Effective Leadership For A Small Business

There are a variety of ways to define both leader and leadership. There is not, however, a clear definition of how to become one. There is no set list of mandatory traits, either innate or learned, that a person must embody to be considered successful or proved a failure. What I feel it takes is the right mix of strengths and weaknesses in a given situation to demonstrate effectiveness. No one person has abilities without accompanying deficiencies. It’s all in the way they are balanced. The balance in the way one uses his or hers’ abilities will ultimately determine the type of leadership one has throughout time. To support these claims I will examine a well-known leader throughout the military, General James “Mad Dog” Mattis. This essay

Throughout time the question of “ Are leaders born or made?” continues to be debated. This question has been part of several myths that try to explain what makes a person a leader. According to the trait approach theory, it sets a benchmark for what certain traits an individual must possess in order to make them a leader. Before leadership traits were considered innate. However, as time has progressed research has indicated that situations differentiate leaders from non-leaders. Therefore, an individual does not possess certain traits, rather it is the relationship between the person and its society that make him/her leader. All leaders must have a set of skills that help them lead subordinates to reach an overall vision. A vision must originate from both the leader and its followers, and it is the leader's job to articulate the vision. Furthermore, leaders demonstrate the capacity to lead their followers and

In modern day business, leadership has become an issue that is given far more attention and investment than ever before. Leadership involves establishing a clear vision, sharing that vision with others so that they will follow willingly, providing the information, knowledge and methods to realise that vision, and coordinating and balancing the conflicting interests of all members and stakeholder. This essay will discuss whether leaders are born not made, with varies of theories being compared and contrasted and the strengths and limitations of leaders itself. Further this essay will analyse the future aspects of theories which would establish whether a leader was born with leadership qualities or made into a successful leader.

Looking back to an inspiring leader of mine, George Washington, I see a man that was able to influence other to do great things that ultimately formed the United States after overcoming great odds against Great Britain. He was a transitional leader that was able to accomplish great things for which I idol him for that especially in a time where I do not see any true great leaders of George Washington’s caliber. I aspire to be a great leader in my future and I have been working toward this goal ever since high school. It is important to understand who you are and where you can improve as a leader because it will be important as you leader others and attempt to shape a business, a country, or a large group of people across the world. This assessment will determine my strengths and weaknesses as a leader by providing detailed examples based off of my perspective. It will relate my leadership ability to my personality and go into describing how my leadership relates to the Trait Approach, Skills, Approach, Behavioral Approach, Situational Approach, and Psychodynamic Approach. Further explaining how each of these leadership approaches is integrated to define leadership and how an individual is a leader through personal qualities and how they influence others to impact organizations. I am not a perfect leader and will go into depth about my flaws and my personal action plan for overcoming my shortfalls in order to become a better leader. Through a thorough personal analysis and a

Leadership has many definitions and has been described by many authors, political leaders, and common men by different means. The great Green Bay Packers coach, Vince Lombardi, once said; “Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal.” The literature that the authors reviewed justifies the argument that leaders are developed. Grandzol et al did not find much literature that

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” – John C. Maxwell

John F. Kennedy once said “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” Often, people make the assumption that the great leaders of generation were naturally gifted and born to be leaders. While these leaders, like John F. Kennedy, did have a certain aptitude for skills involved with leadership, the level of the successful leadership attained by them cannot be totally attributed to their natural ability. The ability to lead is found through learning and personal experience. Each individual brings a unique set of strengths and styles to their leadership discovered through learning and experience. Without those experiences and lessons learned, an individual holds only skills associated with leadership, not leadership ability itself.

I have had the opportunity to accumulate experiences from a multifaceted of earlier experiences (i.e., sports, education, family, military, and church/work) in my life that has led to me becoming the leader I am today. I would have to say I am a product of life?s culture, it institutions, politics and economics. It has all shaped the type of leader I am and the contributions I?ve added to them and the individuals I came into contact with throughout my life. I realized as a leader that oftentimes had it not been for me taking it upon myself to make something happen in my life and or others (i.e., work, school, family, etc.) things would not have otherwise happened had I not engaged or acted in a leadership role despite its

Analyze and describe the founding leader(s), leadership style, and major business principles of a profit-oriented entrepreneurial approach in which the primary goal is to provide a product or service to consumers and to make a profit

There are many kinds of leaders; some lead through position and authority, while others lead through inspiration and vision. Some people are simply natural born leaders. However, whether one was born a leader or has to become a leader, all great leaders spend time developing their traits. Similarly, when you train for a sport, you first learn to develop the fundamentals, and then you work to master and apply them. I’ve been told I am a born leader, but have always sought to improve my leadership abilities through experience. Maxwell states, “The learned leader; has seen leadership modeled most of life, has learned leadership through training, and has self-discipline to become a great leader” (Maxwell, 93). This statement is reflective of my experience during my military tenure, and what it means to me is; leadership must be developed in practice, as well as in theory.

As the saying goes, some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them, this common believe alludes that leaders are born not made. Undoubtedly one can suggest that leadership cannot be taught as such the role of educational institutes in the development of leaders is impractical. Numerous researches have suggested that leadership is a combination of natural talents, and taught knowledge, skills and abilities (Rosenbach, 2003; Doh, 2003; Connaughton et al., 2003). Additionally, many scholars suggest that due to today’s very dynamic business environment, the success and failure of any organization is highly influenced by managers and leaders who are engaged in a constant learning and education processes, thus providing them with the broad business perspective required for being an effective leader.

My father once told me that, “everything we do— be it in academia, at work, social or family life—we are guided by principles, beliefs and values that collectively form our ideology of life.” I believe that every leader, to a certain extent, is shaped through her individual personal experience. Although in some cases, we may not realize to what extent our personal assumptions and beliefs shape our ability to lead or be led.

It is the general consensus that leadership, does matter and everything rises and falls on leadership (Maxwell, 1999). Leaders have vision, game plan, and a strategy to attain their desired goals. Furthermore, people are drawn to leaders for various reasons such as: their character, charisma, knowledge, experience, skills, and their ability to effectively communicate to followers. There are many ordinary unsung leaders that have made a great impact on the lives of others. One such person is Mr. Gregory Reid who has, and continues to positively affect my professional life. For this reason, it is fitting to explore and examine the path taken to leadership by Mr. Reid which includes his family, education, career path and document pertinent comments and approach that can be applied to my career, professional life.

The case study “Chattanooga’s Ice Cream Division” is a story that inevitably demonstrates how important effective leadership is to an organization. To have a

To understand the concept of leadership one must first understand the qualities required to be a good leader and the problems they have to face and overcome. On many occasions people have to step up and become a leader. In Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, we see the many issues that leaders have to overcome and the challenges they face. In “Adult Behavior This Is Not”, by Rumni Saha, we see how she took initiative in something she believed in and put her opinion on harming others out there in hope of making a positive impact on society. Additionally, in Franklin D. Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower’s speeches we see the qualities they had to have in order to lead the United States. Although I am not the president of the United States or stranded on an island, I do see myself having to lead in certain situations such as in my aspiration to run a company or business. There are many qualities I must have as a leader and many challenges I may run into.