Sample Leadership Essay

Leadership Experience Essay examples
Iana Lukina
What did I learn from my leadership class?
There are lots examples of organizations in which everything seems to be done right, but
something is still missing. They have no soul. There is nothing that can breathe life into the
administrative system. They exist without faith, love, and hope. They are doomed to such a gray
existence, unless there is a person or a team of associates who discover the essence and meaning in
this frozen system. Such a person is called a leader and a role in which he operates – leadership. How
do people become leaders? With experience, with age or from birth?
In order to rise to the top, you need to have everything to climb. A person, who has the courage to
go forward or up, needs two things. He...show more content...
The second thing is to organize and motivate yourself. I understand how to give myself the best
chance to flourish. We can make leaders from ourselves. But the main thing here is that by
changing myself, I must always stay myself. You do not need necessary to wear a mask of who
you want to be, even if you really want it. It will not lead to good results; you will only inflate
your cheeks instead of an objective assessment of your capabilities. We need to use the full power of
all the energy, talents and abilities that are given to us.
There is no need to wait for the results from reading popular psychological literature with the
promising titles like "Leader for the Week", "How quickly to become a millionaire" and etc.,
biographies of "famous and successful." Moreover it will not be useful to visit courses, where
self–styled psychologists, of course, for a large fee, are teaching people how to become successful.
Objective assessment of yourselves, your capabilities, coupled with self–development and a clear
statement of purpose – that is what is needed.
In order to analyze my drawbacks, to accept them (which is itself a step forward) and to uproot it, I
find out the following methods: * Talk with my own inside critic. We need to listen to his comments
on others and ourselves and objectively contradict him. And even better to have a notebook in which
to write down everything he tells you. I should step back and look
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Leadership Traits Essay example
Leadership Traits
As a growing debate, the question at hand is whether great leaders are born with specific leadership
traits, or if one can be taught certain traits over time. According to (Wikipedia.com) the approach of
listing leadership qualities, often termed "trait theory of leadership", assumes certain traits or
characteristics will tend to lead to effective leadership. I believe that leadership traits such as honest,
competent, initiative, inspiring, hardworking, intelligent, and the ability to lead the masses, are
some of the leadership traits one should possess. Within this paper, I will examine the overall
concept of leadership traits, while observing the traits that were, or can be associated with successful
leaders....show more content...
Leadership is an action not a position. With the proper personality, a leader can accomplish many
things like knowledge of the organization. Being able to handle all type of situations shows great
leadership traits. According to (Hughes, Ginnett, and Curphy) the adjustment dimension of the Five
Factor Model of Personality "is concerned with how people react to stress, failure, or personal
criticism" and it is important for leaders to develop their response to this dimension. Leader trait
research examined the physical, mental, and social characteristics of individuals. In general, these
studies simply looked for significant associations between individual traits and measures of
leadership effectiveness. Physical traits such as height, mental traits such as intelligence, and social
traits such as personality attributes were all subjects of empirical research. (LEADERSHIP
THEORIES AND STUDIES)
When reflecting throughout America's history, two people in particular exemplified the essence of
true leadership traits, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela. While others displayed a vast
variety of traits, Martin Luther King Jr. as well as Nelson Mandela displayed traits of leadership
that stood the test of time, and while today, their traits still influence, as well as affect people in
today's society. Throughout his time as political activist, as well as South Africa's first African
President, Nelson Mandela's

Motivation and Leadership Essay
Motivation and Leadership are intrinsically linked in the fact that one allows an easement in the
process of the other. Without the ability to use the mutual relationship of leadership to influence
the motivators of followers, leaders stagnate and are limited by their own inability to accomplish
all that must be for real change to occur. In less Rostonian terms (that is, based on Rost (1993)),
without a motivated group of followers leaders are stranded and not achieving to a level of
excellence. This paper will discuss some areas of importance for motivation in leadership as well as
an application to leadership theory and a discussion on personal motivators. Motivation is the reason
or purpose behind action, or what causes one to act in...show more content...
Osland, et al. (2007) provide a good introduction to three basic motivational content theories. The
first theory is Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs that proposes man is motivated by a lack in the one or
more of the five common needs. The needs that Maslow identifies are physiological, safety, social
belonging, self–esteem, and self–actualization. Maslow believed that one fills needs from the most
basic (like food and water) to the highest level (self–actualization). Maslow's ideas are easy to relate
to and attempt to provide an all–inclusive approach to the concept of motivation; however, there is
little evidence to support the idea that man cannot have self–actualization without the other more
basic needs first satisfied. The second content theory Osland, et al. discuss is McCelland's learned
needs. McCelland states that man is motivated by one of three things: achievement, power, or
affiliation – or a mixture of the three. Each of these needs can possess a negative or positive
connotation or implementation, but it is argued that people motivated by affiliation make better
leaders. The third theory presented is McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y. McGregor asserts that
Theory X people or employees are inherently lazy and must be controlled and forced to act, whereas
Theory Y people are self–controlled, motivated, and ambitious. Steers, et al. (1996) identify an
additional theory of motivation, which builds on Maslow's

What is Leadership? Essay
Leadership is a difficult word to define and according to the Miriam–Webster Dictionary leadership
is the "office or position of a leader" (Miriam–Webster, 2010). This definition is definitely not one
that I would ascribe to when discussing leadership. My definition of leadership is "the ability
someone has to motivate and empower others to achieve a goal." Some may add to this definition,
others may discard it altogether and have a completely different definition. In the end, leadership
takes on many different forms depending on who is doing the defining and we end up asking
ourselves, what is leadership and why do we care? J. Thomas Wren (1995) put together a book to
help leaders define leadership for themselves. The Leader's...show more content...
As Gardner (1990) points out "Most men and women go through their lives using no more than a
fraction – usually a rather small fraction – of the potentialities within them" (p. 7). I happen to agree
with Gardner on this point. As a teacher you see numerous children who, with the proper training,
could be very great, positive leaders; yet due to their home situation or lack of self–confidence these
children grow up never knowing they have that possibility inside them. "We can do better. Much,
much better" (Gardner, 1990 p. 7). Along with Gardner (1990) Wren introduces Burns (1978)
who wrote The Crisis of Leadership. Initially, I thought a crisis in leadership was happening today
because according to Burns (1978) "One of the most universal cravings of our time is a hunger
for compelling and creative leadership" (p. 8). However, we need to keep in mind that Burns
wrote about this in 1978. So leadership and those who lead have been having problems for a
number of decades. "If we know all too much about our leader, we know far too little about
leadership" (Burns, 1978 p. 9). What Burns was trying to bring to the forefront was the idea that
we, as a public, know far too much about the personal lives of our leaders. The media has been able
to bring personal situations into our homes that we would not otherwise be

Leadership Interview Essay
To inspire and influence others, a leader must possess many skills and abilities. As motivational
speaker Peter Northouse, states, "a leader should be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be
bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not
arrogant" (Northouse, 2013) Moving an entire group of individuals toward a singular goal is a
considerable undertaking. Without effective communication skills and a clear vision of what needs
to be accomplished, one will feel like they are trying to herd cats rather than leading.
During my interview with Regina Martinez, BS RN and currently an Assistant Director of a home
health agency, I discovered her leadership style matched the above quote....show more content...
The success the company now enjoys is credited to Martinez's leadership, motivation, caring, and
attention to detail. Delivering the medical care to a patient, in the comfort of their own home, by
professional, caring medical staff is a much needed service in rural northeast Colorado.
Martinez stated that in her past and current position, her goal has been to always lead by example.
Martinez adamantly stated she would never ask an employee to do anything she herself was not
willing to do. She stated she did not follow a particular leadership style, but has read several
leadership and management books, articles and studies to become more effective. Martinez stated
the book she references the most is Carl E. Larson and Frank M.J. LaFasto's Teamwork: What Must
Go Right/What Can Go Wrong. Through their research they explored the eight properties of
successful teams: a clear, elevating goal; a results–driven structure; competent team members;
unified commitment; collaborative climate; standards of excellence; external support and
recognition; and principled leadership. (Larson & LaFasto, 1989, p.8) Their insights into what
makes a team successful have been used by countless leaders as a model for efficient and effective
leadership.
As her job is to ensure proper medical patient care, Martinez spends most of her day on

Essay about Women in Leadership Roles
INTRODUCTION
More and more women are rising to the leadership challenge, even in some of the most
male–dominated industries. The increase in the number of women attending college, the increasing
number of women in the workplace or starting their own business has demonstrated to men who own
businesses that women can be both managers and mothers, thus showing their male counterpart that
women can in fact "do it all".
In this paper the history of women in the workforce will be outlined, as well as the challenges they
face. The changing attitudes towards women taking over family businesses will be looked at briefly,
how women lead in comparison to how men lead, and a comparison of their leadership style will also
be discussed.
HISTORY AND...show more content...
Those days have since past. As women are achieving higher levels of education and are being
employed in more prominent positions, their leadership roles in family organizations have
increased. Many young women are refusing to accept the rule of "primogeniture" (Nelton, 1999).
Primogeniture is defined as a birthright or an inheritance. Although women are making great strides
in this arena, there is still the feeling out there that the son should be considered first and the
daughter as a second option, only if there is no son or if the son declines the offer. But, Nelton says
that, "young women by and large feel that if they want to go into the family business, the
opportunity is there." In each of the cases described by Nelton, the fathers encouraged their
daughters to become involved in the family business. As well, each father let his daughter run the
show once she was named CEO–the surest sign of support (Nelton, 1999). In more and more
families and in business in general, gender is becoming not an issue. As roles increasingly change
on the home front, the business world will soon mirror the changes taking place in the family
structure. Nelton also urges women in leadership roles to not lose sight of the bottom line. She says
it is "easy for women to get caught up in the management of people" (Nelton, 1999). She goes on to
say that if you cannot prove that you are also profit–driven, you will never make it to the successor
level.
LEADERSHIP STYLE В– WOMEN

Business Leadership Essay
In corporate America the term used to describe a person in a position of power is "Manager". A
leader can be a manager, but a manager is not necessarily a leader. Leaders motivate, challenge,
and influence others to achieve goals. Great leaders have the necessary skills and attributes
which allow them to connect with the team and organization. Being a leader is not the same as
managing an organization. Leader's posses the interpersonal skills needed to influence others to
achieve a goal willingly. Leading is a major part of a manager's job. Leaders do not need to be a
manager to lead people, but managers must know how to lead as well as manage. Each person in a
company brings his or her own experiences, values, and beliefs to the...show more content...
Bova (2008) states that the following four characteristics are found in good leaders: they believe in
open communication, they do not stick with the status quo, they are selective in what they measure,
and they have passion for values and culture. Each characteristic is essential to a healthy
organizational culture. When an employee feels he or she has open communication with a leader,
they are more inclined to share if problems arise whether or not work related. Non–work related
issues may eventually take a toll on an employee's performance at work. However, with open
communication, an employee feels comfortable in apprising the leader of a situation so that
future problems are avoided. Not all managers are leaders and not all leaders are managers. The
biggest difference between management and leadership is people skills. In determining if a
person is a leader or a manager, Bova (2008) lists some differences with which many a person
would agree. One difference is that a manager directs people. Managers essentially tell employees
to get the job done. Many people work on autopilot until their work shift ends. However, people will
follow a leader. Leaders inspire others to want to strive for their best and to go beyond their normal
duties. Another difference between managers and leaders is that managers tend to control or
micromanage their department. Such management style causes employees to be unhappy and
possibly rebel. Under these types of

Essay on Management and Leadership
Successful organizations have strong leaders and managers that develop, support and encourage
employee longevity within a company. There is a significant difference between leadership and
management however both skills have to be used collectively and both are important to a profitable
organization. Leadership is a notion of communicating an organization's vision, whereas management
is more of the implementation of the organization's vision. The manager typically carries out the
responsibilities written by the organization and has a good team underneath them to carry out the
duties and meet the goals. Most companies have a mission statement that mirrors and supports a
company's vision. When referring leadership and management, the two...show more content...
According to Hersey and Blanchard (1998), there are three areas required for effective leadership.
Technical skills, which includes clinical expertise and knowledge as it pertains to nursing.
Secondly, human skills, which is the ability and judgment to work with people in leadership roles.
And lastly, conceptual skills which is the ability to understand the complexities of overall
organization and figure out how and where one's own strengths of management fits into the overall
organization (Cherry, Jacob 2011). Leadership is unique compared to any other role because of its
responsibility for people. Good leaders are followed merely because they have gained people's trust
and respect.
Management:
Management involves the tactical aspect of day to day functions and who keeps control of the
work environment to make sure the organization is moving forward and in the same direction of
the company's vision. Managers are faced with many responsibilities each day, one of which is
managing people. The goal of a successful manager is to achieve the highest productivity of the
organization by way of the people he/she manages. A manager is more of a problem solver and
takes care of work areas relating to people management, time management, decision making etc.
According to Lewin (1951) and White & Lippit (1960), there are three prevalent management
behavior styles: Authoritarian, democratic and laissez–fare (Cherry,

A Leadership Journey
A LEADERSHIP JOURNEY.
Created by
SHARATH KUMAR
Abstract
The paper records the evolution of the author's thinking on leadership through the course of his
work involvement. Leadership is viewed as a dynamic process which consists formal and informal
roles. The process is introduced as an individual recognizes opportunities and urged to answer back
to evolving patterns and pledge action to enable positive change. The dynamics between formal and
informal leadership structures and leadership as a state of mind are conferred.
The following paper shows a reflection on my personal journey and growing understanding of
leadership based on my work experience. As I look back in time, I identify that most of my current
interest in leadership...show more content...
My favorite definition of leadership relics Sun Tzu in the Art of War: "The way [of leadership]
means inducing the people to have the same aim as the leadership, so that they will share death and
share life, without fear of danger" (Sun Tzu, 2005, p.43). The definition recognizes the collaborative
dynamic that leader and follower share– both share the benefits and risks in its pursuit. Moreover,
Senge's work presented me to systems thinking and understanding the unified wholeness of
organizations. This view was reinforced by my study of Neurolinguistic Programming and
Neuro–Semantics, understanding human communications and the way in which we learn to
construct our mental maps of the area. I saw conscious decisions to be freeing and challenging at
the same time. This commitment was a challenging as I began to explore the process of leadership
outside the hierarchical power structure that could command action by positional authority. Now as
an independent contributor I found myself able to lead freely in a variety of ways, highlighting the
need of influence in the contexts that I was called for.
I mentally stepped back from the situation and took a look at the business, it's internal and external
stakeholders. I would foresee the recede and flow of people as they enthused about their work, the
processes of numerous departments that enabled this organism to be effective. I also realized that
minor issues evolved into major

Leadership Essay example
Critical Analysis of Jeff Weiner– CEO of LinkedIn. Assignment topic Using relevant theories and
models critically evaluate and analyse the leadership of a 21st century business leader. If you
were in the position of the leader, what could you do to be a better leader and make a stronger
impact on the followers and on situation/s? For this assignment you can select a leader from a
large or a small organisation. It could be a CEO of an international organisation whom you have
read about in the newspapers/biographies, or a family member who runs a small business with a
few staff members. The choice of leader is yours. In your assignment you should cover the
following: – A clear description of the leader, the organisation/industry, and...show more content...
Before LinkedIn, Jeff was an executive in residence at Accel Partners and Greylock Partners, ...
Previously, Jeff served as executive vice president of Yahoo!'s Network Division, a business that
generated $3 billion in annual revenue with more than 3,000 employees and responsibility for many
of the company's consumer–facing and industry–leading products. ... In addition to LinkedIn, Jeff
serves on the board of directors for Intuit Inc., DonorsChoose.org and Malaria No More. He holds a
BS in Economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. (LinkedIn –
Management, 2014). 2.2 The Company LinkedIn was founded by Reid Hoffman, Allen Blue,
Konstantin Guericke, Eric Ly and Jean–Luc Vaillant. LinkedIn started out in the living room of
co–founder Reid Hoffman in 2002. The LinkedIn website was officially launched on May 5, 2003.
At the end of the first month in operation, LinkedIn had a total of 4,500 members in the network. In
2013 LinkedIn has grown to be the world's largest professional network on the Internet and currently
has approximately 277 million members in over 200 countries and territories. Revenue is generated
across three distinct product lines: Talent Solutions, Marketing Solutions, and Premium
Subscriptions. All three product lines are sold through two channels, an offline field sales
organization which engages with both large and small enterprise customers; as well as an online,

What Leadership Means to Me Essay
My idea of leadership is being able to inspire others, motivate, set a vision, communicate, respect
others, and of course, lead by example. A leader must have an honest understanding of who they
are, what they know, and what they are capable of. To be a successful leader, you have to be able to
convince your followers, not just yourself or your superiors, that you are worthy of being
followed. In my opinion, this can build confidence in their followers to have faith in you, in order to
be able to lead. I strongly believe that good leaders are made rather, and not born. If you have the
desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders are developed through a
never ending process of self–study, education, training, and...show more content...
The way in which I communicate either builds or can harm the relationship between my soldier
and I. When an important moment of discussion arises, I am always prepared to appropriately
handle the situation at hand. More than anything else, I believe as a leader it is always important
to have great social skills in order to be communicative with clarity and objectiveness, and to have
a good relationship with the ones I lead. As a leader, I understand the meaning of recognition and
praise when one is doing a good job, which too is significantly important. A leader is not always
the first to have an idea, but should be the one who is always seeking out new solutions. One way
of being a productive leader is discovering new ways to accomplish a set of tasks while
maintaining a positive attitude. If a soldier is demonstrating a bad attitude because he feels that
he can not accomplish a task then my job as a leader, would be to steadily encourage that soldier
to work at being all that he can be. A leader to me, does not need to always know the answer, but
believes it to be important to have the initiative to make an answer appear. One form of bad
leadership would be an NCO performing or demonstrating a task that he knows nothing about in
front of his soldiers. In the result of the NCO not performing or demonstrating the task at hand
correctly, the soldiers then become incapable of knowing the proper ways of that task. However, if
that NCO had

Effective Leadership Essay
In today's competitive world, leadership skills are crucial for both personal and professional
development. Leadership is an important function of management which helps an individual or a
business to maximize efficiency and to achieve goals. Leadership has different meanings to various
authors.Most commonly, leadership is defined as influence, that is, the art of influencing people so
that they will strive willingly and enthusiastically toward the achievement of group goals. (Koontz).
Leadership is the process of influencing the activities of either formal or informal group in the task
of goal setting and goal achievement. A leader is one whose magnetic personality innervates people
for some cause. Not by words, but by their actions is...show more content...
People requires good leadership skills at personal, professional and social level. Personal
leadership helps us to determine our desires, strengths and abilities. It means Knowing what we
want out of life; knowing what success is for us; what are our goals and how to achieve those
goals regardless of what other people think, say, or do. Personal leadership helps us to make our
present better and shape a good future. Good leadership is also important to run a business. Usually,
in companies, management stresses more on decision– making skills. They believe a timely and
smart decision will help their company to succeed. They forget that implementation of those
decisions are as important as making those decision. Without a proper implementation , there will
be no results. Like there is a saying that, it's easier to said than done. Similarly, making a decision
will change nothing, its how to get things done in a timely and an effective way will help an
organization to accomplish their goals. Leadership is crucial in implementing decisions correctly
and successfully. Each of us understand importance of leadership when it comes to our country. We
all try to vote for the best person in elections because it matters who is in office. President make
decisions concerning our lives, country, and the world. As a nation, we place no greater
responsibility on any one individual than we do on the president. Therefore, leadership

Management And Leadership Essay example
Management and Leadership
Management and leadership, two words that are considered synonymous and are often used in the
same context, yet they do not mean the same thing and they describe two different concepts.
According to the dictionary, management is 1) The act, manner or practice of managing;
handling, supervision, or control; 2) The person or persons who control or direct a business or other
enterprise; 3) Skill in managing; executive ability; where as leadership is 1) The position or office of
a leader; 2) Capacity or ability to lead; 3) A group of leaders; 4) Guidance; direction. In many
organizations, management is a job description; leadership is a positive trait. Managers tend to think
incrementally, while leaders think...show more content...
Management normally consists of people, who are experienced in their field, and have worked
their way up the company. A manager knows how each layer of the system works and may also
possess a good technical knowledge. Managers are "principally administrators В¬В– they write
business plans, set budgets and monitor progress." Additional tasks handled by managers are
problem–solving and facilitating meetings. Managers usually achieve their position through
experience and understanding, and obtain authority through time and loyalty.
In business, leadership is "the ability to influence employees to voluntarily pursue organizational
goals." Leadership is one of the many assets a successful manager should possess. While
management is considered a position, leadership is considered a relationship. Thus, leadership is the
connection between the leader and their subordinates that makes management successful. This
connection can strengthen an organization and make the work more focused and effective.
Leadership is the ability to get people to willingly follow. A person who exhibits the traits of
leadership is called a leader. The role of a leader is to ensure that the desired tasks and guidelines are
implemented throughtout the team. Since managers can not be everywhere at the same time, leaders
are put into place to bridge the gap while echoing managements requirements. Because leaders are
the link between the

Sample Leadership Essay

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