Antigon as a Leader - Article Example

Leadership 27th, March Antigone In what respect was Antigone a leader? Was her concern more for short-range orlong-range goals? Explain Antigone possessed different leadership qualities. For instance, she displayed a great level of courage and principle, which is required for one to be regarded as a leader. Antigone was courageous enough to go against the law, when she protects the burial rights of her brother Polynices. She goes ahead to do this, even when her sister is against it. Although she is arrested by the guards and taken to Creon, Antigone stands by her principles and in a courageous manner admits to burying Polynices.

She did not mind facing death, as long as it was for a just cause. Her concern was more of a long-range goal. By acting against the unjust leadership of Creon, this would influence the community to stand up against unjust leaders in future. Therefore, she was serving as an example to the people. 2. Upon what does Creon base his power? What are his greatest mistakes in using that power? Creon based his power on the rational laws of man, instead of the irrational laws of the gods. This is evident when he adamantly refuses Polynices, Antigone’s brother to be given a decent burial.

He does not recognize the family bond that exists between Antigone and her brother, and realize that his decision would hurt Antigone. This is a mistake he committed, which shows misuse of power, which led to him being a tyrant. He bases his decisions on logic, and turns out to be mean. 3. Who are the empowered and how was the empowerment accomplished? Antigone is an empowered woman in the play. She draws her empowerment from herself, thus she is self-empowered. This is seen in how she governs herself.

She depends on her self-empowerment, as well as self-reliance, when making important decisions. For instance, she is not swayed away from her decision when her sister opposes her move to bury their brother. She thus believed and relied on herself to perform her brother’s burial. She therefore, relies on her own strength and does not need the support of others to get things accomplished. 4. Are there similarities between the leadership styles of Antigone and Martin Luther King, Jr? Elaborate There are a number of similarities between the leadership of Antigone and that of Martin Luther King, Jr.

First, they all struggled for the rights of other people. While King fought for the rights of the black community in the USA, Antigone struggled for the right of her brother to be given a decent burial. Secondly, both were selfless in their struggles. King did not fear being arrested while claiming equality for all black and white Americans. Similarly, Antigone was arrested by the guards and taken to Creon when she buried her brother. However, she was not afraid of the consequences. Therefore, both exhibit selflessness, courage, and sacrifice.

Leadership as empowering others – By W. Warner Burke 1. Do leaders differ from managers? If so, why? Leaders do differ from managers, considering the convictions of most scholars who have studies the differences between leaders and managers. Leaders are involved in strategic management, just as the managers. However, leaders exhibit this aspect of strategic management in their behavior as well. Another difference between leaders and managers is evident in the way these relate with people and perceptions toward work.

While managers exhibit high interaction with people, leaders are considered loners with great visions. Managers also use people to get goals and visions achieved. In addition, leaders are more charismatic and empathic than managers, since these will prioritize the needs of the people at their expense. 2. How does empowerment relate to leadership skills? Empowering other people is a virtue, which is why it is considered a leadership skill. First, empowering other people is a sign of generosity, which mean people are not capable of.

Therefore, generosity is associated with leadership. On the other hand, empowering other people requires one to have patient, since it might be same as a learning process. Thus, if one lacks patient, they might not be in a position to empower others, thus, making them not leaders. 3. How does the ability to empower others contribute to effective leadership? Ability to empower others means that a leader shares part of their powers with the people. This makes the people more knowledgeable about various aspects, including the leadership process.

This results in a participatory form of leadership, where the subjects are included in the leadership and decision-making process. This kind of leadership is deemed effective. Questionnaire Results 1B 3 1A 2 2B 2 2A 3 3B 2 3A 3 4A 3 4B 2 5B 4 5A 1 6B 1 6A 4 7B 5 7A 0 8A 4 8B 1 9B 3 9A 2 10A 5 10B 0 TOTAL 32 TOTAL 18 Nelson Mandela 1. In Nelson Mandela’s account of imprisonment, he consciously makes decisions that support his “position” of leadership. What is the basis for his role as a leader while in prison?

What does he stand for? Nelson Mandela’s leadership stood for equal rights for both the black people and white people in South Africa. He claimed that he was against the domination of either the black people or the white people. Instead, he wanted to see them share equal rights. The basis of his role stems from the apartheid rule in South Africa. It was claimed that the white people during the apartheid rule denied the blacks their rights. Therefore, Nelson Mandela stood for the rights of the blacks in South Africa. 2. How does Mandela balance his ideals of African democracy, unity, and peace with the policy of violence adopted by the African National Congress (ANC)?

Is his justification acceptable to you? Why or why not? In the struggle for liberation from the Apartheid rule, Mandela’s party, the ANC, adopted an approach of violence, even though previously the party had advocated for a peaceful approach. Mandela admitted to his party adopting a violence approach from the previously held peaceful policy. In his view, the peaceful approach adopted by the ANC earlier on had failed, since it did not put an end to apartheid rule. This decision to adopt violence is justified.

If the ANC had not turned to violence, the whites would have never addressed the concerns of the blacks through their peaceful approach. Secondly, violence was the only option left, since all other democratic options had been closed down in the country’s legislation by the whites. However, Mandela admitted to turning to violence, not because he loved violence or recklessness, but because that was the only way left for blacks to be liberated from the supremacy of the whites.