Custom essays on Characteristics and Classifications of Leadership

Leadership and Success
Contemporary leaders are success-oriented because the success is the major driver that helps leaders to reach positive effects in their work. At the same time, success is essential for the leader to gain respect of his or her subordinates. In other words, subordinates readily follow the lead of a successful leader than the lead of a leader, who has suffered from substantial failures in his or her work in the past. Success of a leader enhances his or her charisma and makes people following the leader.
On the other hand, leadership may be successful only on the condition of the effective cooperation between the leader and his or her subordinates. In such a situation, the leader should be capable to perform his or her functions properly through the development of positive relations with his or her subordinates. In this regard, leaders can use democratic leadership style along with transformational leadership can develop the effective relations with his or her subordinates. In such a way, a leader should be able to adapt to needs and expectations of his or her subordinates.
Otherwise, a leader can develop the authoritarian leadership style, which can help the leader to take control over the organization and his or her subordinates and lead them to success with his or her firm hand. However, in the contemporary business environment, the authoritarian leadership cannot always lead to success. In fact, this leadership style can lead the organization to success in the time of changes, while, in a long-run perspective. The leader should adapt to the cultural background of his or her subordinates and develop a flexible leadership style that meets the cultural background of his or her subordinates.
B. The psychology of leadership
The psychology of leadership plays an important part in the contemporary leadership. In this regard, specialists distinguish different psychological characteristics of leaders, such as charisma, adaptability to the changing environment, flexibility, and communication skills. In such a way, the leader should combine firmness in decision making process and, at the same time, the leader should be flexible enough to help his or her subordinates to feel comfortable in the organization. A leader can be effective, if he or she manages to understand his or her subordinates. Moreover, a leader should find effective ways to develop positive relations with his or her subordinates. In such a way, a leader can get psychological keys to his or her subordinates and to develop effective interaction and communication with his or her subordinates.
C. New opportunities of Leadership
At the same time, the contemporary business environment opens new opportunities for leadership. To put it more precisely, specialists (Dessler, 2004) point out that contemporary leaders operate in the culturally diverse environment. Therefore, they have ample opportunities to experiment and to develop their own, unique leadership styles, which are effective in the specific environment of their organization. In this regard, flexibility is probably the key to success of a leader because a stubborn leader, who has one, unchangeable leadership style, can hardly succeed in a long-run perspective. In contrast, a leader, who is capable to adapt to new environment, can be successful because he or she can change his or her leadership style depending on his or her environment.