- 07/04/2013
- Posted by: essay
- Category: Free essays
Perspectives of Leadership
Today, leadership opens wide perspectives for the professional and personal development of leaders and their success. In fact, leaders can take responsibility for the organizational performance and organizational success. At the same time, along with the opportunity to reach success, leaders should be conscious of their responsibility for their organization and subordinates. Contemporary leaders cannot put their interests above interests of their subordinates. In this regard, it is possible to refer to the notorious example of Enron, when leaders neglected interests of stakeholders and their subordinates for the sake of their personal well-being. Obviously, contemporary leaders should be responsible and democratic enough to eliminate barriers between them and their subordinates. In fact, this is the main way to their success as leaders.
B. Advantages of Leadership
At the same time, leadership grants individuals with a number of advantages. They have a large authority, often larger than the authority of average managers, who do not have leadership skills. In this regard, it is important to stress that leaders should have not only the authority as leaders but also some formal authority, for instance, they should take the managerial position in their organizations to work effectively. Moreover, leadership allows leaders to shape the vision of their organization’s development and lead the organization and subordinates to set vision and goals.
Conclusion
Thus, contemporary leadership is a complex concept. Leaders should elaborate the leadership style that matches their personal inclinations, traits of characters, skills and abilities. At the same time, leaders should be good managers as well. Otherwise, they will be unable to lead their subordinates effectively. On the other hand, leaders should be flexible enough to meet needs and expectations of their subordinates.
References
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Dessler, G. (2004). Management: principles and practices for tomorrows’ leaders (3rd ed.). New Jersey: Upper Saddle River.
Hesselbein, F. and P. M. Cohen. (1999). Leader to leader. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Maak, Th. and N. M. Pless. (2006). “Responsible Leadership in a Stakeholder Society – A Relational Perspective.” Journal of Business Ethics, 66(1), 99-115.
McKee, R. (2003). “Storytelling That Moves People.” Harvard Business Review, 81, 5-8.
Murray, A. (2011). “Leadership Styles.” Wall Street Journal.
Northouse, P. G. (2001). Leadership theory and practice, second edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Sullivan, W. M. (2004). Work and Integrity: The Crisis and Promise of Professionalism in America. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Wade, M. (2006). “Developing Leaders for Sustainable Business.” in Th. Maak and N. M. Pless (eds), Responsible Leadership, New York: Roudedge, pp. 227-244.
Walton, S. and J. Huey. (1996). Sam Walton: Made in America: My story. Canada: Bantam Books.
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