Knowledge and critical thinking evaluation factors (55 points) �These are arranged by level of
difficulty (easiest to most difficult). Good to exceptional proficiency is expected in all factors at the
graduate level.
� Describes information: Accurately represents information from readings, scholarly articles, and
lectures.
� Comprehends: Correctly interprets and explains the meaning and relevance of ideas.
� Applies what has been learned: Effectively applies information to new situations or problems.
� Analyzes: Recognizes patterns, inconsistencies, assumptions, and issues and their potential
specific and broader implications.
Essentials of Leadership
Abstract
Leadership is one thing that people should understand well. This is because it is not as
easy as people may take it. The need to understand leadership properly is brought about by
the fact that there are essential aspects that have to be considered. To understand the
essentials of leadership, the qualities of a good leader will be discussed in this paper. Various
papers on essentials of leadership will be cited for emphasis purposes. The interaction
between a leader and his or her team is very crucial. This realization will help in highlighting
the qualities of a leader capable of driving him or her towards creating high level of team
work.
Introduction
Essentials of leadership enhance the development of leadership skills thus leading to a
higher performance of the organization through getting it from individuals. Managers find
most difficult and also challenging in their job since people are considered to be the most
honest and ordinary (Anderson, 2009). Success among leaders and organizations relies on
someone’s ability to get followers since they want to. For an individual to explore the skills of
effective leadership, one has to transform themselves into strategies and practical tools so as
to be able to meet the leadership demands. It is done through building teams, empowering
others, enhancing change and finding purpose.
Most leaders tend to build strong partnerships with their working partners, external
partners, and business peers. Leaders need to deliver adequate results so as to meet their
ESSENTIALS OF LEADERSHIP 3
expectations. Good leadership is described as all common sense because it is the basis of an
effective leadership style thus making it a myth. Many individuals do have pride on common
sense because they prefer using it in daily interactions with others. Common sense in
leadership is termed as an admirable attribute (Carson, 2007). Many successful leaders have
common sense since they can create an emotional value which leads to emotional
connections with other individuals. Leaders prefer common sense as emotional wisdom.
Leaders can sense and know what is wrong and right. For an effective leadership to be
established, passionate diligence is necessary. Since positive attitudes form interests. Leaders
can create determinable, powers and potentialities when they are ready to manifest the
organizational functions by the use of perception and reflection.
Leaders in a business context have views in implementing and devising the strategies
of an organization. The notions of a head give an enduring fascination so as to provide a
source of material thus being factual or fiction. The strategies of a leader are responsible for
pursuing and achieving the objectives of the business (Chan, 2001). Effective leaders have to
consider the strategic options through matching the organizational resources in the market by
looking for different approaches to forecasting the value of the policy options towards the
effectiveness of the people.
Business essentials involve commitment towards leadership and putting other things second.
For example, research by Korn and Ferrys revealed that the highest performing CIO’s who
are effective in embracing the ideas that need to be accomplished thus being achieving to
people. The other essential of leadership is that they have to think differently than everyone
else. It involves being a creative thinker and been complex. They have analytical skills for
coming up with the best solutions to their problems.
ESSENTIALS OF LEADERSHIP 4
It is worth noting that when leaders are effective, an organization benefits from the fact that
the skills displayed are very positive. It has severally being noted that when leaders are good,
they are able to display qualities which change positively with time. With good leadership, it
is always easy to identify the role of each person in an organization (Cote, 2010).
With Gallup strength Finders, it is easy to identify the necessary strategies that are
likely to drive an organization towards achieving its objectives. According to this leadership
model, the leadership skills are modeled around each individual in an organization (Emery,
2012).
As a leader, it is always important to ensure that only competent people constitute the
team in place. It is worth noting that with competent people in a team, a leader is always
successful in everything that he or she does. Therefore, proper selection of a team should be
carried out to ensure that no weak people are included. As a good leader, it is important to
display good leadership skills to the team members. This is always necessary for the purpose
of ensuring that as a team, uniform job language exists.
For a leader to succeed, it is important for him or her to bear in mind the things that
the workforce considers important. A good leader should never ignore the needs of the people
he or she has in the team. This is because workers who are not satisfied are not able to
deliver. With this in mind, it is important to have all the people in the team well understood in
terms of what they consider to be their needs. This comes with the need to understand the
things that are supposed to be done for the purpose of satisfying the workers. Therefore, a
leader should be able to give assistance to the members of his or her team.
For someone to be considered a good leader, there are various characteristics that he
or she has to display. One of the necessary qualities of a good leader is self-confidence. A
person has to be self-confident so that he or she may be considered to be a good leader. This
ESSENTIALS OF LEADERSHIP 5
should also be reflected in the characters of all team members. With self-confidence, a leader
is always able to go through limitations that occur in the line of duty. With self-confidence,
tackling challenging tasks becomes very easy for a leader. Secondly, leaders should be able to
communicate properly. Good communication is an aspect of leadership that should never be
ignored. It is through good communication that information is able to pass smoothly within a
team. Additionally, leaders should be able to pass the message of good communication skills
to the team members. Thirdly, good leaders need to be able to asses themselves properly.
Self-assessment is one thing that everyone who considers himself or herself to be a leader
should have. Self-assessment becomes useful when trying to control the system of leadership
in an organization. This quality gives a leader an opportunity to correct areas where his or her
leadership is not good. Another essential thing for good leadership is being a good guider. A
good leader should always be able to direct the team members properly when they want to
achieve something. A good leader should be systematic in the way he or she gives guidance.
It is good to give guidance to the team members in a way that is friendly. This is because the
friendliness will ensure that the message being passed is grasped properly. In the presence of
a good leader, nobody should be able to lose track regarding their jobs. This is because a
good leader should make guidance as work goes on.
At this point, leadership creates the emphasis of an organization through the creation
of products and services in order to survive in a particular marketplace. Leaders are always at
a point of devoting their full energies and strategies to their technical activities of marketing
and production. An organization is usually in its democratic state.
It involves developing strong leadership so that the group develops clear goals and
direction. Departmental organizations tend to establish a hierarchy of authority, division of
labor and job assignments. Employees are able to be identified according to the mission of
ESSENTIALS OF LEADERSHIP 6
the organization and its success. Managers in a lower level gain confidence in their functional
areas due to discretion.
Leaders install certain rules, procedures and control systems. The process of
communicating with others in the organization becomes less frequent and more formal. The
top-level management leaders are usually concerned with issues such as strategy and
planning thus leaving the operations of the firm to the middle management (Dries, 2012).
There is sufficient coordination and control of systems which enable the organization to
continue its fast growth through the establishment of mechanisms for the field units and top
management.
Leaders tend to develop skills for confronting problems and create the coordination of
working together. There is social control and self-discipline which reduces the need for
formal controls. Leaders are able to work within the bureaucracy in order to achieve
collaboration through the divisions of the organization. Such organizational divisions help in
maintaining the philosophy of the company (Felfe, 2014).
Leadership essentials involve the use of social characteristics such as commitment,
shared values, beliefs and traditions in order to control organizational behavior. Leaders who
tend to use clan control usually have in cultures which create emphasis in shared values and
trust among the staff (Amos, 2014). Clan control as an essential thing in leadership is an
important aspect in and since it enhances certainty, rules and regulations in order to be
committed towards the purpose of the organization and its social mission. Clan control
enables the leaders to act as mentors, role models and agents for transmitting positive values.
Clan control is often used in small and informal organizations whereby leaders are
usually committed to the purpose of the organization. Managers are required to maintain the
strong cultural values which support the organization. Clan control is an important aspect of
ESSENTIALS OF LEADERSHIP 7
leadership strategic planning at places where uncertainty is high, and the performance is hard
to measure. Clan control is very powerful in controlling leadership behavior of an individual.
Leadership essentials involve knowing and admitting the weaknesses and strengths in
developing the set of skills that make one become more active (Harms, 2007). Committed
leaders improve the weakness areas through their leadership development and asking for
feedback or help from others; thus acquiring the necessary skills for them to become effective
leaders. Leaders have assessment tools that help then in looking and examining their identity
in leadership skills and setting development goals.
Through peer support, leaders tend to gain perspectives in tackling leadership challenges.
Honesty is considered to be more important than trust. Without honesty in an
organization, then confidence is usually said not to be genuine. Honesty is an essential in an
organizational relationship among the employees and managers. They are vital components
which keep the link between the workers and the manager. Most managers are in
relationships with their employees. Simplicity in work helps in achieving what is necessary
for an organization since it creates the reality in each and every situation among the top level
managers and the bottom staff. Honesty and integrity are useful since they help in paving a
way for the greater performance in the organization. It attracts high and efficient performance
whereby it helps the organization in the realization of goals and achievements established in
order to accomplish their desires (Kellett, 2006). The business industry will be able to
produce high-quality products which are appropriate for the satisfaction of human wants.
Honesty needs to be maintained between the organization and the customers so as to get them
overwhelmed throughout their business moments and their interactions. Integrity and
morality are highly associated with making management success through the realization of
the important aspects needed to accomplish what is required for the development of the
business industry.
ESSENTIALS OF LEADERSHIP 8
Loyalty involves the approaches made by the customers towards buying the type of
products which are effective in a way to improve your customer’s retention levels. The high
value of creating in new business ideas should result to effective customer satisfaction which
enables the customers to have what they need in particular (Luria, 2013). The organization
should be able to develop certain loyalty schemes which are effective to increase customer
retention and also to improve the profitability. The fact that customers are satisfied should not
prevent the food industry from stopping them when they try to work with competitors. This is
because that might be their way of getting an extra coin.In order to increase loyalty, the
manager should recognize and reward their best customers (Serban, 2015). It is important for
organizations to have schemes that delight customers. The managers should allow the focus
on their best customers in order to improve their satisfaction level in their products. Increase
in loyalty leads to the increase in profitability and also the extent of time of the business to
grow and expand its levels. Loyal customers to the business industry are good for the food
business because they become the greatest advocates in saving the marketing costs.
Integrity is an important factor in the leadership industry through the optimisation of
commercial and operational performance. This ensures that the business objectives are
achieved within the business industry. Integrity helps in protecting honest companies thus
empowering them into taking decisions properly. The management of the business industry
provides itself with training facilities on leadership in the organization. It involves finding
new insights and perspectives on the certain roles of the management leadership and what it
takes to display good leadership in an organization (Mumford, 2015). Integrity enhances core
values which create more impact on how to manage the industry every day. The integral
leadership styles are important in ensuring that the performance of the organization is taken
to the highest points possible. Managers are able to have strong commitments in doing what
ESSENTIALS OF LEADERSHIP 9
is right and been assured that the working environment in the industry is well stable and
maintained thus productivity.
Achievement drive will enable me demonstrate higher performance than others who
are just qualified but lacking self-drive. I will make sure that the companies that make such
products that are for people that they are brought down. This will involve demonstrating my
skills in outstanding their opinions in ensuring that they process organic, healthy and
affordable products to the people (Murphy, 2011). The achievement drive will enable me
have the power of providing that the company has a competitive advantage over others in
producing adequate and reliable food to every individual.
The areas of development involve achievement drive, empathy, and connectedness.
Achievement drive refers to the powerful drive to complete a task to the best of one’s abilities
and frequently to become acknowledged and approved with the regards to reaching certain
important goals (Neubert, 2014). Empathy refers to the capacity to experience and relate to
the thoughts, experience and emotions of others. Connectedness refers to having professional
and social relationships, especially with highly influential powerful people. Harmony refers
to the peaceful expertise in a particular place
Harmony enables the manager to encourage open communication and establishing a
good working balance. It involves creating a peaceful environment so that the workers of the
food industry can be able to process quality food. The leadership skills towards harmony will
enhance expressing ideas and views as well as suggesting improvements in a great way of
achieving the best quality and affordable food prices which are effective for everyone.
Some of my weakness which occurs in management skills is that I am a perfectionist,
over analysis and trusting intuition too much. As a perfectionist a person refusesto accept the
standards short of perfection (Neubert, 2014). This will deprive my management skills by
ESSENTIALS OF LEADERSHIP 10
reducing the perfect way of seeing things in an appropriate manner. I won’t be able to give
the consumers the best quality products from the food industry since there will be the result
of producing low-quality products and only focusing on gaining high revenue rather than
producing high-quality products that will satisfy the consumers.
Conclusion
Leadership is one thing that should never be taken for granted by anyone. Nobody
should assume that leadership is all about occupying an office. Leadership should be about
demonstrating some form of character and skills. The skills should be able to foster a form of
leadership which creates positive effects to organizations. It is important for all people who
are in leadership to understand that there are very many essential aspects of leadership.
Nobody should go into leadership without considering all the required skills. All leaders
should be able to embrace continuous development in their skills. This is a sure way of
ensuring that their leadership skills keep on getting better on a daily basis. Each leader is
known to have various strengths. It is advisable for each leader to ensure that the strengths n
them are fully exploited. This is a sure way of ensuring that the potential is fully exploited
while the strengths last. On the other hand, leaders are known to have their weaknesses too.
Good leaders should ensure that no weaknesses exist in them for the purposes of fostering
growth. It is worth noting that whenever a leader embraces the essentials of good leadership,
chances of achieving objectives of a team becomes very smooth. Therefore, good leaders
should be very keen in the process of leadership to ensure that only the essentials to good
leadership are grown and controlled within a team.
ESSENTIALS OF LEADERSHIP 11
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