Articulation of Effective Leadership - Essay Example

 Articulation of Effective Leadership Introduction Effective leadership is important in determining the destiny of an organization, society, country, and the world. The mandate to decide the type of leadership a people deserve belongs to the people themselves. In developed democracies, people choose leaders with clear records of accomplishment, devoid of scandalous pasts. However, in less developed democracies, leaders who come into power are ethically unfit to hold faces, as they depend on wealth to manipulate the people. The traits of a good leader are necessary for determining the direction that a society will take. Articulation of Effective Leadership The personality of individuals plays a great role in the leadership traits that the person holds. A person displays this behavioral and emotional character to the world. The ideas of an individual characterize the personality of the person. Leaders are majorly extroverts, as opposed to introverts who are better at sharing ideas than in interaction with people. Both personalities are useful for the realization of the strengths and weaknesses of a society that a person yearns to lead. The public picture drawn by a person determines the following he/she enjoys (Dayan & Chan, 2012). Ethics in leadership stirs the society towards ethical development and effective coexistence. Leaders who have ethical leadership skills influence the operations of an organization or community. Ethics ensures that the public mentality is set to do the right things, not to exploit the setbacks of others (Ciulla, Uhl & Werhane, 2013). The ethics in a leader begins with responsible handling of crisis to owning up in situations that implicate their performance in public office (Streshly, Gray & Frase, 2012). The inclusion of the entire society and members of an organization in decision-making proves to be ethical for the leadership style portrayed by a leader (Streshly, Gray & Frase, 2012). The ethical background of a good leader should not allow the negative behaviors or deeds of certain individuals to erode the trust of the society (Ciulla, Uhl & Werhane, 2013). For it to be practiced by the followers, the leader should cultivate the accountability culture. By being accountable, the leadership builds trust and encourages communication in the process of building the society. The ethics in leadership is important in bringing unity to a people as the regulations of ethics exempt nobody from meeting them (Ciulla, Uhl & Werhane, 2013). Through this tight discipline associated with ethical leadership, the society gets more proactive by celebrating the achievements instead of focusing more on negative incitement. A powerful tool for the leadership of a group is the ability to tune one’s emotions in accordance with the circumstance facing the individual. In a leader, emotional intelligence helps to understand the magnitude of a situation (Dayan & Chan, 2012). The stress associated with a situation determines the response of a leader to the emotions of the affected people. The components of emotional intelligence are relationship management, self-management, self-awareness and social awareness. Good leaders are emotionally independent (Mattews, Zeidner & Roberts, 2011). The leaders have emotional intelligence that affect the decisions and the actions they take concerning situations of varying importance. This enables the leaders to have the power to study the emotional response in teams and groups. Leaders of groups use emotional intelligence to build excellent teams that perform tasks with the required intensity (Mattews, Zeidner & Roberts, 2011). Leaders who lack the component of emotional intelligence are unable to gauge the requirements and expectations of the followers. Leaders must know how to filter their emotional reactions, as failure to do so create mistrust in the society and jeopardizes the operations of the units (Dayan & Chan, 2012). Emotional intelligence is fundamental to the success of a society or organization. The leadership must anticipate different opinions from within and from outside the unit he/she is heading ( Hughes & Terrell, 2012). A good leader should not fuel situations that are already damaged. The response of bad leadership to shocking or negative news further aggravates the situation. Good emotional intelligence deals with the news with calmness and openness to restore hope for the most affected (Mattews, Zeidner & Roberts, 2011). Spirituality in leadership connects the leaders to their inner reflection and sparks the energy to associate with others equally (Streshly, Gray & Frase, 2012). Leaders resort in the hardest times to this core strength. Spirituality is the conveyor of all the traits that explain a good leader. Such traits are compassion, fearlessness, conviction, humility, inner strength and faithfulness. The spirituality of leadership instills the belief of existence in a higher and stronger power (Cohn & Morn, 2011). Spirituality compels leaders to act with consciousness, awareness and connection to the inner emotions of the followers (Hughes & Terrell, 2012). It enables the leaders to think deeper of the consequences of their actions by instilling kindness and compassion in leaders. Through fellowship, the leaders can interact with other believers and enhance the understanding of the wants of the community. Spirituality is not necessarily visiting a place of worship, but attending to the practices that attribute to the qualities of a spiritual figure (Cohn & Morn, 2011). This quashes the ego and pride that comes with the acquisition of authority, and enables the society to engage the leadership in a sober manner. Vision Statement I purpose to focus on honesty and commitment while upholding ethical behavior as per the code of ethical conduct. With this, I will transform endeavors within my capacity and reach to obtain satisfactory results and offer guidance as a parameter for leadership. Being honest and committed will enhanced ethical values, emotional intelligence, spirituality for the sake of building a reputable leadership style. Conclusion The actions, character, and spirit of a leader affect the people that he or she leads. With a positive personality, leaders influence their followers to emulate their spirit. The character of leaders determines how a society will handle the shocks and stresses that accompany the reign of that leader. Besides, it is important for a leader to be ethically upright to ensure equality and foster unity amongst the followers. Without spiritual strength, it is difficult for leaders to maintain a healthy relationship with the neighbors. The world needs effective leadership to maintain sanity, peace and enhance economic development. References Ciulla, J., Uhl-Bien, M., & Werhane, P. (2013). Leadership ethics. Los Angeles, Calif.: SAGE. Cohn, J., & Moran, J. (2011). Why are we bad at picking good leaders?. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Dayan, H., & Chan, K. (2012). Charismatic leadership in Singapore. New York: Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. Hughes, M., & Terrell, J. (2012). Emotional intelligence in action. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer. Matthews, G., Zeidner, M., & Roberts, R. (2011). Emotional Intelligence 101. New York: Springer Publishing Company. Streshly, W., Gray, S., & Frase, L. (2012). The New School Management by Wandering Around. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications. Read More