Personal leadership essay

In my life I do know that in order to achieve success and high results in work, I need to know how to be a leader, be able to lead and manage. First of all, I know that I possess certain qualities and skills of the leader, but I also know that  only moral, intellectual and spiritual qualities do not make me a leader. Develop organizational and managerial qualities of a leader – it is a problem of my own training and education. Ability to form a group, unite it, set goals, make decisions, solve problems – these are the modern requirements to the leader.

Personal Leadership requires passion for the work and dedication. The source of our commitment to ourselves and others – in the belief that we can achieve something significant. When we take no underlying priorities, and thoughts about the external benefits, such as promotions or personal success, we are cut off from the true joy of accomplishment. I never believed that people are interested in high posts, but  are interested in opportunities, results, serious changes for the better.

For myself I have a plan on how to become a leader,  what traits and skills do I need to strive to achieve success. They are the following:

1. First of all, it’s personal desire to occupy a high position, and therefore the willingness to take associated with these duties, responsibilities, risks. It is believed that a successful leader has an almost magical ability to be at the right time in the right place. But talent without work is nothing, so a leader must constantly and relentlessly go forward, despite any obstacles,  and move toward his own goal.

2. The personal qualities of leader, which I must have and develop, first of all include honesty and integrity, always presupposes respect for the norms of human morality, modesty and fairness to others. The leader must try to understand his subordinates,  see them as individuals worthy of respect, to be able to understand their behavior, be humane and care about people who seek to cooperate, taking into account the interests of all members of the group.

3. The leader must be principled in all issues, be able to resist pressure from both above and below, be consistent, do not hide his views but  defend to the end  the values that are important to him and to society, and help find these values to others, through personal example.

4. The work of leader and manager is extremely difficult, and therefore one of his most important personal qualities should be a good health, energy and vitality, ability to cope with stress;

5. The modern leader must actively fight his own shortcomings as a host to a positive attitude towards life and work, to create “healthy” environment by training people to disclose their abilities and talents, with no need to fear losing authority, as  in most cases employees pay him with  recognition and gratitude.

6. Another group of qualities that are necessary to any leader are professional skills: this competence, that is system of special knowledge and skills, culture of knowledge – general, technical, economic, legal, informational, psychological and pedagogical.

First of all, a modern leader must have a good knowledge of reality, understanding of both internal and external objectives of the company,  have the ability to see problems, to be receptive to innovations and changes. This is impossible without the possession of intellectual abilities above the average level, the ability to analyze situations, create and critically evaluate the various plans and programs, make decisions, take responsibility for their implementation, work hard  and  be energetic and resolute.

7. However, the manager must not only be well prepared and highly educated, but also creative. He is required not only to believe in his creative abilities, but also to appreciate these abilities in others, to be able to mobilize and use them. I  must be persistent, to feel the need for change, to be able to break with tradition, to accept new ideas and innovative solutions to systematically use them. Creative leader typically works with groups, using the method of brainstorming, encourages the free expression of emotions and ideas, and constantly learning, including their own mistakes.

8. Another group of important for me abilities and skills are organizational, as well as business skills. They reflect the level of the organizational culture of the leader, his management experience. I want to develop and train in myself  the ability to accurately and promptly set goals, make informed decisions, monitor them, be prompt and circumspect  in the actions.

9.   An important organizational quality of leader is the energy,  the desire to work and  his own optimism. A good manager is characterized by a healthy optimism and confidence, as to lead people without self-confidence is not possible.  The leader must be able to express his point of view, seeking to be heard and understood, but at the same time respect other people and their opinions.

10. A good leader must be able to ensure the involvement of employees in the work, to  encourage people to do even the most boring job, looking for innovative approaches and unknown ways in addressing the problem.

11. Sense of humor. Most successful leaders are making even serious work and problems with a sense of humor, they are able to see the humorous side, where others see only tragedy. They are able to  a variety of opportunities, and having made a mistake, they recognize it and are willing to laugh at themselves, and not  blame the others.

12. Personal Leadership requires passion for the work and dedication. The source of our commitment to ourselves and others – in the belief that we can achieve something significant.

Foundation of leadership is a specific type of relationship of “leader-follower”. In general, leadership attitude distinguishes the fact that followers recognize the leadership as part of the group / organization only if leader can prove his  competence and value for others. Leader receives his power from the followers, because they recognize him as a leader. To maintain his leadership position, person  should enable them to meet their needs, which can not be achieved in another way. In response, they are providing him the necessary support to achieve organizational goals.

For me, effective leadership involves a comprehensive self-analysis, and I am  constantly asking myself questions like: What am I good at? What are my strengths? Why should I be a leader? On what I still must work to be better?

I believe that leadership,  as well as the management,  is to some extent an art. Perhaps this is the reason why the researchers failed to develop and prove a unified theory of leadership. Situational approach , in my opinion, comes closest to solving this problem,  when the leadership style depends on the situation, and in any case, the style of a true leader should be a flexible tool of effective management of the organization.