Leadership conceptualization: traits, processes, power, and emotional intelligence

Leadership is skill, talent and potential towards excellence, success and achievement. Leadership qualities focus on the success of mission, the function of the leadership is to assure that the organization sticks to its goals. Leader is aware about the worth of the planned abandoned, and is decisive to ascertain the policies. For a leader, 'Nothing is less productive than to make more efficient what should not be done at all' (Drucker: Leadership Network). The leader is aware about the value of foresight, and is able to make assessment of the future aspects of the current happening. The leaders focus more on the opportunities available, instead of spending time on problems. The leader understands that the purpose of the team is to make strengths productive and weaknesses irrelevant. Leader exhibits tolerance, patience, respect and empathy towards his team and people. Leadership requires respect towards the job and the person doing it. It is more important for a leader to be role model, instead of instructive figure; leader is bound to work harder than his subordinates, to convince them that accomplishment is important than actions. Leadership requires balance attitude, the leader should have a sense of humor which in effect is a sense of proportion (Herb Kelleher: Words of Wisdom to Graduates). The leader reflects excellent core values, and communicates those values with frequency and passion. The diversification of organization should be respected and promoted by the leadership. The leader should be jazzed by problem solving, and that requires an exceptional attention span, relational, synergistic thinking.

The leadership qualities require that goals and achievement are attained for self satisfaction, monetary rewards is only the byproducts of the achievement and excellence.

Every leader has to have a vision and predict the future; however the great leaders in tough times have a special ability to anticipate the radically unexpected. A leader has the courage to put together a team of people who sometimes makes him look like the dumbest person in the room. Leader has to be the smartest person in the room. Leader should be strong enough to face the mistakes instead of collapsing, the leader should learn from his mistakes, should regroup, and then start going again with renewed aped, conviction, and confidence. This quality of the leader is termed resilience. 'I particularly admire leaders who had had the wind knocked clear out of them, but proved they could run even harder in the next race'(Jack Welsh: Five Questions to Ask). In terms of business, the leader must admire and appreciate the value of business to the world. 'The leader can not beat it down denigrate its participants, or create an environment where business people must struggle to build opportunity' (Jack Welsh: Five Questions to Ask).

The leadership requires optimism, courage, and conviction; the leader needs to be a leader for the ages i.e. A leader in the extreme. In tough times in particular, a leader needs to surrounds him with people who are smarter than he is, and they must have the grit to disagree with him and each other. 'A great leader has the courage to put together the team of people who sometimes makes him look like the dumbest person in the room. It sounds counterintuitive. You want your leader to be the smartest person in the room, but if he acts like that, he won't get half the pushback he must get to make the best decisions' (Jack Welsh: Five Questions to Ask).

The five-factor model is a classification system of personality traits organized in five broad dimensions i.e. openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. The model was derived from factor analytic studies of a large number of existing measures on personality traits, and has been established as generalizable across cultures (McCrae & Costa, 1997; McCrae & Costa, 1999; McCrae & John, 1992).

EXTRAVERSION

The leadership should reflect extra-version; this dimension represents the leader to be optimistic, assertive, and sociable. The leader should serve as intervening means of transmission, expression, or communication. Extraverted leaders are capable of exercising their influence in an assertive manner to communicate in an effective method.

CONSCIENTIOUSNESS

The leadership requires the individuals to be disciplined, organized, and persistent. The leader should watch over or guard against carelessness, laziness and inefficiency. Conscientious leaders are consistently methodical, responsible, and thorough in their decision-making and activities.

EMOTIONAL STABILITY

Leaders are required to be confident, well adjusted, and self-assured. The leadership should have the maturity, poise, and stability to make sound decisions and act appropriately. Emotionally stable individuals have the confidence and strength of mind to adapt to diverse circumstances under pressure or stressful conditions.

OPENNESS to EXPERIENCE

Leader should be equipped with imaginative, curious, and adventurous aptitude. The leadership should necessarily possess cognitive independence and perception to assimilate fresh and inventive ideas. Open individuals are receptive to new experiences, which allow for creative and original thoughts, opinions, and beliefs that not only compliment a mission, but also enhance the experience.

AGREEABLENESS

Leadership skills are also dominated by the nature of the individual to accept and appreciate the opinion of subordinates. In this regard, element of rigidity and inferiority complex are demoted, and the leader is more focused towards achievement and success of the objective. (Judge, T.A., Martocchio, J.J., & Thoresen, C.J. (1997). Five-factor model of personality and employee absence. Journal of Applied Psychology).