Reflection On Leadership

A leader for a good or bad cause, is a person who can gather different individuals under one accord and move towards the same objective. They are good at inspiring people. You may not always agree with their perspective. However, leaders are good at bringing people together. All exceptional leaders past and present possess integrity. It takes a strong individual to be a leader, but it takes an even stronger person to be a leader with integrity. A part of being a leader is setting standards for others to follow. Integrity is a characteristic that does not happen overnight. It is embedded in all outstanding leaders. Knowing to do the right thing when no one is watching takes strong determination. Talk show host Oprah Winfrey once described

Integrity is more than being honest. Integrity is one of the values employers look for when selecting employees; a person with integrity carries their values with them in everything they do. To act in a manner that is morally and legally right is being a leader or person of integrity. This type of leader is consistent in doing what is right, legally and morally (Dees, 2014). One a person loses their integrity, it is almost impossible to get it back. Linnartz (2012) said integrity can be understood by how well we live and meaningfully connect our values into our daily life and work. Having integrity and having a leadership philosophy in line with good personal values will improve the relationship a leader has with colleagues. Having a leader that lacks integrity is a recipe for workplace chaos or conflict. According to Schachter (2013), a leader with integrity will walk the talk; their deeds match their words. The leader will be honest, moral, and

Integrity is defined as following your moral or ethical convictions and doing the right thing in all circumstances, even if no one is watching you. Having integrity means you are true to yourself and would do nothing that demeans or dishonors you. When employees are asked what they want from leaders it is integrity. Qualities change across culture and time, but what people say they want most in American society is integrity. When people are asked to define integrity, the word they mention most frequently is honesty. The leader with integrity always tells the truth as he or she believes it to be. Think about the best leader you have ever had; she or he probably had integrity. First and foremost, people want a leader they can trust. Ask yourself whether you have a reputation for integrity. (Manning 6) Integrity can be broken down into sub components:

According to Webster’s Dictionary, leadership is the power or ability to lead other people, the act or instance of leading. I believe that Leadership is an art, the art to get others to follow and accomplish a common goal or task in a harmonic manner. A leader can be shown in all kinds of shapes and forms. To be a great leader many people believe it consists of modeling the way, inspiring a shared vision, enabling others to act, and encouraging the heart. Over the course of me learning how to become a better leader and being in leadership roles, I’ve learned that all these are very necessary to be a great leader.

Leadership is defined in many different ways by many different academics and professionals. A few words that resonate with the meaning include management, control, guidance, headship, direction and governance. My basic definition for the word describes it as a technique used to manage and guide individuals or groups of individuals in a specific direction to achieve a common goal. However this is a bit too basic for my liking. While conducting the research for this manifesto I found two definitions that I thought were more interesting and quite charming. Tom Landry defines leadership as “getting someone to do what they don’t want to do, to achieve what they want to achieve” (Murphy, 2010). Alternatively Otto Scharmer stated, “at its core, leadership is about shaping and shifting how individuals and groups attend and subsequently respond to a situation” (Scharmer, 2007).

I would like to start off with one of my favorite quote, "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." --Martin Luther King Jr. Is there not one standard definition of leadership? No. If you look up “Leadership Definition” in a Google and in .28 secs you get 458,000,000 results. Despite this number, I don’t think that finding the actually definition is the hardest part but finding the actions of a leader and implementing is. I tried searching the definition of leadership by looking and observing others at first but then I came to realize that there is no single definition for leadership. I had to find it within me. Then I sat down to figure out what leadership is meant for me and not for anyone else. Everyone has their own perspective, views and values. But according to me, my definition for leadership tilts towards the capacity to direct myself and impact people around me, setting a good example expected practices, and influencing qualities so everybody feels satisfied.

Management and Leadership are two different skill sets and positions, however, it is believed by some organizations that they go hand in hand. I believe that management is a learned concept that is taught in schools. Universities and colleges offer degrees in Management and/or Leadership. Authentic leadership is not actually taught but can be learned as a practical skill through being coached and mentored by a true effective leader. Leadership skills are gained by completing research, gaining ideas to inspire and help others achieve new skills to move into a better position or advanced career. Achieving new leadership skills is always a work in progress. In my IMG 233 class I learned that Management is the formal influence of the organization. Managers develop strategic goals, establish performance control mechanisms, and communicate instructions and information to ensure probability and production to meet the overall demands. Leaders are the heart of the organization and their role is to informally influence and inspire employees while creating visions and direction and at the same time building strong team relationships. An effective and dynamic leader empowers their team with the knowledge to be innovative and generate new ideas to increase productivity and performance.

Q: What is your definition of leadership? A: Someone that is willing to put their reputation on the line and will work for the benefit of others rather than themselves. Unfortunately in our society we equate pay with leadership and that’s wrong. Because for instance CEO’s get exponential amounts of money but that doesn’t make them a good leader.

It’s interesting to sit down and write my first paper in almost 20 years. I’ve spent the last 10 years trying to be very concise in my communication, to the point and easy to skim the important facts to ensure what I need to get across will be read. I feel that having some emotional response to the stress of regularly writing papers that ‘feel long’ is just a great example of some of what I learned from my MBTI/Firo B results.

Based on Andrew J. DuBrin definition, leadership is understood as the ability to inspire confidence and support among the people who are carried along to achieve an organizational goal. And definition provided by Forbes state that leadership is as a social influence process that maximizes people’s efforts towards the achievement of an organization goal.

In the readings, for this assignment, Covey writes that humans are four-dimensional beings. The dimensions include To Learn, To Love, To Live, and To Leave a Legacy. He argues that people will work according to how they are treated based on opportunities to use all four components of their dimensional being. Bolman, argues that there are many characteristics and studies that have been conducted about leadership. There are some things that are similar, but there are also differences depending on context, situation, and culture.

The World Book Dictionary, Volume Two L-Z, 1980 edition, defines leadership as the condition of being a leader; the ability to lead; and guidance or direction. According to Nathan F. Iannone, author of many books on leadership, it can be defined as the art of influencing, directing, guiding, and controlling others in such a way as to obtain their willing obedience, confidence, respect and loyal cooperation in the accomplishment of an objective. Leadership is a trait that is extremely valuable in any society. Leadership is known as a relational process of people attempting to make a difference in a situation. Because of this and the moral and social influence leaders have in our lives, it is very important to know more about it. Leaders

At the beginning of the semester after taking the assessment I found out that I needed to work on my leadership skills in influencing others specifically motivating performance, ethical power and team dynamics. I also found that my interpersonal skills like communication needed some work. My stronger human relation skills include valuing diversity, organizational change, behavior, human relations and self-performance.

In the course of this semester I have gained and achieved profound knowledge about leadership styles and methods. I am now much more confident handling a diversity of issues and dilemmas applying the knowledge that I have gathered. My goal is to continue learning and to stay authentic to others. I trust God, believe in Karma and positive energy. I have a very clear picture and notions of my potentials and perspectives. I can distinguish very well, which paths I am going, in order to choose and pursue my dreams and goals. I think, that I can be a strong leader, since I have very good influencing and persuasion skills. I like to help people wherever I can and pass my knowledge to others so they can succeed.

“For attempting to teach others is sometimes the best way of teaching ourselves” Daniel Defoe said. We learn leadership skills when going out our way to teach someone else how to do something. Teaching others lessons also help shape who you are as a person. You don’t have to always be a teacher but just know people are looking up to you. Teaching someone can come in negative as well as positive ways in society. Leaders can lead a person through a right path because they don’t want them messing up something that only comes once. But just like there are good leaders there’re bad ones too. We all have that one role model we look up to; wanting be like them. You don’t have to be like these celebrities on tv because you're not them. We want to be better than them and want more for ourselves. So strive for better and don't follow around the wrong crowd.