Introduction to Leadership

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way”- John C. Maxwell (Maxwell 2018). The concept of leadership could be defined as the status of power that is held by a person in a group with an objective of achieving some specific and common objectives. It could be considered as a platform where individuals could showcase his or her inter as well intra personal skills and present the efforts of every individuals, integrating them for a common achievement. A leader is always an inspiration for a group and he is the one who bring in the group together and create something out of absolutely nothing. He is the one who go an extra mile in order to make the things happen. This paper is going to elaborate on exploring all the three ways (knowing, going and showing) of a leader by making use of the theories of organisational learning and substantiate it with some examples of leadership.

It is to note that a leader is not only himself a leader but in fact, he also creates a sense of leadership within all the members of his group in order to make them feel wanted and responsible (Schneider 2017). Leadership or being a leader is not a bed of roses. A leader has many responsibilities upon him. It needs the development of all the set of characteristics which makes a person ample of taking the centre of attraction and attention.

Knowing the way- This category of the skills of leadership is all about the strategy and the vision. It is to note that a true leader has the foresight. He has the vision as well as the potential to see the future of the organisation. Vision is one of the most important characteristic of a leader and leadership. If a leader has the vision, it could gain him the necessary efforts and trust that he needs and seeks from his followers. Having a clear set of vision could make the most unachievable goal achievable (Mens, Scheier and Wrosch 2015). A leader is always required to communicate about his vision with his followers. He must also keep in mind that his vision are communicates in effective manner to them so that they are actually moved by it (Czarnetzky 2016). Furthermore, it is also to the responsibility of a leader to foresee the upcoming future as well as develop some set of effective strategies in order to make the necessary changes in order to achieve the desired goal. The vision and the innovative approach that a leader possess is directly related to the success. Vision is the one that describes the future destination.

Goes the way- A leader is the one who do not afraid of taking the initiative (Kouzes 2014). Success is never achieved through easy paths. There are several obstacles that one might find while climbing on the stairs of success. There is no journey where there is absence of obstacles and a map would not always be accurate either. With the same, sometimes, shortcuts too do not work out. It is the true leader who know how to diffuse these obstacle and mediate the conflicts in disastrous situation (Obholzer 2018). He goes a long way to do so and make his team achieve the vision. He is the one who also work for keeping the problems at bay and avoiding the obstacles is important for the growth of company. He is the one who recognises and addresses the problems before they start to become a full-fledged issue. It is also to note that this step is one of the most misused steps in leadership. Individuals often want to be a leader and tell their followers where to go and how to go. They are not willing to do the things that they ask their peers to do but it is to mention that a true leader is the one who is always the very first individual to do what he is saying other to do. He is the one who creates an example for others.

Knowing the Way

Showing the way- Individuals seek for clarty in every aspect of their life. Clarity refers to the roadmap in order to get the desired outcome. A true leader understands that the employees want to know the plans of their organisation for the future success. He also knows that the individuals want to know the way they could fit into the big picture. Every leaders should understand that the journey of the organisation would not be that simple and linear (Senge, Hamilton and Kania 2015). Every course would be filled with obstacles and possible detours that he or she could not avoid in any way. However, it is also a fact that knowing the ways that are worth exploring and the way that are too risky to explore is one of the great qualities of a true leader. A leader is the one who is always willing to make the toughest decisions and take the risks in order to lead the organisation towards success. When a true leader shows other how to get the very vision of theirs, he or she do it by them and keeps them close.

There are several different styles of leadership. These styles differs from highly participative to extremely autocratic in nature and they could be effective in several different scenarios. Understanding the style of leadership could help an individual to become a more efficient leader and also help the people whom he or she is leading. It is to note that there are four major styles of leadership (Joynt 2017). They are Diplomat, Steward, Idealist and Pragmatist. Diplomats are the ones who value their employees and seek to put them in a position which would showcase their strengths more than their weaknesses. They are highly known for being capable of resolving the conflicts in peaceful manner. Secondly, the stewards are the ones who value the rules, regulations, cooperation and processes (Jacobs 2017). There might not be so many of opportunities to shine personally, but the stewards are the leaders who value the success of the entire team. Around 15 to 20% of the leaders possess this styles of leadership within them. Thirdly, idealist are the ones who seeks to learn and to grow. They are highly open-minded. This style is very creative in nature. Lastly, the pragmatist leaders are the ones who are competitive in nature and are driven. They value the concept of hitting the goals above rest of the things. There are several learning opportunities for the ones who work under these types of leaders. It is the least common styles of leadership and only the top executives hold this style that the other levels. About 8 to 12% of the leaders possess this style.

For instance, the members of a CREW could employee all of the above leadership styles in their organisation and within their own companies. In the CREW, the individuals could be diplomats by leading and mentoring the young females who have started their careers in the industry, both as a part of the younger CREW members as well as a part of the Network foundation of the CREW. One could be Stewards if he work within the communities in order to fulfil his or her function. On the other hand, if the leader is working towards completing the goals that are outlines by the president then he is regarded to be pragmatists. Furthermore, one could be idealists if he or she thinks outside of the box in order to plan the events for the upcoming years and is generating forward thinking contents for the company’s blog. However, Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of leadership as he knew both the ways of grace and law. In his entire life he was full of him going in the way and showing other the same along the way. He believed in the vision and even died for his entire team in order to be able to attain what was required to be done.

Hence, it is to state that being a true leader is not about a single thing or having a mere title of ‘leader’. It is the actions of theirs that could speak volumes and the ones who are in specific role look to these in the membership who exhibit these traits and strategies in order to help the entire team to grow and flourish year after other. A leader is the one who inspires his mates and followers to achieve greatness and who seeks for making a difference in the manner he are perceived by his peers (Cashman 2017). It is also to note that, a true leader is not the only one in companies and organisations. He might be anyone, a parent, a teacher or a friend and sometimes, even one’s own self. It is just that a leader is the one who knows the way, shows the way and goes the way. A true leader is the one who has a very clear vision (he knows the way), follows that vision (goes the way) and try to achieve that vision by guiding others (shows the way).

References:

Cashman, K., 2017. Leadership from the inside out: Becoming a leader for life. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Czarnetzky, J.M., 2016. Sam Davis, a True Leader. Miss. LJ, 85, p.935.

Jacobs, K.R., 2017. Teams at their core: Implementing an “all LANDS approach to conservation” requires focusing on relationships, teamwork process, and communications. Forests, 8(7), p.246.

Joynt, S., 2017. Exodus of clergy: The role of leadership in responding to the call. HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies, 73(4).

Kouzes, J.M., 2014. The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership-Technology (Vol. 292). John Wiley & Sons.

Maxwell, J.C., 2018. Developing the Leader Within You 2.0. HarperCollins Leadership.

Mens, M.G., Scheier, M.F. and Wrosch, C., 2015. Goal adjustment theory. The Encyclopedia of Adulthood and Aging, pp.1-5.

Obholzer, A., 2018. The leader, the unconscious, and the management of the organisation. In The Systems Psychodynamics of Organizations (pp. 197-216). Routledge.

Schneider, P.H., 2017. Reflections on Dennis I. Belcher: A True Leader. ACTEC LJ, 43, p.117.

Senge, P., Hamilton, H. and Kania, J., 2015. The dawn of system leadership. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 13(1), pp.27-33.