Leadership Experience Essays (Examples)

Leadership & Team Experience

There are many opportunities for leadership over the course of one's life. Leadership does not simply occur on the battlefield, or in the arena of sports. Leadership happens in the home, in the classroom, in the workplace, and out in the world, in general. While I have yet to hold a job, as a college student and human being, I have still encountered situations where there were opportunities for leadership present. Most of the leadership experiences in my life, for me, have been located in the classroom, or as part of my overall educational experience.

I have one particular experience that comes to mind. I was placed in a group for a humanities course. We were a group of six members. I remember this experience fondly for several reasons. We produced work that we were all satisfied with and proud of. We divided the tasks evenly…

References:

Northouse, P.G. Leadership -- Theory & Practice, Sixth Edition. Sage Publications, Inc., Western Michigan University, 2013. Print.

In most cases, autocratic leadership is contrasted from democratic leadership where participation from all players involved in a given task is encouraged.

In my opinion, though the leadership exemplified by the U.S. In the operation that led to the killing of Osama Bin Laden has its strong points on many fronts, some deficiencies can be identified. In terms of ethicality, the lack of consultation can be justified on the grounds that secrecy was of the essence if the U.S. was to kill the man blamed for the innocent deaths of thousands of people across the world. Hence the authoritarian leadership exemplified in this scenario was for the greater good. Further, it can be noted that based on the circumstances of the case, quick decisions had to be made and swift action was of the essence. According to Ghuman (2010), authoritarian or autocratic leadership allows quick decisions to be made.

However,…

References

Daft, R.L. & Lane, P.G. (2007). The Leadership Experience. Cengage Learning.

Ghuman, K. (2010). Management: Concepts, Practice & Cases. Tata McGraw-Hill Education.

Just this past April I was promoted to Head of the Standard and Criteria Development Office for the Department of Health and Medical Services (DOHMS) in xxx (location?

). In this capacity, I am expected to ably handle a variety of responsibilities including: Overseeing all aspects of standards development activities and quality activities in the Licensing and Specifications Department with all the private healthcare facilities in the area; leading and supporting the development of standards and criteria related to the healthcare practice; contributing to the development and on going review of DOHMS standards strategy and offering advice about current clinical practices, quality, safety, and service development; and keeping abreast of standard requirements and evidence and effectively communicating these to a variety of concerned individuals.

The reason for this promotion to the Head of the Standard and Criteria Development Office was because of my previous success as the Head of the…

What are the most challenging issues in your current position?" think budget constraints are perhaps some of the biggest challenges I currently face in my position. The increasing rises in the cost of providing good health care, combined with decreasing reimbursement from insurance and government agencies, pushes us to pay more attention to the "bottom line." In order to respond to this issue, it is imperative that leaders are able to maintain budget control as well as to limit budget variances. However, occasionally it is almost impossible to avoid budget shortages which in turn results in shortfalls in staff development, which subsequently leads to unhappy staff and low morale.

There are many more managers than leaders in this health care organization. Managers manage processes, leaders lead people and leaders are what we need now. Both skills are important, but to be able to adapt this never-ended changing health care system…

Analysis

In interviewing Ms. PC, many key leadership theories and practices were demonstrated. Key among these were the role of interpersonal skills, integrity, and the servant/leadership or collaborative method in the development of the successful leader. Of course, Ms. PC also mentioned several other key "characteristics" of a good leader, including the ability to have a sense of humor and a willingness to try new things.

Given that Ms. PC is without question a good model of a "successful leader," it is particularly telling that she listed interpersonal and communication skills at the top of the list of importance with regard to her leadership role. This is interesting in that many of the top leadership theories emphases this very point in one form or another (Lavezzoli, 2005). Additionally, many leadership studies have also indicated the major importance of good communication in the successful leadership experience. One example of this can be found in Bernard Bass's work, "Stogdill's Handbook of Leadership: A Survey of Theory and Research," which notes that good communication from leaders is one of the essential keys to obtaining employee/organization trust and confidence (the bedrock of the leadership relationship) (1989). This works simply because through good communication employees can effectively understand the organization's goals, understand just how their individual efforts contribute toward those goals, as well have some sense of the overall health of the organization and the way that individual and group efforts contribute to the level of

Leadership and Change Management

History and experience suggest that effective leadership is integral to organizational success, as well as the success of individual members within the organization. Well, studies have given different perspectives as to what exactly constitutes effective leadership; however, what they all agree on is that effective leadership aids in the effective and efficient management of organizational resources and relationships as well as in the building of power and strength in the organization. Employees need leadership to inspire and motivate them to align their personal goals with those of the organization, and to give their all in the conduction of their duties. In the same way, clients and customers need leadership to inspire confidence and trust in an organization's output. Investors too need leadership to inspire confidence in the organization's stocks and assets. Good leadership, therefore, invariably produces greater benefits for the organization in terms of motivated employees,…

References

Daft, R., The Leadership Experience. 6th ed. Stamford, CA: Cengage Learning

Griffin, R., 2012. Management. 11th ed. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning

Hamilton, C., 2010. Communicating for Results: A Guide for Business and the Professions. 9th ed. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning

Hitt, M., Ireland, R.D., and Hoskisson, R., 2006. Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases. 7th ed. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning

Leadership and Conflicts

LADESHIP AND CONFLICTS

Teamwork has increasingly become a common aspect within the organizational setup. Organizations in varied sectors and industries are ever more reliant on teamwork in the achievement of their goals and objectives. Nonetheless, teamwork presents a breeding ground for conflict, in large part due to differences in background, views, beliefs, personalities, objectives, and priorities (Toegel & Barsoux, 2016). Indeed, if not properly handled, conflict within a team can considerably hamper team morale, motivation, collaboration and productivity. This section highlights a team conflict scenario, and discusses approaches for dealing with team conflict, clearly pointing out the role of leadership in managing team conflict.

One instance of team conflict I have experienced during my professional life relates to disrespect for team norms on the part of some team members. Every team often has rules that determine how members of the team behave and interact with one another…

References

Biech, E. (2007). Thriving through change: a leaders guide to change mastery. Alexandria, VA: ASTD Press.

Brewster, C., Sparrow, P., & Vernon, G. (2011). International Human Resource Management. 3rd edition. UK: CIPD.

Costanza, D., Badger, J., Fraser, R., Severt, J., & Gade, P. (2012). Generational differences in work-related attitudes: a meta-analysis. Journal of Business & Psychology, 27(4), 375-394.

Gratton, L., & Erickson, T. (2007, November). Eight ways to build collaborative teams. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2007/11/eight-ways-to- build-collaborative-teams

Leadership Training at General Electric Company

Leadership experience at GE

General Electric has always been touted as one of the most influential corporate organizations across the globe. In the U.S. alone, GE is the leading company as one of the most developed corporate body. At GE, leadership training and development forms the center role that management seeks to enhance. The company has a program where fresh graduates from college are incepted where they join the program to learn the industry's best practices. The company's leadership is focused on establishing a foundational basis that supports the generation and dissemination of learning objectives that target the population of the youth. The management believes in talent development and the creation of new blood in the organization. Other cases of leadership at the company include training the people on the best industry practices that are done to develop talent. The talent development at the…

References

GE Capital (2013). Big Manager On Campus: How GE Lands Its Pick Of Top Grads. Accessed May 11, 2015 from http://cohort.gecapital.com/newsletter/2013/03/02-07/Big%20Manager%20on%20Campus.pdf

General Electric. (n.d.). University Students. Accessed May 11, 2015 from  http://www.ge.com/careers/culture/university-students

leadership training and experiences for youth. The research methodology was carefully drafted and developed as the best means for exploring this concept. A mixed methods, non-experimental, correlational study will be conducted to examine how problem solving, communication, and the building of self-esteem, contributes to early leadership training and development for youth in rural and inner city communities. While few research methodologies are perfect, this one has a tremendous amount of inherent strengths. One of the benefits of using a more mixed methods approach is that it will allow the researchers to gather data about this issue in a more comprehensive manner. Using both quantitative and qualitative approaches empowers the researchers to gather a wider net of data and to be able to process it from a larger variety of perspectives.

If anything, the wealth of previous literature supports this exact methodology for this particular subject matter. The study, "Personality and…

References

Boyd, B. (2001). Bringing Leadership Experiences to Inner-City Youth. Journal of Extension.

De Lisle, J. (2011). The Benefits and Challenges of Mixing Methods. Caribbean Curriculum, 87-120.

Ipregroup.com. (2013). Advantages of mixed methods in impact evaluation. Retrieved from ipregroup.com: http://ipregroup.com/2013/04/advantages-of-mixed-methods-in-impact-evaluation/

Judge, T. (2002). Personality and Leadership: A Qualitative and Quantitative Review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 765 -- 780.

"Our leadership development and training programs push each and every delegate to gain a rigorous personal insight into what makes them tick and then, with that understanding of themselves, to stretch the boundaries of what's comfortable for them" (Leadership development - Leadership skills and training, 2008, Impact Factory). Leadership training through the organization stresses emotional rather than technical skills, unlike GE. Human perception, creativity and out-of the box thinking is what is defined as leadership skills by Impact Factory and by the companies that use its services to train new and older employees alike, employees defined as leaders, and lower level employees as well. Key to success for individuals and the organization as a whole include: "Determining how well you perceive what's going on around you...polishing interpersonal skills and communication skills" (Leadership development - Leadership skills and training, 2008, Impact Factory).

The influence of leadership theory of a 'great man'…

Works Cited

General Electric: Imagination at work. (2008). GE. Retrieved 1 Sept 2008.  http://www.gepower.com/commitment/en/integrity.htm 

Ethos. (2008). The Impact Factory. Retrieved 1 Sept 2008 at  http://www.impactfactory.com/ factory.shtml

Impact Factory. (2008). Impact Factory Homepage. Retrieved 1 Sept 2008 at

person's life experience, there will appear opportunities to step into and fulfill a leadership role in a particular situation. Each person is presented with these chances for leadership, but not every person takes the risk and practices his/her style of leadership. In my life, I have tried not to shy away from opportunities for leadership. While I am comfortable occupying the position of team member, it is important to experience what it is like to be in a leadership role on occasion, at least, if not often. I contend for the importance for people to experience both sides of the team situation, as a leader and not as one. It can help one understand what leadership means and the consequences of leadership. I have often read of quotations regarding how leadership experiences illuminate the quality and quantity of a person's character. Therefore, from this perspective, if a person wants to…

Organizational Leadership and Performance

The environment in which leaders of today operate is increasingly global. It is important to note, from the onset, that today's globalized environment significantly differs from the environment business operated in a couple of decades ago. In addition to being fast-paced, today's business environment is also more competitive and complex. The demands of the current era have meant that leaders of today must embrace new leadership approaches -- different from those applied by their predecessors two or three decades ago.

The Need to Appreciate Diversity

Today, every leader, as Daft (2014, p. 326) points out, "needs to understand the complexity of diversity issues, learn to create an inclusive culture, and support the development of minorities…" Unlike was the case a few decades ago, today's leaders are expected to lead teams of individuals, all of whom come from diverse backgrounds, ethnic roots, and have different motivations. It…

References

Adair, J. (2009). Leadership and Motivation: The Fifty-Fifty Rule and the Eight Key Principles of Motivating Others. Philadelphia, PA: Kogan Page Publishers.

Bell, A. (2011). Great Leadership: What it is and What it Takes in a Complex World. Mountain View, CA: Davies-Black Publishing.

Cancialosi, C. (2014). Today's Leaders Must Learn to Thrive in Disequilibrium. Retrieved from  http://www.forbes.com/sites/chriscancialosi/2014/07/28/todays-leaders-must-learn-to-thrive-in-disequilibrium/ 

Daft, R. (2014). The Leadership Experience (6th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning

Leadership Training and Its elationship to Communication Skills, Self-Esteem, and Problem Solving Skills among Youth

Transformational leadership remains a critical phenomenon as described through behavioral components such as inspirational motivation, idealized influence, individualized consideration, and intellectual stimulation. Idealized influence is the first element and is reflected based on the conceptualization by transformational leaders who behave in a manner that allows them appear as role models among their followers. Such individuals are respected, trusted, and admired (Olive, Gottfried, Guerin, Gottfried & eichard, 2011). Followers relate with the leaders with the aim of emulating them.

Children's attachment style is normally attributed to parental factors or parenting style. Attachment styles are well formed at early ages even though they are predictive of outcomes for future leadership. Early life shows that bonds developed by infants with caregivers vary between from an insecure to secure attachment styles. The relationship identifies diverse infant attachment styles which…

References

Day, D.V. (2011) Integrative perspectives on longitudinal investigations of leader development: From childhood through adulthood. The Leadership Quarterly 22-561 -- 571.

Gottfried, A.E., Gottfried, A.W., Reichard, R.J., Guerin, D.W., Oliver, P.H., & Riggio, R.E. (2011). Motivational roots of leadership: A longitudinal study from childhood through adulthood. The Leadership Quarterly, 22(3), 510 -- 519.

Mortensen, J., Lichty, L., Foster-Fishman, P., & Warsinske, K. (2014). Leadership through a Youth Lens: Understanding Youth Conceptualizations of Leadership. Journal of Community Psychology, Vol. 42, No. 4, 447 -- 462

Murphy, S.E., & Johnson, S.K. (2011) The benefits of a long-lens approach to leader development: Understanding the seeds of leadership. The Leadership Quarterly 22. 459 -- 470.

This really galvanized the team as well. Later I'd learn that this was called transformational leadership, which was exactly what the Director of our department had successfully accomplished.

Our Director also realized that for the launch to be highly successful, we would also need to have the president or CEO of the company completely onboard with the concepts, messaging, and approach to defining our competitive direction. Our Director also made sure the Sales VPs and the other VPs of Operations, Pricing and Product Management all were completely in agreement with the approach. At our weekly staff meetings the CEO would periodically come in and discuss how critical the launch was, how satisfied he was with the quality of the work, and would give individual recognition to the team members on marketing which had created the most outstanding materials, whether they were creative or competitive analysis in scope. At times the…

Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership

The basis of this book is the metaphor of light and shadow, which Johnson (2011) uses to show the kind of power leaders have and how they can use it for good but also for harm. When a leader has a lot of power over others -- and many leaders do -- it is vital that leader find a way to use that power properly. To do otherwise would be unethical, but that does not stop a number of leaders from doing things that are considered unacceptable from an ethical standpoint but yet are not illegal. The idea of ethics is a very important one, and something that often gets overlooked by leaders who are looking to get ahead (Johnson, 2011). The most important consideration with Johnson's (2011) book, though, is that complex ethical issues are presented in clear language that is easily understandable.…

References

Johnson, C.E. (2011). Meeting the ethical challenges of leadership: Casting light or shadow. NY: Sage Publications, Inc.

Management and Leadership

As CEO, what do you see as your most important function?

As the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of my company, I am responsible and accountable for everything at the organization. My accountability for everything at the company emanates from the fact that I am the founder and not necessarily because of my position as CEO. As a result, I have several responsibilities and functions that are geared towards ensuring effective operations and productivity of the company. My most important function as CEO is to set company strategy and direction, develop and lead the organization's top management, build organizational culture, and allocate resources to the firm's priorities. These are important responsibilities that I cannot delegate to other stakeholders in the company. I also think that this is the most important function because it helps towards ensuring everything in the company is geared towards realization of established…

This essaydescribes the meaning of leadership and defines the characteristics and qualities of effective leaders. It discusses the manner in which leadership skills can be developed and assesses the importance of leadership in organizations seeking to achieve specific aims. Leadership styles, such as servant leadership and transformational leadership, are analyzed and qualities such as boldness, good judgment and emotional intelligence are examined to show how they support effective leadership. The paper concludes with a discussion of what leadership means to different people and how leadership styles can reflect an individuals own subjective take on leadership and how it should be demonstrated.

[toc]

Topics
What is leadership?

How can leadership qualities be promoted?

How does a bad leadership experience impact a workplace culture?

Real-life leaders in the 20th century
Titles
Influential Leaders in Modern Times

Servant Leadership and Youth Programs

The Qualities That Define a Good Leader
Outline
I. Introduction

II.…

Leadership Crucible Experience

Leadership is a practice that is learnt from the experiences of the leaders. According to Bennis and Thomas (2002), a crucible is delineated as a changing experience through which a person ends up having a new sense of self and character. In particular, the capacity to mine knowledge from such challenging and difficult experiences is what differentiates and tells apart successful leaders from their counterparts (Bennis and Thomas, 2002). The purpose of this essay is to ascertain, define and justify a crucible experience that one can have in life and delineate how that experience can have an effect on the personal style of leadership, behaviors, outlooks and viewpoint and shed light on how it will impact one as a leader in the organization.

So what can happen to make an individual go through a crucible experience? Leadership ability can be tested when one is abruptly and quickly…

References

Bennis, W. G., & Thomas, R. J. (2002). Crucibles of leadership. Harvard business review, 80(9).

Bono, J. E., & Judge, T. A. (2004). Personality and transformational and transactional leadership: a meta-analysis. Journal of applied psychology,89(5), 901

Markos, S., &Sridevi, M. S. (2010). Employee engagement: The key to improving performance. International Journal of Business and Management,5(12), 89.

Thomas, R. J., & Cheese, P. (2005). Leadership: Experience is the best teacher. Strategy & Leadership, 33(3), 24-29.

Leadership: Enhancing Lessons Experience

According to Johnson, & Giorgis (2002), Leadership is the process in which an individual influences actions of others towards common goals, Formulates policies, strategies, and influence people towards achievement of the same strategies. Over the past decades, various changes in the world have led to various definitions of leadership. The fall of the Soviet Union, globalization and various advances have changed the world we knew. A woman in leadership positions is a new phenomenon; various leadership trainings are available, and leadership as a skill is now an asset for professionals. For African Universities to ensure knowledge transfer and observing millennium development goals, a good leadership structure is essential. A leader has exception skills and acts outrageously to situations (Padam, 2009).

Scholars have advanced various theories on leadership. Leaders' Individual personal attributes beat explains the trait theory, when one looks closely at Mahatma Gandhi and Hitler it…

References

Johnson, N.J., & Giorgis, C. (2002). Leadership. The Reading Teacher, 56(3), 315-316. Retrieved from http:/ / proquest.com/docview/203276035

Padam, S. (2009). Leadership: Theory and practice. South Asian Journal of Management, 16(3), 136-137. Retrieved from http://.proquest.com/docview/222728386

Ilgen, D.R., Hollenbeck, J.R., Johnson, M., & Jundt, D. (2005). TEAMS IN ORGANIZATIONS: From input-process-output models to IMOI models. Annual Review of Psychology, 56, 517-543. Retrieved from  http://search.proquest.com/docview/205830055 

Hanson, K., & Leautier, F. (2011). Enhancing institutional leadership in african universities: Lessons from ACBS's interventions. World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, 7(2), 385-417. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/20425961201000040

Leadership

Technical, interpersonal, and conceptual skills

Interpersonal skills entail knowing how to interact with others. No employee desires to have a boss who is inconsiderate or rude or one who has poor human skills. All these could reduce productivity and employee morale. Managers with effective human skills tend to have subordinates who have positive attitudes and strong desires to increase productivity. Managers are always expected in any organization to have harmonious relationships with those below them like supervisors, peers, and subordinates (Yukl, 2012).

Conceptual skills refer to an individual's aptitude to formulate ideas. These skills include formulating abstractions, thinking creatively, understanding issues, solving problems, and analyzing complex situations. Within the business context, these skills are viewed as integral prerequisites for top executive positions. Conceptual skills differ from technical skills and interpersonal skills. The three types of skills assume vital roles for certain purposes and in certain situations. However, conceptual skills…

References

Phillips, D. T (1993). Lincoln on Leadership: Executive Strategies for Tough Times. Warner Books, Inc.

Yukl, G.A. (2012). Leadership in Organizations. 8th Ed. Boston, MA: Pearson Education

Leadership style of the CEO of Google Inc. using situational leadershi

Larry Page and Sergey Brin met at the Stanford University in 1995 and by 1996, they built first search initially called Backub, which used links to establish the importance of the individual web pages. They continued working on the search engine, and in 1998, they founded the now worldwide-established Google Inc. Company (Larson, 2010). The company packs a lot considering the young age of the company as it now serves billions of users and customers around the globe. The mission of Google Inc. is to organize the information of the entire world and make it useful and accessible universally. The headquarters of the company is in 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View CA 94043. The company boasts and enjoys a vast number of employees across the globe, with an established management team representing a team of the most experienced professionals…

References

Godin, S. (2009). Situational leadership by Kenneth Blanchard and Paul Hersey. Retrieved from  http://www.sayeconomy.com/situational-leadership-by-kenneth-blanchard-and-paul-hersey  / on May 15, 2011.

Nicholas Carlson, Google CEO Eric Schmidt: "We Don't Really Have A Five-Year Plan" (CLIP)|

May 20, 2009, 2:59 PM Read more:  http://www.businessinsider.com/google-ceo-eric-schmidt-we-dont-really-have-a-five-year-plan-clip-2009-5#ixzz2TwicO74K 

Larson, C. (2010). Interview: Googlopolis. Foreign Policy, (181), 152-152. Retrieved from  http://search.proquest.com/docview/748713622?accountid=35812

Leadership and Management Training Guide:

Leadership and management are terms that have been used interchangeably as many people assume that they are similar despite of their fundamental differences. The main reason attributed to this trend is the fact that these concepts must go hand in hand because they are complementary and linked together. Actually, attempts to separate leadership and management always contribute to several problems more than it solves. However, much has been written regarding the importance and difference between leadership and management. The effectiveness of managers and leadership abilities in a management team basically depends on their understanding of the differences between the two.

Differences in Leadership and Management:

Effective leaders and managers have become necessary for the successful operation of teams, organizations, and groups. This is because of the similarities and differences that exist between leadership and management for effective functioning of each. Leadership is basically described as…

References:

Bacon, T.R. (2011, June 3). Five Deadly Leadership Power Drains. Retrieved May 6, 2012,

from  http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jun2011/ca2011062_954731.htm 

DiMaio, R.O. (2011). How To Be A Leader. Retrieved May 6, 2012, from http://www.leadershipinstitute.org/resources/writing.cfm?w=6

Ricketts, K.G. (2009, February). Leadership vs. Management. Retrieved from University of Kentucky -- College of Agriculture website:  http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/elk1/elk1103/elk1103.pdf

Leadership Choice: Designing Climates of Blame or esponsibility

In E. Grady Bogue's book The Leadership Choice: Designing Climates of Blame or esponsibility, the author addresses the impact that self-knowledge can have on a person's life and career. In other words, the way a person acts in his or her personal life is often directly related to the way a person acts in his or her professional life. The morals, opinions, and beliefs held by a person are not generally confined to one area of that individual's life. They are spread across all of the areas of life and designed to be used by that person in many different ways. When a leader has opinions and beliefs, those are generally included in that leader's personal and professional lives, and it may be very difficult to keep them separate. Most people would likely question why anyone would want or need to keep…

References

Antonakis, J., Cianciolo, A.T., & Sternberg, R.J. (2004). The nature of leadership. New York: Sage Publications, Inc.

Bogue, E.G. (2010). The leadership choice: Designing climates of blame or responsibility. New York: WestBow Press.

Frey, M., Kern, R., Snow, J., & Curlette, W. (2009). Lifestyle and transformational leadership style. Journal of Individual Psychology, 65(3), 212-240.

Leadership is a complex process involving the ability of an individual to inspire, motivate and redirect ways of thinking. It refers to the ability to bring out the best in oneself and others. In any set up, there must be rules and regulations to guide the relationships between people and activities. In a set up like an organization, there are goals and objectives that the organization aims to achieve. These objectives and targets rely on the ability of a leader to organize and direct activities towards their attainment. Leadership is the ability of one individual to stir the sentiments and behaviors of others towards the achievement of the set goals. The leader does this by transforming the goals to be a common goal to others.

Methods used by leaders to influence group members

Leaders can use power to get things done. How a leader uses these powers determines the success…

References

Gitlow, L.A. Being the boss: The importance of leadership and power. Washington D.C: Beard

book, 2004. Print.

Hellriegel, D & Slocum, W.J. Organizational behavior. Mason U.S.A: Cengage learning, 2009.

Print.

Leadership Research

Models of leadership and management

Comparison and contrast of leadership models

Application of leadership model: Case of Mark Zuckerberg

Table 1- Leadership Table

Leadership Research

Leadership in public and private sector businesses is important for the growth of these businesses. Of late, many researchers have thoroughly investigated the role leadership in promoting businesses. Researchers have also tried to explore the common characteristics of global business leaders that have led their businesses to successful heights. Different models of effective leadership in corporations have also been drafted. One major aspect of leaders being explored in their ability to inspire people surrounding them and use this inspiration to achieve results that could be achieved without having complete trust of followers. While followers might be hard to make for a leader, and yet harder to retain, few researchers have put forth consolidated models of inspirational leaders that effectively make and retain followers.…

Bibliography

Brio, M.M. (2013). Think like Zuck: How Leadership diversity Sparks Innovation. Forbes Magazine. Retrieved from: [ http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanbiro/2013/01/27/think-like-zuck-how-leadership-diversity-sparks-innovation/ ]

Forbes. (2013). The World's Billionaires: Mark Zuckerberg. Forbes Magazine. Retrieved from: [ http://www.forbes.com/profile/mark-zuckerberg/ ]

Drucker, P.F. (2004). What makes an effective executive? Harvard Business Review, 58-63.

Goffee, R., & Jones, G. (2001). Why Should Anyone Be Led by You? IEEE Engineering Management Review, 29(1), 94-100.

Leadership Approaches and Theories

The objective of this study is to examine various leadership approaches and theories. This study will reflect upon the readings and consider the various leadership approaches and theories and attempt to answer how the ideas presented in the article relate both to the ideas and concepts presented in leadership as well as to the notion of ethics in leadership and finally, how these ideas and concepts in the article can be applied in ones' personal leadership practice. The work of Blanchard (2010) entitled "Mission Possible" published in the Journal for Leadership Excellence relates that leaders, while learning from the past, must also prepare for the future to avoid organizational stagnation. Blanchard's work presented the GAP Analysis Model for leadership.

Blanchard on Learning and Growth

Blanchard writes that one has to pay attention to "not only what you're doing now to perform better but also to what…

References

Blanchard, K. (2010) 'Mission possible', Leadership Excellence, 27 (4), p.17.

How to Conduct a GAP Analysis of Leadership (2011) Toolbox.com. 5 Jan 2011. Retrieved from:  http://hr.toolbox.com/blogs/strategic-employee-recognition/how-to-conduct-a-gap-analysis-of-leadership-43481 

South West Regional Skills Enterprise and Employment Analysis 2007/2008. Retrieved from: http://www.swslim.org.uk/labourmarket/swrsp/gapanalysis/chap4/leadership.asp

The Gap Analysis Model (nd) The Oregon Schools Initiative.

Leadership Plans for Upcoming Academic Year

Over the course of the upcoming academic year, I hope to pursue opportunities that will ground my academic work in educational experiences outside of the classroom. I will become part of an undergraduate research program that will enable me to marry my real-life work in the world with what I have learned about marketing theory in school. I also will join more activities that will enable me to connect with other students of similar interests and aptitudes. One difficulty with working full-time and pursuing an undergraduate degree is that time is often scarce; obtaining a scholarship would free up more of my time to delve deeper into extracurricular activities. I have come to realize how the opportunities afforded to me to network with my peers and future employers are essential. I seek new opportunities to lead and to learn from other student and professional…

Leadership

Sustainability in Leadership

Current global occurrences have posed a great challenge to the continued existence of living things on earth. At this stage in the history of man, humanity is struggling with a lot of challenges; and these challenges are not restricted to region or race. Problems associated with climate change, increased rate of poverty, inconsistent democracy, and lack of justice and fairness in society are common to all nations. At this critical moment, there becomes a vacuum to be filled with urgency by leaders whose sole desire and purpose is to salvage the earth from total destruction. The world needs leaders who possess strategies to effectively combat these challenges and lead their followers into lifestyles that are self-sustaining. Leaders who could bring about this much needed sustainability to our environments are regarded as Sustainability Leaders.

Purpose of Sustainable Development in Modern Leadership

Leadership in the traditional setting is,…

References

Banuri, T. & Najam, A. (2002). Civic Entrepreneurship: A Civil Society Perspective on Sustainable Development (Vol. 1: Global Synthesis). Boston, MA: Stockholm Environment Institute -- Boston Center.

Bennis, W. & Goldsmith, J. (2003). Learning to Lead: A Workbook On Becoming a Leader. 3rd ed. New York: Basic Books.

Brown, D. (2000). What Practical Difference Would the Adoption of the Earth Charter Mean to the Resolution of Global Warming Issues? P. Miller & L. Westra (Eds.), Just Ecological Integrity: The Ethics of Maintaining Planetary Life (pp. 205-214). New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

Boutros-Ghali, B. (1998). Leadership and Conflict. In Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict (Ed.), Essays on Leadership (pp. 1-6). New York: Carnegie Corporation.

Leadership

My organization is Miami-Dade Transit, for which I am a bus operator. The Transit system is an independent operating entity within the government of Miami-Dade County. Leadership of this company is typically appointed, and this was the case of the current Director, Ysela Llort. She was posted to the position at Transit in February 2012, after a career spanning many different units within the county, including Public Works, Aviation and Seaport, as well as an earlier role at Transit. Her background is diverse enough that she not only can effectively manage the transit system for one of the most highly-populated counties in the country but also that she can perform a role as liaison with the county, the government entity that funds and provides oversight for the Transit division. This paper will examine the leadership style of Ms. Llort, in the context of my experiences working there.

Leadership Style…

References

CBS (2010). Miami-Dade Commissioners livid over transit scandal. CBS News. Retrieved December 7, 2013 from  http://miami.cbslocal.com/2010/12/07/miami-dade-commissioners-livid-over-transit-scandal/ 

LeMay, N. (2008). Leadership can be learned, but how is it measured? U.S. Aid. Retrieved December 7, 2013 from http://www1.msh.org/Documents/OccasionalPapers/upload/How_Can_Leadership_Be_MeasuredOP.pdf

Miami-Dade (2013). Ysela Llort -- Director. Miami Dade County Retrieved December 7, 2013 from http://www.miamidade.gov/biographies/transit.asp

Miami Today. (2012). Ysela Llort puts transit on track to open airport link station while trying to restore federal faith in the systems controls Miami Today. Retrieved December 7, 2013 from  http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/120308/story-profile.shtml

un Tzu informs that we cannot punish people until they feel loyalty to us: namely, until they consider themselves members of our group.

10. Keep them guessing

This quality may be pertinent only to leaders of a business / corporation. Her un Tzu advises keeping one's strategies and plans concealed from one's competitor so that one retains competitive advantage.

III. Conclusion

The Art of War, maintains un Tzu, is "a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected." (pt. 2)

The same goes for the Art of Leadership. It is also "a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected" and its qualities need to be known and inculcated in order to have maximum success in the field.

'Leader' as term may be inchoate, but as many entrepreneurs have…

Sources

Bateman, T.S., & Snell, S. (2009). Management: Leading and Collaborating in a Competitive World, Eighth Edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Kotter JP. 1996. Leading Change. Boston, MA: Harv. Bus. School

Schein, E. (1985). Organizational culture and leadership. CA: Jossey-Bass.

Sun Tzu, (2001). The Art of War Wylie, TX: Pickard & Son, Publishers.

Leadership SME

Leadership Strategy from the Top Down: Lessons from the Boardroom in Small and Medium Enterprises

Leadership and management theories and strategies have proliferated at a rapid rate in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, as organizations have grown larger and more complex and have faced pressures of a much faster pace of business. The demands made on leaders of business organizations and the need for strong leadership in navigating the ever-more changeable waters of modern business have grown along with businesses themselves, in both the degree to which leadership can affect operations and overall success as well as in the number of tasks and knowledge areas that leaders are supposed to be able to handle. Much of the diversification and increased scrutiny of leadership theories, processes, and practices can be attributed to the increased importance and complexity of leadership positions.

In something of an irony, however, the many different…

References

Demmer, W., Vickery, S., & Calantone, R. (2011). Engendering resilience in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): a case study of Demmer Corporation. International Journal of Production Research 49(18): 5395-413.

Gong, Y., Huang, J. & Farh, J. (2009). Employee learning orientation, transformational leadership, and employee creativity. Academy of Management Journal 52(4): 765-78.

Kotter, J. & Schlesinger, L. (2008). Choosing strategies for change. Harvard Business Review.

Kunze, F., Boehm, S. & Bruch, H. (2011). Age diversity, age discrimination climate and performance consequences -- a cross organizational stud. Journal of Organizational Behavior 32(2): 264-90.

Leadership is a process that helps in directing and mobilizing people. It has for the past 100 years been a subject of many studies. These studies have come up with theories of the nature and exercise of leadership. Some of these theories include trait theories of leadership, theories of emergent leadership, leadership style theories, psychodynamic theories, and the path goal theories among others. The second section of this paper focuses on evaluation of behavior of selected leaders. Leaders of different organizations exhibit specific behaviors that are in line with models and theories of leadership. Their behaviors can guide the behavior of individual followers, groups, or even teams. The analysis section touches on how leaders perceive their roles and what makes them develop as leaders. The summary wraps up all that the paper is about and what I have learnt.

Literature review

Management and leadership are interchangeably used in our everyday…

References

Avolio, B.J., Walumbwa, F.O. & Weber, T.J. (2009). Leadership: Current theories, research, and future directions. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 421-429.

Bass, B. (2008). The Bass Handbook of Leadership: Theory, Research, and Application. New York: Free Press.

Bennis, W. & Nanus, B. (1997). Leaders: Strategies for Taking Change 2nd Edition. New York:

Collins Business Essentials.

Leadership Application

The life and success of any organization is hinged on the leadership of that organization. An effective can transform the potential an organization has with regard to human capital and the available resources into a reality. An effective leader has the ability to propose new paradigms when old ones have become ineffective (IAAP, 2009). Effective leaders can change the minds of their followers and in the process make an organization achieve its identified goals. This paper seeks to illuminate whether the leadership at our procurement department is effective from the perspectives of the situational leadership and contingency theory approaches. The paper establishes whether the leadership and the procurement department were directive or supportive. The paper finally captures the insights that have been gained from analyzing the leadership at the procurement department.

The leader I worked with at the procurement department knew his goals and had the power to…

References

Burns, T., Stalker, G.M., (1961). The Management of Innovation. London: Tavistock.

Graeff, C.L. (1983). The Situational Leadership Theory: A Critical View. Academy of Management Review, 8(2), 285-291.

Hersey, P. & Blanchard, K.H. (1988). Management and Organizational Behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

IAAP. (2009). Leadership Theories and Styles. Retrieved from  http://www.etsu.edu/ahsc/documents/Leadership_Theories.pdf

Leadership Style: What Do People Do When they are Leading?

Hewlett Packard (HP) remains one of the most successful computer and related services company in the Diversified Computer Systems industry. In this text, I concern myself with the leadership style of Meg Whitman -- the CEO of HP. In so doing, I will amongst other things analyze how her leadership style aligns with the company's culture. I will also examine Whitman's strengths, weaknesses as well as personal and organizational values.

Born in 1956, Whitman has over the years earned herself an enviable reputation as an efficient and brilliant corporate executive keen on making a mark in a corporate environment dominated by men. Having cut her teeth at Hasbro, Stride ite, Disney, and most notably eBay where served as CEO for a decade, Whitman rose to become the head of HP. She has also in the past tried her hand in…

References

Ferris, G.R. & Treadway, D.C. (Eds.). (2012). Politics in Organizations: Theory and Research Considerations. New York, NY: Taylor and Francis Group.

Forsyth, D.R. (2010). Group Dynamics (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.

Fox, W. (2007). Managing Organizational Behavior. Cape Town: Juta and Company.

Hellriegel, D. & Slocum, J.W. (2009). Organizational Behavior (12th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.

Leadership Vision

Over the last several years, a wide variety of organizations have been addressing challenges associated with effective leadership. This is because most firms have traditionally created strategies behind closed doors and then introduced these ideas to everyone. The problem with this kind of approach is that no one is able to share the same kind of vision as the individuals in the planning group. The reason why is, most people were left out of the process (which makes it difficult to become excited about the new strategy). Once this takes place, is when a firm will waste time, money and resources in trying to implement an approach that has very little support.

Evidence of this can be seen with observations from Lussier (2009) he determined that vision and sharing is essential for any kind of organization to be successful. Commenting about these ideas Lussier observed, "Organizational leaders too…

References

Baker, T. (2010). Effective Leadership. Flushing, NY: Loose Leaf Law.

Chait, J. (2007). The Big Con. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin.

Goldsmith, M. (2012). Coaching for Leadership. San Francisco, CA: Josey Bass.

Kantabutra, S. (2010). The Power of Vision. Journal of Business Strategy, 31 (1), 37 -- 45.

Leadership and career.

Leadership behaviors

According to Fiedler, the character of the leader determines the ultimate outcome of all forms of decision-making within the organization. Different leaders perceive different situations in different ways: "the key situational factor is the favorableness of the situation from the leader's point-of-view. This factor is determined by leader-member relations, task structure, and position power" (Fielder 1). In other words, whether the followers need direction; the flexibility demanded of the task; and the leader's degree of control over the situation will all influence the methods by which the leader exercises his or her capacity to wield power.

To some extent, I do agree with LPC theory, given that in my own experiences, I have seen many leaders be effective with various personality types. In the case of a workforce which is highly under-motivated (such as a fast food restaurant), a very rigid leader who uses a…

Thankfully, in my role I have become experienced in dealing with multiple stakeholders. I utilized my transformational leadership skills to have all stakeholders buy into my vision of the project, allowing me to shape the project in a manner that would allow me to deliver satisfactory results to all of the stakeholders.

Leadership Lessons

I knew that I was going to demand a lot from all of the different stakeholders, and therefore I needed to lead by example. I took this as the core of my vision for my leadership. I was a situational leader, moving between transformational and transactional as the situation required. I was tough when necessary, in particular with respect to ethics, but I was also able to make contributions that improved the positivity surrounding the project. I worked with the union representative to build a set of disciplinary actions based on my code of ethics, which…

Leadership Styles

It is highly likely that I will be able to develop high quality leadership traits with the passage of time.

Values and personality:

It is hard to become familiar with your personality because you cannot see the flaws in yourself. No matter how hard you try the positive aspects will come forward leaving the negative ones far behind. But observing yourself every once in a while is the key to success. It helps you change your personality according to the situation. If I had to put my values and my personality on a piece of paper I would begin it by telling about my behavior with my closed ones, my associates and especially with the ones I deal with on daily basis. I believe on taking everyone with me and not being competitive as competitiveness leads you nowhere. It might lead you to success somehow but leaves you…

References

Adair, John (2009) Effective Leadership London. Pan Macmillan.

Montana, Patrick J.; Bruce H. (2008). Management. Hauppauge, New York: Barron's Educational Series, Inc.

Schultz, Duane P. Schultz, Sydney Ellen (2010). Psychology and work today: an introduction to industrial and organizational psychology (10th ed. ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall.

Zaccaro, S.J. (2007). Trait-based perspectives of leadership. American Psychologist, 62, 6-16.

So was this true for Cornwallis, who must bear the
dubious association of his side's historical failure to retain the American
colonies even as evidence suggests that his best efforts were extended as
exemplary traits of leadership. Certainly, as Buchanan reports, "it is
also a measure of his leadership that in all the actions in which we have
observed him his militia performed like seasoned regulars." (Buchanan, 190)
This relationship between leader and organizational members is an expected
demand of the military.
Perhaps more surprising and pleasing with consideration of unique
anecdotal detail of the Buchanan text is the core competency listed by the
military requiring "the ability to operate in an environment, encompassing
higher and lower command structures, and using one's influence outside the
traditional chain of command." (DoA, 67) This means that a leader is
expected even such formally and bureaucratically impacted contexts to hold
a certain degree…

Works Cited

Buchanan, J. (1999). The road to Guilford Courthouse: The American
Revolution in the Carolinas. Wiley.

Department of the Army (DoA). (2006). Army Leadership: Competent,
Confident, and Agile (FM6-22). Defense Link. Online at
 http://www.defenselink.mil/Blogfiles/Blogassets/20080422ColReiderfieldma 
nual.pdf

Leadership

The main issue in this case appears to be that Jessica's training effort has resulted in some unforeseen consequences, with managers treating all employees like they have been instructed to treat the mentally challenged ones. This has resulted in some unhappy feelings among those employees who have been part of the team in the long-term and are not handicapped.

Perhaps one of the causes for the situation is that the suggested management style has worked very well with the handicapped people. It could be that the style has imposed itself subconsciously within the minds of the managing staff. It may be that they are unaware of the changes in their management style and how this is making the staff feel.

The first step towards a solution has already been taken by communicating the problem to Jessica. Head chef Tammy and the host Kurt have both communicated to Jessica that…

References

Kinicki, A. And Williams, B. (n.d.) Contingency Approahces: Does Leadership Vary with the Sitatuation? Retrieved from:  https://www.inkling.com/read/management-angelo-kinicki-brian-williams-5th/chapter-14/14-4-contingency-approaches

Most conclusions on this approach were vague or indecisive in terms of social, psychological or mental significance (ice, 1978, 1981; Graen et al., 1972; Ashour, 1973).

Furthermore, over the years, many scholars have come to the realization that leadership is situational and hence there are many realistic settings like the environment, the employees, the resources, etc. that determine the characteristics needed in a leader as well as his/her business approach (Hershey and Blanchard, 1977, 1984). This is why it is important to first understand the different types of scenarios that a leader can face and then use those scenarios as the foundation on which most leadership techniques and approaches are built. This idea of leadership being situational is very helpful in outlining the methods through which leadership can be developed and has taken up a good part of the last three-decade of research (Mckenna, Boyd and Yost, 2007).

There were…

References

Adler, a. (1946). Understanding human nature. New York: Permabooks.

Ashour, a.S. (1973). The Contingency Model of Leadership Effectiveness: An Evaluation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 9: 335-76.

Bandura, a. (1997). Self-efficacy. The Exercise of Control. New York: W.H. Freeman. (Bass, B.M. 1985). Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations. New York: The Free Press.

Bennis, W., and B. Nanus. (1985). Leaders. New York: Harper and Row.

Leadership

At the core of leadership is the interaction between the leader and the follower. Much of leadership theory can be understood in terms of how leaders and followers interact and what the underlying assumptions are with respect to the roles and nature of leadership. Because of the many different types of leaders, and successful examples thereof, leadership scholarship has developed multiple branches that seek to explain leadership, but no one branch has yet proved definitive. Instead of understanding leadership through a single paradigm, and it better to understand it in terms of multiple paradigms, and different leadership theories can be applied to the same situation, and any given leader might apply multiple leadership styles at the same time.

Part of the appeal of leadership scholarship is that it encompasses so many unique academic disciplines. Leadership scholarship began life as in business schools but has been studied in the psychological…

References

Avolio, B., Walumbwa, F. & Weber, T. (2009). Leadership: Current theories, research and future directions. Annual Review of Psychology. Vol. 60 (2009) 421-449.

Boyatzis, R., Smith, M., & Blaize, N. (2006). Developing sustainable leaders through coaching and compassion. Academy of Management Learning & Education. Vol. 5 (1) 8-24.

Falk, S. & Rogers, S. (2011). Junior military officer retention: Challenges & opportunities. Harvard University. In possession of the author.

Kocolowski, M. (2010). Shared leadership: Is it time for a change? Emerging Leadership Journeys. Vol. 3 (1) 22-32.

There are several candidates for taking charge of Gene One during its initial public offering and for some time following, at least until the company has stabilized in its new position, if not for longer. There are of course positive aspects and drawbacks to each of the potential company leaders, but any negative aspects of one individual's leadership can be mitigated by a more temperate and even handed leadership structure, yet one that still allows for efficient and decisive decisions to be made and carried out.

Studies have shown that leadership is often more even-handed when measured in terms of influence rather than in terms of procedural behavior, and this knowledge will be directly and explicitly applied to the Gene One leadership structure in the situation at hand (Hysom & Johnson 2006). Michelle Houghton and John Kirby will be the primary decision makers for the company; Houghton's commitment to the…

References

Hinduan, Z.; Wilson-Evered, E.; Moss, S. & Scannell, E. (2009). "Leadership, work outcomes and openness to change following an Indonesian bank merger." Asia-Pacific journal of human resources 47(1), pp. 59-78.

Hysom, S. & Johnson, (2006). "Leadership Structures in Same-Sex Task Groups." Sociological Perspectives 49(3), pp. 391-410.

Massod, S.; Dani, S.; Burns, N. & Backhouse, C. (2006). "Transformational Leadership and Organizational Culture: The Situational Strength Perspective." Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers; Part B; Journal of Engineering Manufacture 220(6), pp. 941-9.

According to the Ohio State University (2004), both could be equally appropriate in terms of overall company outcomes, as they are very similar in terms of valuing and inspiring follower excellence.

When considering the motivation towards leadership for each type of leader, the contrast is sharper. The servant leader, for example, leads from a motivations basis of egalitarianism. The leader's fundamental belief is that he or she is no better than followers. The company's collective goals are then reached by means of an egalitarian team effort, where both leader and followers learn from the experience. Servant leaders are therefore much more focused upon the non-traditional form of leadership, which exists in beign servants themselves (Patterson, edmer and Stone, 2003, p. 6). Followers are provided with a large amount of freedom to exercise the abilities they can bring to the promotion of the business goals. This means that a very high…

References

Bugenhage, M.J. (2006, Dec). Antecedents of Transactional Transformational, and Servant Leadership: A constructive-Development Theory Approach. University of Nebraska. Retrieved from:  http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=aglecdiss 

Changing Minds (2011). Bass' Transformational Leadership Theory. Retrieved from:  http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/theories/bass_transformational.htm 

The Ohio State University. (2004, Dec. 22). Transformational and Servant Leadership: Content and Contextual Comparisons. Leadership Center. Retrieved from:  http://leadershipcenter.osu.edu/library/publications/leadership-discoveries/2004/december-2004-transformational-and-servant-leadership-content-and-contextual-comparisons 

Patterson, K., Redmer, T.A.O., and Stone, a.G. (2003, Oct.) Transformational Leaders to Servant Leaders vs. Level 4 Leaders to Level 5 Leaders -- the Move from Good to Great. Regent University. Retrieved from:  http://www.cbfa.org/Patterson.pdf

Leaders that are experienced in a certain type of situations can manage them faster and more efficiently.

Such experienced leaders have the advantage of having experienced similar situations before. Therefore, this means that these leaders know what the phases of the situation are and what outcomes they should expect to take place. In other words, they are aware of the actions and decisions they must make in order to efficiently manage the situation in case.

For example, in the case of a police station with an experienced leader, the teams are confronting with a situation where several burglars tried to steal the money from a corner shop. The salesperson managed to press the alarm button and several police cars arrived at the location of the scene. The burglars are armed and are threatening the salesperson and other clients of the store that have been taken hostages inside the location.

This…

Reference list:

1. Transactional Leadership (2010). Retrieved October 4, 2010 from  http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/styles/transactional_leadership.htm .

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).

EXTAVESION

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…

References

Sean P. Nubert. 2006. The five Factor Model of Personality in the Workplace.

Jack Welsh. 2005. Five Questions to Ask.

Herb Kelleher. 2003. Words of Wisdom to Graduates

Judge, T.A., Martocchio, J.J., & Thoresen, C.J. (1997). Five-factor model of personality and employee absence. Journal of Applied Psychology.

hether involvement is through full time employment or volunteer service, the challenges of today's fire service demand commitment to training, education, experience and self-development. One's professional development is a journey, not a destination. Remember Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.

Napoleon Hill

You've achieved success in your field when you don't know whether what you're doing is work or play.

James Beatty

orks Cited

First In, Last Out Review in Publishers eekly, Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. (2004)

International Association of Fire Chiefs Officer Development Handbook First Edition, November 2003, Published in partnership with the IAFC Foundation, (2003), New York: International Association of Fire Chiefs, http://www.iafc.org/associations/4685/files/OffrsHdbkFINAL3.pdf (Retrieved August 20, 2006).

Salka, John, and Neville, Barret. First In, Last Out: Leadership Lessons from the New York Fire Department (New York, Penguin Group, USA, Inc. 2004).

Thomas M. Cunningham, Emergency Services Information Site: Leadership…

Works Cited

First In, Last Out Review in Publishers Weekly, Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. (2004)

International Association of Fire Chiefs Officer Development Handbook First Edition, November 2003, Published in partnership with the IAFC Foundation, (2003), New York: International Association of Fire Chiefs,  http://www.iafc.org/associations/4685/files/OffrsHdbkFINAL3.pdf  (Retrieved August 20, 2006).

Salka, John, and Neville, Barret. First In, Last Out: Leadership Lessons from the New York Fire Department (New York, Penguin Group, USA, Inc. 2004).

Thomas M. Cunningham, Emergency Services Information Site: Leadership 101: Integrity,  http://www.withthecommand.com/2002-Aug/MD-TMC-leader-integ101.html  (Retrieved August 20, 2006)

Leadership for Organizations

Leadership

The success of organizations and individuals' careers are influenced by the role of leaders. Nowadays firms seek leadership skills in individuals for all sorts of careers while recruiting. Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) believe that it has become critically important to nurture leadership approach at all levels of the organization (Lussier, Achua, 2009, p. 4).

The topic of leadership has been gaining tremendous attention of academic world and media (ass, Riggio, 2006, p. 17). Many experts have written about leadership and the challenges related to it as the subject is highly valued and at the same time a complex phenomenon (Northouse, 2009, p. 1).

In today's world individuals need to develop skills and capabilities required in professional world through personal development. They need to assess their strengths, weaknesses, leadership competencies and goals in order to achieve leadership capabilities (Rothstein 2010).

Leaders need to possess a wide range…

Bibliography

Adams, J.D. (Ed.). (1986). Transforming leadership: From vision to results. Alexandria, VA: Miles River Press.

Allen, K.E. (1995). Making sense out of chaos: Leading and living in dynamic systems. Campus Activities Programming, 52-59.

Argyris, C. (1970). Intervention theory and method: A behavioral science view. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Armstrong, S., & Armstrong, S. (1996). The conductor as transformational leader. Music Educators Journal, 82(May), 22-25.

Leadership and Human Resources

Sunflower Electric Power Corporation certainly had compelling circumstances that motivated management to pursue cultural change. Having recently undergone debt restructuring and charges of mismanagement and corruption, employee morale was at an all-time low. The major priority for the company was to completely change its corporation culture with a huge emphasis on interpersonal relationships.

The culture of Sunflower was a command-and-control culture characterized by authoritative and conservative leadership. This culture had encouraged turf wars among managers and had inhibited effective job performance. Sunflower's new CEO, Chris Hauck, undertook many initiatives to change the culture to a competence culture in which leadership is visionary, sets high standards and encourages people to achieved new heights.

Competence cultures, unlike command-and-control ones pursue excellence and innovation. However, resistance to change would make Sunflower's cultural evolution a challenging one. There are four basic reasons for resisting change (Greene, Adam and Ebert, 1995):…

Bibliography

Greene, C., Everet, A, and Ebert, R. (1005). Management for effective performance. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Maxwell, J. (2003). Leadership by example is key to guiding a strong company. Houston Business Journal. Retrieved November 13, 2003 from Houston Business Journal Web Site:  http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2003/10/06/smallb2.html 

Schneider, B., Competence run amok. Retrieved November 13, 2003 from Hanigan Consulting Web Site: http://216.239.39.104/search?q=cache:frizEcXV4IUJ:www.haniganconsulting.com/competence_run_amok.pdf+%22Competence+culture%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

Leadership

Our persistent approach to the initial years of the twenty-first century, necessitates to recall the crucial incidents of the previous century and to foresee the events to be come across in future more specifically in the ensuing years. The commercial class considered to constitute the largest section in the society much concerned bout the future events. Taking all the technological advancements that took place during the past century in to consideration the corporations are to strive for maintaining the competitiveness in the international market relentlessly. Taking together all the factors one can visualize the extraordinary variations that have profound impact on the global trade and commerce. The veracity of global economy combined with the dissemination of the information technology provided adequate impetus to the corporations large and small to compete in a new dimension. This lays emphasis of the effectiveness of management and leadership skills as a determinant for…

References

Big Dog's Leadership Page - Concept of Leadership. Retrieved at  http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadcon.html 

Classical leadership. Retrieved at  http://www.infed.org/leadership/traditional_leadership.htm 

Clemmer, Jim. Customer Satisfaction is a Reflection of Employee Satisfaction. Retrieved at  http://www.clemmer.net/excerpts/cust_satisfaction.shtml 

Employee Motivation in the Workplace. Retrieved at http://www.bnet.com/abstract.aspx?cid=110&sortby=comp&docid=62973

The transformation was so effective in the company that it eventually changed an entire industry as well (Lawless, 1998).

Another aspect of leadership lessons learned from Her Keller include his tolerance for individuality and non-conformity on the part of his employees, and how the culture of the company became known as a haven for those who wanted to work hard yet also have fun (Lubans, 2009). Not every leader can accomplish this unique feat of creating a culture tolerant and even promoting non-conformity over time, let alone become its main evangelist for this approach. Yet Mr. Kelleher realized that if management and the employees were going to trust one another, there would need to be an unpretentious, open culture that had a tolerance for failure and nonconformity (Lindebaum, Cartwright, 2010). Getting back to the point made earlier, a mindset that sees failure as feedback, not a dead-end, is critical for…

References

Bennis, W. (2009). Crises Reveal the Quality of Leadership. Leader to Leader, 2009(54), 27.

Why Herb Kelleher Gets So Much Respect from Labor. (1984, September). Business Week: Industrial/Technology,(2861), 112.

Robert Lawless. (1998). Introduction: Speech-Herb Kelleher. Competitiveness Review, 8(1), 1.

Lee, William G. (1995). Southwest Airlines' Herb Kelleher: Unorthodoxy at work. Management Review, 84(1), 9.

According to Blass, et al., writing in Human Resources Management, the best way to acquire political skills, is through the mentoring process. The inexperienced individual who has a desire to become a leader in the HR field must have a mentor who is "…armed with organizational experience" that is borne of "vicarious and firsthand experience" and is willing to share "insights and cues with proteges on what it takes to be successful in the organization" (Blass, et al., 2007, p. 6). Mentors must be able to have an "adaptive capacity" to teach the political skills necessary to lead, Blass continues.

Politically skilled individuals generally possess "greater adaptive capacity," Blass continues, which can result in "positive and strong leader reputation" (p. 6). Moreover, Blass argues that individuals with well-honed political skills gain "influence" because they are socially astute, have learned adaptability, and adjust behaviors "to meet situational demands" (p. 11).

A…

Works Cited

Blass, Fred R. And Ferris, Gerald R. (2007). Leader Reputation: The Role of Mentoring, Political

Skill, Contextual Learning, and Adaptation. Human Resource Management, 46(1), 5-19.

Choo, Ho Geok. (2007). Leadership and the Workforce in Singapore: Evaluations by the Singapore Human Resources Institute. Research and Practice in Human Resource

Management, 15(2), 104-114.

Leaders step forward. That's now leaders become better leaders. That's how a "young" inexperienced" leader becomes a better leader. His or her qualities are formed such that he projects the need and desire to become better. Therefore, it happens. ut the leadership qualities that identified them as requiring more experience or a diversity of challenges to make them a CEO or CO are already present.

Is Leadership a "Learned" Set of Skills and Traits...

It may seem that we are answering the same question three times, and, perhaps we are. If we follow the logic of our previous answer, leadership itself is not a learned set of skills or traits. A leader becoming a better manager or executive or administrator involves a learned set of skills or traits. ut he or she has already displayed the traits of leadership -- those inherent personality characteristics, charisma, talents, and the vision that…

Bibliography

Gunn, B. (2001). Can leadership be taught? Retrieved November 17, 2009, from allbusiness.com:  http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/employee-development-leadership/696129-1.html 

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I see that in my own leadership style I am oriented towards a transactional style, but that in order to improve my leadership I need to weave the daily leadership actions together better with an eye to creating long-term organizational excellence. I feel that I have developed strong communications skills and healthy leadership traits in terms of being rational but also being able to deal with the emotional elements of the job. I perhaps struggle a little at listening, but I also can be short-sighted with my decision-making, such that months or years later I find my decisions have set an undesirable tone that must be corrected. These are the most significant deficiencies between the leader I am and the leader I wish to become.

Long-term strategy can also be considered somewhat of a weakness. There is certainly a gap between the specificity of long-term strategies that the organization has…

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Schermerhorn, John. (2001). Situational Leadership: Conversations with Paul Hersey. Ohio University. Retrieved August 1, 2009 from  http://www.situational.com/PdfViewer.aspx?pdfPath=~/Pdf/Conversations_With_Paul_Hersey.pdf 

Fielder, Fred. (1964). A Contingency Model of Leadership Effectiveness. Academic Press, Burlington, MA.

Vroom, VH & Yetton, PW. (1973). Leadership and Decision-Making. Yale University. Retrieved August 1, 2009 from  http://www.lederne.dk/NR/rdonlyres/E8715858-DCEE-4355-88BB-B3E82FE7DA9B/0/18VictorVroom2.pdf 

Enos, Darryl D. (2007). Performance Improvement. CRC Press, p. 153

The four lanchard leadership styles include:

1) directive;

2) managing;

3) coaching; and 4) delegating. (Clawson, 1989)

2) House's Path Goal Theory of Leadership - the motivational function of the leader consists of increasing personal payoffs to subordinates for work-goal attainment and making the path to these payoffs easier to travel by clarifying it, reducing roadblocks and pitfalls, and increasing the opportunities for personal satisfaction en route. (Clawson,1989)

V. CHARISMATIC THEORY

Charismatic leadership is measured by: (1) Followers' trust in the correctness of the leader's belief; (2) similarity of followers' beliefs to the leader's beliefs; (3) unquestioning acceptance of the leader by followers; (4) followers' affection for the leader; (5) followers' willing obedience to the leader; (6) emotional involvement of followers in the mission of the organization; (7) heightened performance goals of followers; and (8) belief of followers that they are able to contribute to the success of the group's…

Bibliography

Liu, W., Lepak, D.P., Takeuchi, R., and Sims, H.P (2003) Matching Leadership Styles with Employment modes: Strategic Human Resource Management Perspective. Human Resource Management Review. 13 (2003).

Clawson, J.G. (1989) Leadership Theories. University of Virginia Darden School Foundation. Charlottesville, VA. Online SSRN Research.

Stodgills Handbook of Leadership (1981) revised Bernard M. Bass New York: The Free Press 1981.

Mintzberg, Henry (1973) Mintzberg's Ten Managerial Roles -the Nature of Managerial Work 1973.

49). That goes for leaders in the learning community as well. Thessin asserts that while it is important to teach students to solve problems, there is a lack of focus on another important, related goal: "the need for teachers to learn to do the same" (49). Teachers are leaders and they must be given the training to develop problem solving skills along with the other important skills mentioned in this paper.

orks Cited

Alansari, Eissa M., and Albustan, Suad A. (2009). Center for Continuing Education and Community Service at Kuwait University: A Model in Leadership for Adult and Continuing

Education. College Student Journal, 43(2), 1-8.

Fulton-Calkins, Patsy, and Milling, Charlie. (2005). Community-College Leadership: An Art to be Practiced: 2010 and Beyond. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, Vol.

29, 233-250.

Jameson, Jill, Ferrell, Gill, Kelly, Jacquie, alker, Simon, and Ryan, Malcolm. (2006). Building

trust and shared knowledge in communities…

Works Cited

Alansari, Eissa M., and Albustan, Suad A. (2009). Center for Continuing Education and Community Service at Kuwait University: A Model in Leadership for Adult and Continuing

Education. College Student Journal, 43(2), 1-8.

Fulton-Calkins, Patsy, and Milling, Charlie. (2005). Community-College Leadership: An Art to be Practiced: 2010 and Beyond. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, Vol.

29, 233-250.

Leadership and Realtors

I have many aspirations and many things I would like to accomplish in my lifetime. That said, one of my strongest vocations is establishing myself in my community as a successful real estate agent.

I've always had a knack for sales and I love architecture and residential construction. But my affinity for real estate probably dates back to my childhood, when my uncle Herbie used to drive me around in his big tan Buick Skylark, taking me to all his listings so I could see how he showcased his properties. My uncle Herbie used to make me guess how much he had listed each property for, if I was wrong, he would wonk me on the head with this old leather scabbard he had in the back seat, if I was right, he would give me a piece of salt-water taffy. Long story short, I've wanted to…

Works Cited

Burns, J.M. (1978) Leadership. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics

Helping Leaders Deal With Change and Ambiguity. (2009) Human Capital

Online. Retrieved from  http://www.hcamag.com/business-review/Executive -

Development/helping-leaders-deal-with-change-and-ambiguity/60637/