Qualities of a Good Leader Free Essays

First of all, if you’re not confident you will go no where as a leader and probably will not be a leader in the first place. When you are confident, you instill confidence in those around you, it â€Å"rubs off. † Being conceited and arrogant are two different things. We will write a custom essay sample on Qualities of a Good Leader or any similar topic only for you Order Now Arrogance causes those around you to dislike you and resent your actions. Many traits are involved with confidence, including the ability to communicate, make decisions, and optimism.Communicating and how you do it is key, if you speak with authority and knowledge you will be successful. The way you make decisions affects your follower’s confidence in you. Don’t second guess yourself. Optimism is the fall back plan on which most leaders use when something doesn’t go their way. Having people know that you made a mistake but will fix it in the near future will greatly increase the amount of people who follow you. HONESTY- People want to trust their leader.The best way to gain trust in a leader is if that leader is honest and trustworthy. In order to gain that attribute of honesty, you must go out of your way to display that honesty as an individual. When you don’t admit that something didn’t work, you are making a mistake. In the eyes of citizens or who whoever may follow you, lying to them is quite possibly the worst thing you can do. When you are honest you turn into an influence to other people. How to cite Qualities of a Good Leader, Papers Qualities of a Good Leader Free Essays You must have an honest understanding of who you are, what you know, and what you can do. Note that it is the followers, not the leader or someone else who determines if the leader is successful. If they do not trust or lack confidence in their leader, then they will be uninspired. We will write a custom essay sample on Qualities of a Good Leader or any similar topic only for you Order Now To be successful you have to convince your followers, not yourself or your superiors, that you are worthy of being followed. Good leaders are made, not born. If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders develop through a never ending process of self-study, education, training, and experience (Jago, 1982). To inspire your workers into higher levels of teamwork, there are certain things you must be, know, and, do. These do not come naturally, but are acquired through continual work and study. Good leaders are continually working and studying to improve their leadership skills. Seven Qualities of a Good Leader 1. A good leader has an exemplary character. A leader needs to be trusted and be known to live their life with honestly and integrity. A good leader â€Å"walks the talk†. 2. A good leader is enthusiastic about their work or about their role as leader. passion and dedication †¢source of inspiration, †¢a motivator, will not be afraid to roll up their sleeves and get dirty. 3. A good leader is confident. †¢confident as a person and in the leadership role. †¢inspires confidence in others and draws out the trust and best efforts of the team to complete the task well. 4. A leader functions in an orderly and purposeful manner in situations of uncertainty. †¢People look to the leader during times of uncertainty and unfamiliarity and find reassurance and security when the leader portrays confidence and a positive demeanour. 5. Good leaders are tolerant of ambiguity (doubt, vagueness). †¢Remain calm, composed and steadfast to the main purpose. †¢Storms, emotions, and crises come and go and a good leader takes these as part of the journey and keeps a cool head. 6. A good leader thinks analytically. †¢is able to break it down into sub parts for closer inspection. †¢can break it down into manageable steps and make progress towards it. 7. A good leader is committed to excellence. †¢The good leader not only maintains high standards, but also is proactive in raising the bar in order to achieve excellence in all areas. The Top 10 Leadership Qualities 1. Integrity- integration of outward actions and inner values. A leader must have the trust of followers and therefore must display integrity. 2. Dedication- means spending whatever time or energy is necessary to accomplish the task at hand. By setting an excellent example, leaders can show followers that there are no nine-to-five jobs on the team, only opportunities to achieve something great. 3. Magnanimity -giving credit where it is due. †¢ensures that credit for successes is spread as widely as possible throughout the company. a good leader takes personal responsibility for failures. †¢To spread the fame and take the blame is a hallmark of effective leadership. 4. Humility- recognizes that they are no better or worse than other members of the team. †¢A humble leader is not self-effacing but rather tries to elevate everyone. †¢understand that their status does not make them a god. Mahatma Gandhi is a role model for Indian leaders , and he pursued a â€Å"follower-centric† leadership role. 5. Openness- being able to listen to new ideas, even if they do not conform to the usual way of thinking. Good leaders are able to suspend judgment while listening to others’ ideas, †¢well as accept new ways of doing things that someone else thought of. †¢Openness builds mutual respect and trust between leaders and followers, and it also keeps the team well supplied with new ideas that can further its vision. 6. Creativity -ability to think differently, to get outside of the box that constrains solutions. -the ability to see things that others have not seen and thus lead followers in new directions. -The most important question that a leader can ask is, â€Å"What if †¦ ? Possibly the worst thing a leader can say is, â€Å"I know this is a dumb question †¦ 7. Fairness- dealing with others consistently and justly. A leader must check all the facts and hear everyone out before passing judgm ent. †¢must avoid leaping to conclusions based on incomplete evidence. When people feel they that are being treated fairly, they reward a leader with loyalty and dedication. 8. Assertiveness-is not the same as aggressiveness. †¢it is the ability to clearly state what one expects so that there will be no misunderstandings. †¢ A leader must be assertive to get the desired results. . Sense of humor is vital to relieve tension and boredom, as well as to defuse hostility. †¢Effective leaders know how to use humor to energize followers. Humor is a form of power that provides some control over the work environment. And simply put, humor fosters good camaraderie. 10. Intrinsic traits such as intelligence, good looks, height and so on are not necessary to become a leader. Anyone can cultivate the proper leadership traits. Leadership – †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a co mmon task†. (Alan Keith of Genentech) states that, â€Å"Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen. † †¢Ken â€Å"SKC† Ogbonnia, â€Å"effective leadership is the ability to successfully integrate and maximize available resources within the internal and external environment for the attainment of organizational or societal goals. † †¢organizing a group of people to achieve a common goal. † †¢Influencing others to take actions and adopt behaviors that accomplish a goal or a mission. The Process of Great Leadership The road to great leadership (Kouzes Posner, 1987) that is common to successful leaders: oChallenge the process – First, find a process that you believe needs to be improved the most. oInspire a shared vision – Next, share your vision in words that can be understood by your followers. oEnable others to act – Give them the tools and methods to solve the problem. oModel the way – When the process gets tough, get your hands dirty. A boss tells others what to do, a leader shows that it can be done. oEncourage the hearts – Share the glory with your followers’ hearts, while keeping the pains within your own. . 2: IMPORTANCE/FUNCTIONS OF LEADERSHIP 1. Help interpret the meaning of events 2. Create alignment on objectives and strategies 3. Build task commitment and optimism 4. Build mutual trust and cooperation 5. Strengthen collective identity 6. Organize and coordinate activities 7. Encourage and facilitate collective learning 8. Obtain necessary resources and support 9. Develop and empower people 10. Promote social justice and morality 1:3 ISSUES AND PROBLEMS ON LEADERSHIP Issues and Problems For most organizations, problems prevent the direct, linear achievement of a goal. The problems faced by an organization may be adaptive in nature. Adaptive problems-require changes in organizations structure, behaviour, values, culture or objectives. Non-adaptive problems- simply require the application of existing approaches. Table 1– Organizational Issues Problem/Issue TypesSolutions AvailablePeople Involved Adaptive, Non-Technical UnclearUnknown and Unclear; Requires Evolution of Values and InnovationAll Stakeholders Non-Technical but ClearPartly Known -Some Adaptive Learning RequiredExperts Aid Diagnosis; Group Solves Problem Technical ClearTechnical, Solutions ExistExpert-Leader How to cite Qualities of a Good Leader, Essay examples