvert, 2014).
Makes sound and timely decisions.In leadership,there is use of good problem solving decision making and planning tools.Leadership keep the team informed.A leader know how to communicate with the team, seniors and other essential people within the organization.
Leadership is defined in Webster’s Dictionary as the “action of leading a group of people or an organization.” Leadership is also the ability to set trends, inspire, motivate, and sway others to produce desired results. There are different styles and ways of performing leadership and a good leader has the ability to take ordinary people, put them all together, and hopefully yield successful results. For organizations to have sustained results from their performance there must be a good balance of business insight, technical and interpersonal skills, and good team dynamics. A leader must know how to use all these areas as well as trust and communicate with their people in
To become truly effective, an organizational vision statement must (the theory states) become assimilated into the organization's culture (Anonymous, 2008). Leaders have the responsibility of communicating the vision regularly, creating narratives that illustrate the vision, and acting as role-models by embodying the vision, creating short-term objectives compatible with the vision, and encouraging others to craft their own personal vision compatible with the organization's overall
* Leader —ensure the strategic vision of IT is in line with the strategic vision of the organization.
Leadership is necessary in all organizations in order for its objectives to be achieved. Leadership is the procedure of motivating people to behave in specific ways in order to attain certain goals. Leadership is about making decisions to achieve an organisational objective and helping to establish the ‘style’ and ‘culture’ of an organisation- “the way it operates”. (Hannagan, 2008) A leader should be able to look forward and identify the ways ahead. This means that leaders should have followers and should be able to share collective goals with them. Leaders decide ‘where we are going’ and influence people to take that particular direction, rather than describe ‘how we are going to get there’. (Hannagan, 2008)
Organizations are formed for a common purpose, a common goal. Vision is a clear focus on future endeavors, goals and objectives that propel the leader and the followers forward with expectation and perseverance. The vision is well embraced at an early stage in the process when the leader allows the team to discover and own it (Dees, 2013). Jack Welch, former chairman and CRO of General Electric said: “Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion”. To be a resilient leader, one must focus on the present while working toward a future end goal. It is imperative for visionary leaders to brief the followers on the vision. The lack of vision will cause followers to sink into the lowest common denominators of lawlessness, discontent, and even self-destruction (Dees, 2015, p158). Having a vision allows a leader to strive to meet milestone checkpoints along the way. Thus, followers can gauge how the organization is performing and enjoy the satisfaction of working hard to meet an end result.
Creating a clear and effective shared vision delivers many benefits to one’s organization. Not only does a clear, shared vision helps define the values of the organization and its employees, it also helps guide the behavior of employees. A strong shared vision improves productivity and efficiency. In a change leadership process, shared vision serves 3 important purposes: