Political Entity Like A Country Or State - Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Explain On Political Entity Like A Country Or State? Answer: Introduction A leader may be defined as a person who supervises and guides others within a community, an organisation, or a political entity like a country or state. The attitude of leadership is incepted with the innate desire and determination to inspire and mentor others towards a common goal. Life presents many chances to buckle up and take charge of the matter at hand, or similarly, to recede into the background. A comprehensive idea of leadership and its myriad aspects is a requisite for anyone wishing to take life by the scruff of the neck and succeed in his field of work or business. This essay aims at observing and analyzing some of the qualities of leadership that aspiring persons might find necessary to develop. Discussion The term leadership cannot be bound to suggest people holding immense power. Anyone who inspires and drives his colleagues or companions forward qualifies as a leader. Hence, the head-man of a group of colliers or a chieftain of a tribal community is as much a leader as were Mahatma Gandhi and Winston Churchill. This essay is however concerned more on the various theories and models of leadership, in correlation to the modern world of MNCs and business tycoons. Trait Theory Trait theories of leadership suggest that successful leaders have particular traits or aspects that segregate them from their subordinated and from poor leaders. Up to the Second World War, phrases like his purpose in life is only to become a leader or she is a naturally-born leader were prevalent in the society (Northouse, 2015). It was believed that individuals could be suitable for leadership if they displayed any of the following traits, and that such traits could be taught (Furnham, 2005). Furnham contends that good leaders generally have traits like perseverance, innovation, and the ability to bear the entire weight of their actions. Yuki marks some features of good leaders like a high stress-tolerance, self-confidence, emotional maturity, motivation and personal integrity (Yuki, 2013). Zaccaro defines trait leadership as combined patterns of personal traits that portray a series of individual differences and build up steady leader effectiveness across an array of organisational and institutional stages. He proposes that leadership traits can be classified into two major categories- demographic vs. task competence vs. interpersonal; and, distal against proximal characteristics (Zaccaro, 2007). Task Competence versus Demographic versus Interpersonal Considering demography, gender is most focused on regarding leadership; however most scholars regard male and female leaders as equally capable. Task competence deals with how different individuals with varying aptitudes go about the planning and execution of tasks (Bass Bass, 2008). Interpersonal attributes analyses how one handles social interactions, in correlation to traits like extroversion and agreeableness. Distal vs. Proximal In recent years, scholars have subverted from considering only distal, i.e. trait-like characters of leaders to the proximal, i.e. malleable or state-like differences in expertise and knowledge. This helps address the question of whether the quality of leadership is inherited or acquired. Proximal contrasts reveal that the qualities and traits of effective and non-effective leaders are not impervious to time; insinuating that they can be imbibed and developed over the curse of ones life and career. It is observed that proximal differences of personal and social aptitudes like problem-solving, management, oral and written communication, and decision-making can strongly be correlated with leadership efficiency (Hoffman et al., 2011). Tri-leadership Model Zaccaro even designed a model called the tri-leadership model to better explain leadership traits and their effect on leader-performance. The model is based on two main premises- the first, considering leadership as a combination of multiple traits instead of independent analysis of traits; the second, contending that leadership-traits vary in their proximal effect of leadership (Zaccaro, 2007). Another successful model emergent from leadership literature and theories is the Integrated Model of Leader Traits, Behaviors, and Effectiveness; which fuses behaviour and traits in examining the relationship between aspects of leadership and their efficiency (Derue et al., 2011). Transactional and Transformational Leadership Yet another way to classify the qualities of leadership is to segregate the term based on transactional and transformational leaders. Transactional leadership may be explained as a contractual agreement between the supervisor and a worker where the former attains his goal by granting some kind of bonus or incentive desirable to the employee (Furnham, 2005). This form seems little concerned with personal qualities of the leader and instead, seeks to design structures and systems to enable the sharing of resources and information. It is however necessary as some steps need to be taken without the subordinates debating or objecting to plans (Bryman et al., 2011). Transformational leadership has evolved from the rudiments of transactional leadership; it has four added featurescharisma and a positive influence implying that the leader is respected and looked up to, intellectual enhancement, motivation, and cognizance of the individual differences of workers (McKenna, 2006). Subordinates, if loved and respected back by their leader, are bound to boost up their performance and productivity which aid competitive stance of the company. Hence, old conservative ideas about how a leader should boss around and exploit his workers need to give way to innovative ideas like transformational leadership. Charismatic Leaders As already stated, one of the principal requisites for transformational leadership is charisma; some leaders by virtue of their appeal and characteristic magnetism, are referred to as charismatic leaders. Charisma, the ability to influence followers to the extent of considering the collective goal as their personal aspiration, is one key feature that connects great leaders through the course of history; ranging from Julius Caesar, Prophet Mohammed, George Washington, Mao Zedong to Nelson Mandela. All of them had the intrinsic ability to motivate and inspire their followers to achieve unimaginable results. J. Choi defines charismatic leadership as the possession of three principal qualitiesforesight and planning, creative thinking, and empathy towards colleagues and their empowerment (Choi, 2006). Additional traits include positive energy, self-consciousness, and openness to new ideas, as proposed by McKenna (McKenna, 2006). Real-life Instances To put all this theory into a real-life perspective, mention can be made of some of the most successful leaders of the modern age, where quantitative and financial factors overbear aspects like aesthetics and humanity. Howard Schultz, for instance, was born into a Jewish family of limited means in 1953 in New York. Starting out as a salesman for Xerox Corporation, he worked his way up the corporate order by virtue of his visionary and leadership skills. His efforts culminated in his appointment as the CEO of Starbucks, one of the leading cafe-chains in the world. A leader in the truest sense of the term, Schultz is the primary force behind a $ 3 billion fortune for Starbucks and the creation of more than 300,000 jobs across the world. The essence of transformational and charismatic is palpable in one of his interviews by CNBC, where he says -- "If you dream small dreams, you may succeed in building something small. For many people, that is enough. But if you want to achieve widesprea d impact and lasting value, be bold." (Clifford, 2017). Another fitting example would be Steve Jobs, the late co-founder and CEO of Apple, who started out by selling computer peripherals from a garage-store in Los Angeles. Although his means were limited, his vision and dreams were of stellar proportions. Along with the inherent determination to realize his goals, Jobs can be considered as the very epitome as a successful leadership skills. Today, Apple is the largest company of information technology in the world by revenue; and the second-largest manufacturer of mobile phones in the global market, after Samsung. In 2015, Apple became the first American company to have a net worth $700 billion. Up to October 2016, the company has created 116,000 full-time jobs; and maintains 498 retail stores in twenty two countries across the world, till July 2017. Critical Opinion However, in the real world, there lies a vast chasm between aspiration and achievement; between theory and practice; and between planning and execution. Such sophisticated and futuristic theories and models of leadership management are not without their shortcomings as well. Trait leadership has often been dubbed as too simplistic and futile to survive the tests of the competitive world of trade and commerce (Chemers, 2014). Scholars have suggested that this form of leadership deals mainly with how leader efficiency is interpreted by subordinates and, rather than focusing on the leaders actual proficiency in his field of work (Colbert et al., 2012; Judge et al., 2008). Conclusion Taking full note of the hurdles in the way in relation to the positive factors of trait leadership, scholars have proposed a number of implementation strategies with respect to human resource development within organisations. Qualities like conscientiousness, extroversion, and agreeableness are more likely to create better and efficient leaders (Judge et al., 2008). Narcissism, on the contrary, is a character trait that needs to be explored by HR executives with respect to finding its useful and detrimental effect on creating leaders. Leadership development programmes by HR executives can also incept and foster the qualities of leadership among both officers and employees in an organisation. Only by creating a consummate understanding of leadership and its multiple aspects, can an organisation or institution strive to find an able leader, suited to propel them in the right direction. The same is applicable in the subjective scenario, where an individual feels motivated and determined to grow and mature into a successful leader- one that focuses more than creating jobs and new opportunities rather than mere money-making. References Bass, B. M. Bass, R. (2008). The Bass handbook of leadership: Theory, research, and managerial applications (4th ed.). New York: Free Press. Bryman,A., Collinson, D., Grint, K., Jackson, B. and Uhl-Bien, M. (2011). The Sage Handbook of Leadership. London: Sage. Chemers, M. (2014).An integrative theory of leadership. Psychology Press. Choi, J. (2006). A motivational theory of charismatic leadership: Envisioning, empathy, and empowerment.Journal of Leadership Organizational Studies,13(1), 24-43. Clifford, C. (2017).Cnbc.Com. 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