Genuine Leadership - what makes a leader worth following?

Can you identify examples of true and genuine leadership that you have encountered. If so what are the characteristics that lead you to believe this to be authentic and genuine leadership?

Introduction
What is a leader and what makes a leader worthy of following? A leader is someone who has “self-confidence to make decisions, motivate others” (Silbiger 2005: 387), and “assumes responsibility” (ibid) for their actions. Paulson (2006) writes, “leaders at all levels will need to be decisive, action-orientated, open and flexible as they take the best from the past and the future to help form the new good old days in their organizations”. For a leader to be successful and respected, they must know and understand their own “personality traits” (Silbiger 2005: 131). A good leader must also possess charismatic qualities which as Vecchio (2006: 156) states are “based on a follower’s perception of the leader rather than on the leader’s formal authority”. There are many types of leaders, however the style of leadership one chooses to undertake, is dependant on the individual’s intelligence and “personality traits” (Vecchio 2006: 39). However, Team Technology (2005) state that a leader’s particular skill set must meet the requirements of the organisation and the situation presented. A leader who is purely people orientated, may not be necessarily the right leader to lead a group of people or an organisation which demands a leader who is purely authoritive (ibid).

True & Genuine Leadership
There’s an old saying that says; ‘actions speak louder than words’. If we think of this statement, we can easily associate it with a leader. John Doe is the CEO of a UK based organisation. A man in my eyes who possesses the “intelligence” (Vecchio 2006: 149), wisdom and the “values” (Blanchard & Bowels 2005: 46) to run such an organisation. As quoted by Clark (1997), the Hay’s study points to trust and confidence as two of the most important keys to effective leadership. This is the culture and environment John has created within the organisation as a result of these “personality traits” (Vecchio 2006: 39). Leaders who use the “team management” (Vecchio 2006: 155) style of leadership approach, believe that the organisation are capable of achieving its financial goals as well as taking care of the psychological needs of the employee at the same time (ibid). Again, John has demonstrated this by providing the “satisfiers” (Vecchio 2006: 77) not offered by any other organisation in our field; such as health insurance, health memberships, company bonus schemes just to name a few. All individuals seek these types of benefits from an organisation. John has embraced this school of thought and at the same time influencing his workforce to deliver the organisation’s goal. When he first took charge of this company in 2002, it wasn’t doing very well. Office politics were rife and profit levels were very low. In spite of this he has grown the company to four times its turnover and gross profit margin in a four year period. This is testament of his understanding, knowledge, judgement and experience. As Vecchio (2006: 147) states, a change in leadership may improve or decrease the performance of a group. In John’s case, it is very clear that the improvement is vast and his goal of making the organisation “Gung Ho” (Blanchard & Bowels 2005) is on the right track.

Influencing a young man
I can still remember the days in my early teens when I was just learning to speak and write English. Students would often make fun of my accent which often resulted in fights. However, the constant teasing turned me into a troubled student who started portraying a front to stop others from making any more unwanted comments. I hated everyone. Anyone who made a comment or even looked at me the wrong way got punched in the face. This of course was not helping with my school work as I started to fall behind academically, nor did it look good on the report card.

A unlikely leader appears
“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear” (Blanchard & Bowles 1998: xvi). One subject I did enjoy at school was physical education run by the teacher who’s name I will always remember; John. In hindsight, John has had a lot of “influence” (Vecchio 2006: 156) on the choices and the changes I have made in my life. I still remember our session, where he played the role of a “transformational leader” (ibid) by asking me what I wanted to achieve while I was at school. What goals I had, and how I planned to accomplish these goals. Once we had agreed these goals, we devised a timeline of when these goals were to be completed. Throughout my remaining years at school, I played and captained sports teams as well as attending outdoor trips with the help of John. I had learnt to “trust” (Blanchard & Bowels 2005: 51) him as I would no other teacher in the school. From time to time, I deviated from these goals, but he soon pointed me back in the right direction with some firm words and with “authority” (Vechio 2006: 155).

Conclusion
“Good leaders are made, not born” (Clark 1997). If this statement is true, then it could be said that I have been influenced by someone who I saw as a great leader in John. Vecchio (2006: 83) also states that “modelling first manifests itself in childhood” (ibid). I don’t claim to be a good leader; but I would hope that I am on the right path to becoming one. Leaders and mentors come in all shapes and sizes. I am fortunate that in the majority of organisation that I have worked in, I have been in the presence of genuine leaders.

References

Blanchard, K., Bowles, S. (1998) Gung Ho! How to motivate people in any organization. London: Harper Collins

Clark, D. (1997) Concepts of leadership [Online] Available from: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadcon.html (Accessed: 21 June 2006)

Paulson, T,L. (2006) Becoming a high performance manager… The leader’s journey [Online] Available from: http://www.terrypaulson.com/articles.html (Accessed 30 May 2006)

Silbiger, S. (2005) 10 Day MBA: A Step-by-Step Guide to Mastering the Skills Taught in Top Business Schools. 2nd ed. London: Paitkus Books Ltd

Team Technology. (2005) Leadership Qualities: What makes a good leader [Online] Available from: http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/leadership-qualities.html (Accessed 21 June 2006)

Vecchio, R. P. (2006) Organizational Behavior: Core Concepts. 6th de. Mason, OH: Thomas South-Western