Qualities of a Great Leader - Essay Example

QUALITIES OF A GREAT LEADER By Student’s Name Student ID Course Title Professor’s Name City and State Date Qualities of a Great Leader Leadership is a quality that each individual ought to possess. At some point in one’s life they will have to lead another. The child is led by the parent up to that point when the parent is weak or cannot help himself, does the child step up to the task. Leadership has had its fair share of studies in past as in the present. Many companies have hired consultants and organized or attended conferences on how to become a better leaders (Hays & Kim 2012, p. 34). With the advancement of technology and the speed with which information is shared, people have even relied on online applications and a set of questions, based on scientific study that will assess your leadership skills. More than any other time, we have reached an age when leadership skills is an essential value that one ought to cultivate. However, people have always been relying on the aspects of leadership passed from generation to generation. In fact, the software applications have managed to integrate some of these views and formed the application to assess one’s skills (Hays & Kim 2012, p. 34). However, at this age, one cannot rely on such software. One has to move and advance in the same manner as the world. The shifting speed of technology is the direct impact of the diverse and rapid change the world is continuously evolving into. For this reason, one cannot be the ideal leader in the 21st century by relying on the traditional skills. One has to change. Leadership that thrives at the present is the kind that conforms to the current parameters and forces. One has to adapt. This study focuses on the central issue of leadership and how one can be an influential leader at of the 21st century. One can then project those values in business and any other field of interest. The central issue that one has to understand before embracing today’s leader is identify the old version of leadership (Latchem & Hanna 2001, p.83). By knowing, identifying and acknowledging the past’s deficiencies, one can make the giant leap of becoming the ideal leader. However, the current information cannot do much to bring out the fundamental principles of the present age leader. For this reason, a critical study of the past type of a leader can serve as the appropriate platform for the development of leader. The leaders in the past would rely on strategy. This is no different from the current leader. However, in the past, one would stick to one strategy that has always brought progress. The problem with this technic is that the parameters are never going to be the same. If one used strategy 1.0 to correct problem 1.0, the surrounding conditions favoured the proper execution of the strategy at that time. The mantra that ‘change is constant’ is inevitable for everything, down to the cellular and atomic state. A strategy is only as good as its constant review and revision (Latchem & Hanna 2001, p.83). The past leaders would only have an enclosed circle of people to rely on. Leaders at that time would never put their trust in others. They assumed that people were always out to get back at them, that people would always want to stall their progress. The solution to such discrepancies would be to have a small circle of trust. This principle applied to leaders of the past. One would have to change the rules of the game if one wanted to reach out to the masses. One also needs to realise that there will always be a barrage of people hell-bent on seeing other people fall down. The central point of focus is what one does in spite of these allegations. The final aspect is the courage to embrace the new type of leader. These are the three aspects that we will be focusing on in this study. The first area of focus is anticipation. What does one anticipate in the field that one is currently in (Llopis 2015, p.3). As earlier stated, leaders of the past would have to rely on previous strategy to succeed in their endeavours. Even such leaders can attest to the uncertainty of this decision. They would have to bank on luck to succeed. In the present, you can manipulate luck to work to your benefit. Such leaders would have others commenting how luck favours them. Presently, the saying ‘Fortune favours the bold’ is more applicable than even in being a successful leader in the 21st century. One needs to look at his schedule and plan accordingly. Time management is of the essence. The kind of people that one interacts with will generate the potential to use various approaches in one’s tenure as a leadership. What one spends time doing most should be constructive. One should not dwell on the obligatory aspect of a duty. These should be completed promptly and immediately, one should move to the developing aspects and duties. One can progress as a leader by checking the kind of people that he constantly interacts with, the kind of entertainment he prefers, the appointments he makes, the books he reads and the discipline to stick to one’s schedule. After doing all these, one should then anticipate what to come. Anticipation is vital to one’s progress (Llopis 2015, p.3). Anticipation prepares and makes one act in the presence of a situation and not just react (Llopis 2015, p.3). The second aspect to look into is the network of people that one hangs around (Llopis 2015, p.4). The leaders of the past would have a small circle of trustworthy men that they could bank on to spearhead his leadership tenure. To such a person, the common person can denote that the leader is insecure and thinks twice before giving people a chance to showcase their abilities. Limited connection limits the development and growth of a leader. One needs to only look at South Africa. Rosalinde Torres talks of how Nelson Mandela’s leadership was milestones in advancement at the time when he led the country into independence. He evaluated the political, social and economic impact that certain decisions would have on the country. He would then streamline the country to work together, bother the oppressors and the oppressed to achieve a common goal. Nelson Mandela understood the importance of developing a diverse network of people. Trust is what leaders should inculcate in others by expressing it themselves. Trust and honesty of one’s deeds will expand the nexus of people that one interacts with. With diversity comes the rich integration of aspects that would never been achieved individually. The different sets of minds can give various angles at looking at things that can lead to a 3600 understanding of a problem. Such people will assist in the anticipation process of a venture and give a string of possible solutions. Having this trust in people will also generate a mutual trust for the leader (Hbs.edu 2008, n.pag). The final aspect is courage. One needs to have to courage to leave the strategy that one has been using in the past and embrace a new one. It is difficult for people to just discard the principles that they have been relying on for years to bring them to the position they are in currently. One should see that the strategy that they relied on in the past is one that reacts to situations instead of acting (Hbs.edu 2008, n.pag). Reaction takes out the first aspect that the 21st century leader should always have in mind: anticipation. “Great leaders are not heads down. Great leaders see around corners, shaping the future, not just reacting to it.” (Torres 2014, n.pag). Rosalinde Torres describes how current times dictate how people will always attempt to water down one’s ideas as stupid and time-wasteful. The diverse people that one will have formed will enable the leader to understand the approach in various ways and bring out the sides that the ‘nay-sayers’ never evaluated. Great leaders not only talk about risk taking, they do it (Lindgren 2012, p. 75). They are daring. They have to embrace the idea and put it into application. All factors at play in all fields and changing at an intense rate (Lindgren 2012, p. 75). Sticking to one strategy will render on redundant. One will have to change constantly. This step needs courage. With time, it becomes second to nature for one to boldly address issues. They will also not slacken to expand the venture to the international level, as such advances need courage. In conclusion, one needs to understand both types of leaders. By knowing the past type of a leader and the values they implemented, one can avoid treading the same path. By knowing the essentials of forming the current leader, one can culture them into his being. Essentially, one ought to anticipate at the present, develop the relevant network and courageously address the uncertain future. The comfort of the past is not an option for leaders of today. They have to always change. List of References Hays, J, M, & Kim, C, 2012, Transforming leadership for the 21st century, [United States], Xlibris Corporation. Hbs.edu, 2008, Leadership for the 21st Century: A Roundtable Discussion with Charlie Rose - The Global Business Summit - Harvard Business School, [online] Available at: http://www.hbs.edu/centennial/businesssummit/leadership/leadership-for-the-21st-century.html [Accessed 1 Sep. 2015]. Latchem, C, R, & Hanna, D, E, 2001, Leadership for 21st century learning: global perspectives from educational innovators, London, Kogan Page. Lindgren, M, 2012, 21st century management making people dance in the thought economy. London, Palgrave Macmillan. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10603464 [Accessed 31 Aug. 2015]. Llopis, G, 2015, Six Characteristics Define 21st Century Leadership, [online] Forbes, Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2015/04/01/six-characteristics-define-21st-century-leadership/ [Accessed 1 Sep. 2015]. Torres, R, 2015, What it takes to be a great leader, [online] Ted.com, Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/roselinde_torres_what_it_takes_to_be_a_great_leader [Accessed 26 Aug. 2015]. Read More