Essay Example on Leadership is the vision and action of mobilizing Others

Leadership is the vision and action of mobilizing others to take a mutual decision for the mutual benefits In its simplest terms leadership is an attempt to influence So anytime one tries to influence someone in a group of organisations one is attempting leadership There is no one all purpose magical solution for being an effective leader The only way to impact the performance of the other people is through one's own behaviour Effective leadership depends upon what behaviour one is using in a particular situation Thus leadership is not about how one behaves to a person as a leader but how is one affecting to that person in reference to a specific activity The idea is known as Situational leadership Situational leadership simply states that there is no one best leadership style for all situations The leadership style that is best for a particular situation depends upon employee s skill set and attitude One need to match the leaders behaviour to the performance needs of the individual or the group A good leader is required change his her leadership style according to the maturity level of its followers which could be described on the basis of their ability and their willingness 

Therefore assessing a person s performance readiness i e the extent to which a follower demonstrates the ability and willingness to accomplish a specific task becomes important Because not all people have overall performance readiness It could be different strokes for different people or different strokes for the same person depending upon what a leader is trying to get done and what performance readiness followers hold Nevertheless till 1970s several types and theories of leadership emphasized on transactional nature of leadership which implied a leadership style in which leaders encourage agreement by followers through both rewards and punishments The organizations and leaders in India are generally masters of the transactional leadership However transactional style has become a limitation or problem in the working of an organization as it has limitations inherent in them It is like working with blinders on focused on the task and discrete and losing the larger context which is the context of transformation The extrinsic motivators of survival reward and punishment the transactional model work to the extent they work But when there are more complex problems more cerebral activity and problem solving is needed the survival motivation degrades the ability to engage people at innovative and creative thinking in higher levels of engagement In 1970s Transformational leadership emerged as an important concept Transformational leadership is about leaders behaviors that transform and inspire followers to perform beyond expectations while transcending self interest for the betterment of the organization It is the continuum and not necessary about either or like transactional leadership Motivation from the transformational perspective is when we step up to the higher level of functioning There are three identified drivers of this kind of motivation 

One core purpose i e why am I here what s my legacy what's the core purpose of this business how do I contribute when people are focused on purpose they are focused in the transformational realm which is the realm of significance and it allows them to look at what they are doing in transactions in a new perspective and bring innovative thinking to it Two transformation as a sense of mastery i e doing what I am doing working with someone or getting coached I get to be more and do more this perspective of being more in doing more feeds the energy and enthusiasm enables and enhances transactions Three autonomy i e I have some say and responsibility for my job I have some freedom and autonomy with personal mastery with purpose This sense of significance drives one in the realm of transformation Authentic leadership is another approach to leadership that stresses on developing the leader s legitimacy through honest relationships with followers which value their input and are built on an ethical foundation It encourages openness in sharing information needed to make decisions while accepting followers inputs Authentic Leadership is about inclusiveness learning and sharing it challenging followers but supporting them Also developing and recognizing what other people do and what other people contribute Every person has its own and different characteristics therefore what authentic means is difficult to describe However it could be said that authentic leader is the one who is suitable transparent role model works in collaboration ambitious operational and facilitator Being self aware self disciplined consistent understanding goals and having relational transparency could be counted as few of the characteristics of an authentic leader