The Understanding of Leadership - Essay Example

Why should anyone be led by you? Why should anyone be led by you? Introduction The 21st century leadership compels leaders tounderstand what their followers expect from them. The emphasis on creating a balance between people and tasks is becoming a reality in the modern day. Leaders face the compulsion of understanding the expectations of the followers, as well as their needs. Such understanding will help leaders develop traits that appeal to the followers. When a leader proves appealing to the followers, he or she can influence them positively. The business front is becoming highly competitive, and leaders need to ensure that their followers exhibit the right levels of motivation and innovation in order to propel an organization to success. Unless followers see outstanding qualities in leaders, it is impossible for them to develop any attachment to the leaders. However, when followers are led by the type of leaders they want, high productivity levels become evident. In the discussion held by Jones and Gofee, it became evident that followers have expectations and do not follow leaders blindly. It was intriguing for me to listen to the two experts highlighting the expectation of followers from their leaders. One of the aspects that became evident is that followers need to be led by leaders who can inspire them. Notably, a leader is responsible for inspiring members of his or her team. The emergence of transformational leadership as one of the highly influential leadership theories I the 21st century has served to place emphasis on this aspect. Followers need leaders who can motivate and inspire them to bring out their best. It is possible for leaders to inspire followers if they communicate their vision to the followers. Followers need to understand a leader’s vision for the organization. If the vision is appealing and convincing, then followers are willing to make it a reality. In many cases, leaders who lack the capacity to inspire their followers face frustrations from daily reports of low productivity. Notably, experts have explored numerous theories and strategies that explain how leaders can inspire their followers. The fact that Jones and Gofee give this aspect a priority in their discussion reveals the level of importance it has (Goffee & Jones, 2000). Leaders need to exhibit a passion for the company’s goals and develop a clear vision of the organization. Leaders who can do this, make their followers feel energized. Inspiration requires leaders to initiate positive changes within the organization and the individuals as well. A leader who can inspire team members effectively is one who recognizes that each member of the group needs to succeed. It is unfortunate that some leaders lack the potential to articulate the company’s vision to the followers. For this reason, the followers do not see any reason they should follow such leaders. Such organizations lack the passion and vibrancy required to achieve organizational goals (Goffee & Jones, 2006). Worth noting is the fact that leaders who can inspire their followers not only need to have a vision, but the vision should be shared. A shared vision should bring into context the dreams and aspirations of the followers. Followers are likely to reject visions that do not place them in the picture. For this reason, the discussion between the two experts helped me to realize that a leader needs to consider the dreams and aspirations of all the team members. Integrating such dreams and aspirations in the formulation of a shared vision is a precondition for success. In order to inspire a team effectively, positive communication is mandatory. Positive communication comprises of optimism, faith, confidence, and resilience. The features of positive communication allow followers to be motivated even when situations are difficult. Jones and Gofee recognized the importance of charisma. In the 21st century, the role of charisma has been overemphasized. However, charismatic leaders have an impact on their followers. They have the potential to influence followers through their speech, their smiles, their articulations, and other forms of non-verbal communication (Hughes, Ginnett, & Curphy, 2006). Many charismatic leaders exert a measure of the impact even from the way they greet their followers exhibiting a measure of enthusiasm. Charisma has the potential to inspire employees. In the 21st century, many people project a superficial personality. However, many followers are not impressed by a leader’s superficial personality. As Jones and Gofee highlighted, followers appreciate authentic leaders. Notably, authentic leaders reveal their real personality, allowing their followers to appreciate who they are. The authenticity makes leaders more approachable and highly influential. Followers can recognize a leader’s true personality. They expect leaders to be human beings. It is inappropriate for leaders to pretend to be perfect without any human flaws. When followers realize that a leader has human characteristics, they are more likely to connect with the leader. Leaders can express their human nature by revealing their true emotions and feelings. Leaders who demonstrate authenticity reveal their unique characteristics and develop personal brand individuality. Developing a successful personal brand can prove highly appealing to followers. More importantly, authentic leaders can listen to every employee. Many leaders lack this capacity and deny their followers an opportunity to be heard. Listening involves assessing a person’s feelings and considering their perspectives. A leader with such traits can be followed easily (Jones & Gofee, 2010). In addition, authentic leaders can build both teams and communities because they exhibit characteristics that appeal to diverse groups of people. Authentic leaders recognize that perfection is impossible. They appreciate their flaws and focus on excellence, which is realistic and reasonable. The self-awareness exhibited by authentic leaders helps them understand other people’s situations, and recognize their personal strengths and weaknesses. Self-awareness enables such leaders to embark on a self-actualization journey, which may take a lifetime. The two experts placed emphasis on the need for authenticity in any leader. Authentic leaders give special focus to long-term shareholder values rather than giving unnecessary attention to quarterly estimates. Their self-awareness and leadership from the heart enables authentic leaders to leave a legacy. I have the conviction that authenticity is one of the critical aspects that followers consider before they give attention to any leader (Stateman, 2006). The discussion between Jones and Gofee also revealed that followers require a measure of significance for leaders. Many leaders fail in this sector by giving themselves too much attention and significance. They fail to associate with the followers of the lowest level. Giving followers a measure of significance compels leaders to appreciate the level of contribution from each follower irrespective of the level. Leaders who can associate with the followers on the lowest level in the organizational structure and make such followers feel appreciated are likely to have more followers. Many followers labor for organizations over the years, but receive minimal compensation or appreciation for their contribution. For this reason, they are likely to feel insignificant within the organization. Such insignificance serves to demoralize them. Demoralization does not occur when followers feel significant and can sense that leaders appreciate their contribution. A leader who makes followers feel significant is likely to trigger the development of loyalty and support from the followers. Different recognition strategies help leaders make followers feel significant. The failure to feel significant within the organization triggers feelings of inferiority and may cultivate disloyalty. For this reason, followers are likely to exhibit attachment to leaders who make them feel significant. In addition, Jones and Gofee highlighted that Followers expect leaders to be able to build a community. Notably, a community brings about a sense of belongingness (Stateman, 2006). When leaders and followers belong to the same community, followers can sense that there is a common purpose. In addition, an effective community, in this case, is comprised of individuals willing to interact and relate to each other. When a leader can create a community, the working conditions prove to be highly favorable. It is unfortunate that Jones and Gofee believe that only a few leaders can create such an environment for their followers. The few leaders who have managed to develop a community sense and purpose within their organizations have registered many followers. On the views of Jones and Gofee, leaders should focus on developing communities as the most effective organizational culture. When the workplace, community achieves a measure of sociability, the flowers develop positive working relationships with others. High sociability levels within a workplace community make teamwork more effective. The role of teamwork in increasing productivity cannot receive any form of underestimation. Both Jones and Gofee highlighted that followers need to feel like their leader promoted solidarity within the workplace. When solidarity becomes evident in a community, efficiency becomes evident. However, leaders should not tolerate the type of sociability that motivates some followers to cover up for their friends. The community sense within an organization should have a target of increasing the level of productivity (Goffee & Jones, 2000). Some organizations prefer to have a networked structure instead of a hierarchy. Leaders who appreciate the role of developing a community are more likely to adopt the networked organizations. Leaders should promote the sharing of ideas between different followers as well as the organization of casual gatherings that allow followers to interact freely. Some leaders also opt to leave out formalities when dealing with employees so that they can feel at ease with the leader. The aspects discussed by Jones and Gofee are highly realistic in modern organizations. Some leaders lack the capacity to develop a sense of community among the followers. For this reason, many followers do not consider themselves a component of the entire team. The final aspect highlighted by Jones and Gofee is the type of excitement that followers expect from their leaders. Usually, leaders who have proven to be effective, inspirational, and authentic create a buzz of excitement just by their mere presence. On the other end, ineffective leaders make employees wish that they would stay for longer. If a leader wants to have followers, he or she must trigger excitement in the followers depending on their traits and level of interaction (Goffee & Jones, 2000). When followers recognize that their leaders are close to success, they become more excited because they share in such success. Conclusion Evidently, the issues discussed by Jones and Gofee are very realistic in the 21st century business world. Leaders face the compulsion of meeting more expectations from their followers. Followers need leaders to be inspirational and give them a measure of significance. When leaders can successfully feel as though they belong to a community, teamwork becomes more effective. The efficiency of teamwork translates into increased profitability. Followers are no longer naïve and have made their expectations of the leaders clear. Although the aspects highlighted by Jones and Gofee seem commonplace, only a few leaders can achieve them. The few leaders who have met these expectations have proven to be highly influential. References Goffee, R., & Jones, G. (2000). Why Should Anyone Be Led by You? (cover story). Harvard Business Review, 78(5), 62-70. Goffee, R., & Jones, G. (2006). Why should anyone be led by you? : what it takes to be an authentic leader. Boston, Mass. : Harvard Business School Press, c2006. Hughes, L.R., Ginnett, C.R., & Curphy, J.G. (2006). Leadership: Enhancing the Lesson of Experience (5thed.) New York: Mcgraw-Hill Irwin. Jones, G. & Gofee, R. (2010). Why Should Anyone Be Led By You: Webinar . Retrieved on 7th February 2015 from v=npCokAAOmHs&feature=pyv&ad=3764411400&kw=leadership&gclid=CKuA3sC5_aACFYwM2godgVE0uA Stateman, A. (2006). London Business School Professors Ask: "Why Should Anyone Be Led by You?". Public Relations Strategist, 12(4), 35-37. Read More