Qualities and Characteristics of a Good Leader

¶ … Executive?

The maxim, "Great leaders, are born, not made" has some truth in it and at some point; the capacity for great leadership is innate. Nonetheless, learning to be an effective executive is within the grasp of everyone, that is, whether one is leading multiple teams, one staff member or the entire company. Intelligence, imagination, and knowledge are resources that are essential, but effectiveness converts all these into results. Knowledge authority is legitimate as that authority of position, and the realities ascribed to an executive's situation require effectiveness from him and make effectiveness exceedingly problematic to attain. Therefore, an effective executive is all about managing oneself, and the learning process entails covering eight practices. The practices were two questions that asked the things that needed to be done and the right thing for the enterprise. The third practice entailed the development of action plans and the fourth and fifth looked at effective executives taking responsibility for their decisions and communication. Next, they would give focus to the available opportunities and less on the problems. Moreover, the meetings they ran were productive and used "we" both in their thoughts and in talks. The area is important to study because it helps executives manage time, focus on contributions and results, build on their strengths, set the right priorities, and make effective decisions. Thereby, through competent executives, the modern society is made productive economically and is visible socially.

Summary

"What Makes an Effective Executive" by Peter Drucker is an issue of June 2, 2004, from the Harvard Review. It is all about effective executives, and the author manages to give an example of his experience in his consulting career since he has worked for different businesses and nonprofit organizations. The experience he has had with the CEOs of the companies he has worked with showed them as being executives who were not stereotypical leaders. Effective executives range from being demonstrative to nearly reclusive, from generous to stingy, and from easy going to controlling. For example, unit heads will look at redefining the relationship of their units with headquarters. Thereby, priorities are reset and not moved and hence, this results in priorities that are new and different. The practices identified above have the first two helping executives gain the needed knowledge. The next four help them convert the knowledge acquired into effective action while the last two ensure the whole organization felt accountable and responsible. The conclusion of Peter is that effective executives are aware of their authority since the organization has trusted them and therefore, they need to think of the needs and opportunities of their organization before thinking of their needs and opportunities. Apart from the eight practices, the author gives a ninth practice that he elevates to a rule level: "Listen first, speak last." He asserts that the demand, to have effective executives is much too great to be satisfied by the few individuals born to be leaders. Hence, effective discipline needs cultivation since it is learned and earned.

Discussion

The article is important because it shows the general principles and practices needed by an individual to be an effective executive in the organization he/she represents. It illustrates more on each of the practices mentioned and asserts that as executives learn the skill of effectiveness this helps them take responsibility for their decisions, communicating, and give focus to opportunities and not problems. Through learning all the practices, effective executives end up running productive meetings, and their thoughts were in the line of "we" and not "I." The ideas presented by Peter are essential to be applied to nursing practice because they need to make effective decisions, communicate with their patients, and hence, foster the smooth running of operations in the organization. By doing this, they will reduce the instances where patients and family members are not happy with the service offered by staff members of the organization they represent. Therefore, it is crucial for nurses to be effective executives because they are dealing with restoring the health and well-being of people and hence, they need to set their priorities right and give focus to their contributions and results.