The Leadership Types and Experience - Essay Example

Leadership Introduction It is not very easy to define leadership because the nature of leadership is very complex. Leadership has been defined in a whole variety of ways by various scholars, educationalists, and theorists. A very good definition of leadership is that it is, “an influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend real changes that reflect their mutual purposes” (Rost, 1993, p. 102). Leadership is essentially an influential bond between the leader and the followers in which the former makes the influence whereas the latter get the influence and thus, follow the leader. In our daily life, we often play the role of a leader whether or not we realize this. In this paper, I have analyzed my own style of leadership that prevails in a particular context. This paper first describes the scenario in which I have analyzed my style of leadership followed by a comprehensive discussion of the identified style of leadership. The case I used to play in a rock band as a lead guitarist. There were five members in my group. We used to record songs and I used to take active part in that activity. I used to tell my group members my opinions regarding the songs as well as their lyrics. Since our group also made songs, and I have good sense of poetry, I helped my group write the lyrics of the songs. Even now when my friends make a new song and record it, the first person they send its copy for a review and necessary alteration is me. This is because they believe in my abilities as a lyricist and trust me that I would give them honest advice. When I give advice, they change the songs accordingly. My style of leadership In the situation described above in which I help my friends in writing the lyrics of the songs or help them modify the lyrics they have written to make the songs perfect, I play the role of a servant leader. Robert Greenleaf coined the term “servant leader” in the 1970’s. Servant leader is a person that may not necessarily be formally identified as a leader. When an individual working at any level in an organization leads just by addressing the needs of the team, that person essentially plays the role of a servant leader. In my case, I used to meet the needs of my friends by giving them useful advice regarding their songs. Although by doing so, I helped them yet I was never recognized as a leader perhaps because I was their age and a friend to them. This made me their servant leader. A servant leader resembles a democratic leader in many ways since in such a leadership, the whole team plays a role in the decision-making. In my case, when I give my group advice, it is not compulsory for them to take it. Although my group members give a lot of value to my advice and consider it the most important in comparison to the advice given by other group members, yet the final decision primarily rests upon them since my main job in the group is to play the guitar rather than writing the lyrics. This way, it becomes clear that I do not assume the sole decision making power regarding lyrics in the group, yet I render my services at my level which makes me my group’s servant leader. I can also be considered an employee-centered leader. “[E]mployee-centered leaders display a focus on the human needs of their subordinates” (Daft, 2008, p. 48). Importance of servant leadership In the present age when people have to work in due collaboration and coordination with one another in all kinds of settings, the importance of servant leadership cannot be overemphasized. Servant leadership is important not only because it provides an individual with a way to help others, but also because this kind of leadership develops a lot of respect for the servant leader in the hearts of the followers. “A Servant-Leader lives, loves, and leads by conscience – the inward moral sense of what is right and what is wrong” (Sipe and Frick, 2009, p. 17). This fact is acknowledged and appreciated by the followers that the servant leader is doing a service to them without even being entitled or considered as a leader. This is essentially a down-to-earth behavior of the leader and the followers thus respect their leader. “Supporters of the servant leadership model suggest it is an important way ahead in a world where values are increasingly important, in which servant leaders achieve power on the basis of their values and ideals” (VectorStudy.com, 2008). As a result of this, a positive emotional bond is created between the leader and the followers which plays an important role in the achievement of the group’s goals and objectives. How I learnt the servant leadership skills I believe that leadership skills and traits are in-born to some extent and learnt to some extent also. I am by nature a very helpful person. I like helping people whenever I can. This gives me moral satisfaction and has also played an important role in building my social network. So my helpful nature is an in-born trait that makes me a servant leader. In addition to that, I have also learnt leadership skills by playing different kinds of games in which leadership skills are required to win. I learnt different styles of leadership skills from games like Battlefield3 and Dota2. Conclusion In the case discussed in this paper, I have played the role of a servant leader. A servant leader is somebody who helps others in their tasks and is often not given the title of or considered a leader as such. Servant leadership is a very good kind of leadership because it fosters strong connection and affiliation between the leader and the followers. Servant leadership also gives the leader moral satisfaction because he does things to help others rather than to gain power and status of a leader. References: Daft, RL 2008, The Leadership Experience, USA: Thomson South-Western. Rost, JC 1993, Leadership for the 21st Century, USA: Praeger Publishers. Sipe, JW, and Frick, DM 2009, Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership: Practicing the Wisdom of Leading by Serving, New Jersey: Paulist Press. VectorStudy.com 2008, Leadership Types, [Online] Available at http://www.vectorstudy.com/management_topics/types_of_leadership.htm [accessed: 11 December 2012]. Read More