Leadership Report Examples

In this work, I want to show how I understand leadership based on the information I have learned in class and through additional reading. In particular, among the works and personalities that shaped my understanding of leadership was Abraham Lincoln. The theme of leadership is relevant today in many areas of life: business, politics, sports. If we compare the different definitions, we can state that leadership is a way to influence and control. For many, leader - is a person, looking forward, guiding people and moving them to the goal.
What is different from an ordinary person in an effective leader? Many scientists are dealing with this issue for quite some time. Great Man theory - is one of the most well-known and simple answers to this question. Its supporters - historians, political scientists, psychologists and sociologists - believe that a person who has a certain set of personality traits can be a good leader, regardless of the nature of the circumstances in which it all happens. The absolute embodiment of this theory is the notion of a charismatic leader whom surrounding people worship.
So what qualities should have modern leader? Robert Dilts in his book "Alpha Leadership" identifies the following key qualities of a leader:
Vision. A true leader is able to look ahead. He is able to foresee the future, see the prospects and, based on his vision, guide his team forward to the goal.
Motivation. The leader is able to stimulate him/herself and his/her team. In all, even the most desperate situations the leader believes that there is a way out. The leader must be able to inspire and motivate others to action.
Detection of weak signals (high sensitivity). The modern world is a world of change. An effective leader is attentive to changes in the external world, in his team, in himself. Ability to receive feedback and respond quickly to changes means being a half-step ahead of everyone.
Flexibility in behavior. The leader is able to respond quickly; in addition, he has different strategies of behavior. For each person there is one’s own approach and attempt to interact with it from the position of a win-win, where both sides get mutual benefit.
In addition, it is important for a leader to possess such qualities as purposefulness, systems thinking, courage, ambition, activity, curiosity, self-discipline.
In general, only on the basis of the personality traits, it is difficult to predict how good will be the leader of that person. Therefore, over time, researchers have begun to believe that it is not enough to consider only the personal characteristics. It is necessary to take into account the situation in which these traits are manifested. In this regard, there has become popular situational leadership theory of Fred Fiedler. This theory suggests that the effectiveness of a leader depends on how this leader can concentrate on problem or the relations, as well as on the extent to which he/she monitors and implements his influence on it. Fiedler proposed to divide all the leaders into two major kinds.
The ones of the first type of leadership are more focused on the task (task-oriented leader). They are more interested in the quality and speed of execution of work, feelings and relationships than his staff. The advantage of this kind is quick decision-making, which is required in many situations.
Representatives of the second type (relationship-oriented leader) are more centered on relationship between people and their feelings. They seek to increase efficiency by the way of improving relations between people: promote mutual help, allow subordinates to take part in important decisions, etc. Later it was found that some heads may be directed to both work and people.
According to Fiedler, none of these two kinds of leader can be more effective than another. Efficiency depends on the nature and the circumstances, in particular on what control degree the leader has and what his influence is on the members of the group.
Leaders oriented on task are most effective in situations with very high or very low control. In situations of medium degree of control, the most effective leaders are focused on relationships.
Leaders are not born, people become ones. Researchers believe that there is leadership potential in every person. The process of realizing their leadership potential begins with the ability to govern themselves, their condition and motivation. This is an internal leadership. It involves taking responsibility and the ability to keep the situation under control. In the next step, you can start to take the initiative in your hands in certain situations. Gradually, moving from simple to complex, they can develop their leadership skills and improve their efficiency.
An effective leader is someone who knows his/her individual characteristics (whatever they are), which may be useful to him/her as a leader, and use them wisely. Leadership issues for many organizations today are the key ones. Leader is not always the head, but always the one whose opinion is valuable to the team and whose is the final word. Current approaches to this problem focus on the ability of the leader to create a new vision and inspire employees to achieve high results.