Good Leader's Qualities - Essay Example

Good Leader Leadership refers to act of controlling, motivating and guiding a group of individuals towards a goal or objective; to influence people towards the accomplishment of a mission. Leadership and management are inter-linked; being able to manage things well is one of the basic qualities that a leader requires and 'leading' is one of the basic management functions. The four basic management functions are planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Good leaders are not always born, they are made - this can be done by a constant process of training, self-study, education and experience. Not every leader follows the same pattern; there are different leadership styles that are adopted for success. However, all leaders possess certain common qualities that help them to perform their role. If an organization has proper leaders with a vision that they can articulate and implement in various situations, their management is considered to be well-organized (Hesburgh, N.D). These are the essentials for an organization to succeed and reach new heights. The position of the managers, supervisor, lead etc. does not make a leader; it simply makes you the boss. A boss is the one who just assigns tasks for everyone; while a leader motivates each and everyone to achieve those goals and make them want to do a certain task given (Hakala, 2008). Leaders also do not restrict the employees or people working under them to follow the certain method prescribed by them; they give them a chance to brainstorm and use a method that is mutually beneficial for them and the organization. This augments the intellectual capabilities of the employees and the thrill of choosing to do whatever method they want, as far as it is appropriate, motivates them and increases not only their efficiency and productivity, but also their devotion and commitment to the organization. No doubt, a company is run by the company heads, CEOs, Managing Directors followed by general managers or department heads, but the work that is to be performed is to be carried out by the employees to a very large extent. Therefore, once their confidence and loyalty for the company is gained with enough stimulation within them, a company can run very smoothly and flourish in the future. The core functions of management are planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Planning is to develop and design the goals of the company depending upon the objectives; organizing is to divide and assign tasks to every worker depending upon his rank; leading is to monitor employees and motivate them in different capacities required; and controlling is to bring about the change required within the management for the improvement of the company's performance. Thus, we can judge that leadership is a very crucial part of management. A company can be well-structured and reap profits if proficient leadership is available. It is a concept that good management is to resolve problems; however, good management is to be able to resolve problems in such a way that they are prevented in the future (Reh, 2006). If each problem is tackled following this pattern, an unsuccessful business can surely transform into a successful one. A good leader is expected to have certain qualities that benefit the organization directly or indirectly. Integrity is an important quality of a leader - the inner values and the outward actions are the same, that is, there is no hypocrisy involved. This will result in honest dealings that will augment the goodwill of a company, making it popular. A leader needs to be dedicated to his company; his passion and commitment to the company will motivate him to make arduous efforts for the enhancement of the company. Magnanimity is critical because the leader tends to give the credit for a good performance to the deserving person. Such rewards and acknowledgements becomes and incentive for the employees to struggle and work harder, indirectly benefiting the company. A leader should be down to earth and should have humility - this will prevent him to self-centered and create a friendly and generous atmosphere to work in. It is vital for a leader to be open to new ideas, not only does he need to be innovative and creative himself, but also have the patience and interest to listen to contributions by other members and pass and appropriate judgment in the end (Hakala, 2008). A leader needs to be fair and just; otherwise, a lot of tension and bad blood within the organization because of which people become reluctant to work passionately for the company. A leader needs to be assertive, not aggressive - he needs to be able to put his point across in a manner that will guarantee the fulfillment of goals without being rude or bossy. Lastly, a good sense of humor is always beneficial as it lightens the atmosphere and creates a welcoming, pleasant and sociable environment to work in. Humor not only energizes people to work more efficiently but also reduces forthcoming hostilities (Hakala, 2008). Therefore, it is easy to see how the possession of these qualities is not only important for the leader but also the company. A leader needs to be an adventurous person who loves taking risks with a positive approach. He, however, is somebody who properly assesses the risk before taking it and knows what he is getting himself and the company into. A leader always experiments with new things and does not hesitate in doing so. Experimenting is always good for a company because it then figures out what methodology is best for them, learns from mistakes and experiences innovation (Blake, Robert R. and Mouton, 1985). By far the most significant value of a leader is articulation - he should be able to communicate his point effectively and efficiently. No matter how brilliant a man is, if he cannot express his thoughts and ideas, he is useless for an organization. There are four different types of leaders - Authoritarian Leader (Great amount of work done according to strict guidelines with less time spent on relationship building), Team Leader (A good amount of work by the provision of positive examples and proper team building and concentration on strong bonding), Country Club (Same as a Team Leader, except he uses rewards as an incentive) and lastly Impoverished Leader (They assign tasks and then detach themselves from the team allowing them to do whatever they wish; this is least favorable of all). There are various different leadership styles as well such as, charismatic, servant, participative, situational, transactional, transformational, autocratic, bureaucratic, democratic, people-oriented, task-oriented, environmental and the quiet leader (Kouzes and Barry Z., 1987). Which style is implemented basically depends on the type of organization. A good leader is one who can manage the company well using the certain skills that he possess by following any of the leadership styles appropriate for the company. A leader is often the manager himself - a manager is expected to possess all the qualities of a leader and guide the organization towards the goals and success. A firm can overcome many problems if the manager plans, organizes, leads and controls in such a way that the problem is not just resolved but also prevented in the future. A manager should be approachable and influential enough to motivate the employees as they are the ones performing the core tasks. Therefore, we can conclude that the key to success for an organization is proficient management. Works Cited 1. David Hakala (2008), The Top 10 Leadership Qualities, HR World. Accessed from http://www.hrworld.com/features/top-10-leadership-qualities-031908/ 2. F. John Reh (2006), Good Management Is Predictive Management Not Reactive Management, John's Management Blog. Accessed from http://management.about.com/b/2006/06/12/good-management-is-predictive-management-not-reactive-management.htm 3. Don Clark (n.d) Leadership. Accessed from http://www.nwlink.com/donclark/leader/leadcon.html 4. Blake, Robert R. and Mouton (1985), The Key to Leadership Excellence; Gulf Publishing Co. 5. Kouzes and Barry Z. (1987), The Leadership Challenge, Jossey-Bass Read More