Leadership is simply the process of directing the followers to a specified goal. Leading can be known as a managerial task. But it is not only related to the management subject. Leadership is a widespread concept. A leader is one or more people who selects, equips, trains, and influences one or more followers who have diverse gifts, abilities, and skills and focuses the followers to the organization's mission and objectives causing the followers to willingly and enthusiastically expend spiritual, emotional, and physical energy in a concerted coordinated effort to achieve the organizational mission and objectives. Actually leadership is a skill which is developed within an individual. Leaders are directing, motivating and inspiring his team to achieve their team goals. Leaders are not the managers. Every manager can not be a leader. According to the management aspect leaders have to establish a vision with imaginative ideas, help others to understand the vision, inspire them and produce a change.Organizations need strong leadership and strong management for optimal effectiveness. We need leaders today to challenge the status quo, create visions of the future, and inspire organizational members to want to achieve the visions.
When it comes to leadership skills and qualities are very important. There are so many skills and qualities to be developed to become a good leader. Some of the common leadership skills are decision making, risk managing, self-motivation, communication, organizing and positive thinking. Personality is a significant factor of a leader. Because personality helps a lot to inspire the team members. There are many researches regarding leadership on the two topics Leaders are born and Leaders are made. Trait approach is a research about Leaders are born. The research by Ohio state studies University of Michigan is on Leaders are made. But if we consider all the points in both and match with great leaders in the past and in the current world it is so clear that some are born leaders while other leaders are made.
Leaders can be categorized into many types. According to Kurt Lewin the main leadership styles are Autocratic, Democratic and Lassize-faire style. Autocratic leaders are giving commands to the team while controlling the members. They put a hard effort on the task given to the team. Democratic leaders encourages the participation of the team members and they are concerning about both the people and task. Lassize-faire leaders pay less attention on bot task and people. They are giving supervision and less feedbacks.
There are so many great leaders in all the parts of the world but some of the leaders had not influence only on their own countries but on the world. The top five influential leaders who transformed the world are Mahathma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr. , Abraham Linchon and Mother Theresa. In the modern world Barak Obama, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Pope Francis, Angela Merkel and Waren Buffet can known as some famous great leaders.
Everybody can be a leader if they truly wants to become a good leader. For that first have a dream and then work hard towards that dream. You will come across so many obstacles during the journey but face them strongly. Then one day you will be a successful leader. At last leadership can be summarized by a statement of Covey (2004:47) 'Leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall'.
References
Covey, S.R. (2004) The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, Anniversary edition, United States: Free Press
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