Very often people associate leadership with work. They always want to be good leaders or be run by good leaders. At the present time, the subject of leadership is very urgent and provokes plenty of discussions. Everyone wants to be a leader in the family, at work, in the society, in the circle of friends, etc. However, not all people know that it is difficult to be a good leader, and one should learn how to become the best boss and a billionaire.
Leadership exists not only at work; it touches all spheres of one’s life. It is a societal phenomenon. The modern leaders of social, political, and cultural spheres are aspired by the leaders of the past, they inborn their best qualities and try to put them in practice. People are human beings and social ones, as they live in groups and need to adopt different roles. Without doubt, it is true that not always these roles will be the main ones.
As a rule, people are divided into leaders and followers. There are people who want to run other people and differ from the “crowd”. Effective leadership is the basement of the successful existence of society. It helps business organizations and companies to function. Leadership is even important for family life, as leadership of parents is a good example for their children. The absence of leadership has a negative impact, as without leadership, the organizations and companies do not develop, the families with conflicts, and society moves slowly and degrades.
Without doubt, leaders have an impact on the behavior of other people and course of events. Leadership is the quality that incites to taking decisions and solving of problems. People face leadership related issues when choosing their political leader. People choose their leaders in the contests and elections and think that they have chosen the best candidate. In business, one thinks that a real leader is able to make even the weakest plan successful, and a poor leader ruins even the best and the most successful plan.
Leadership is the process when one individual has the possibility to influence the group of individuals in order to achieve the common goals. The common goals can be achieved by cooperation and a good activity of a leader.
Leadership plays the important role for any organization, as a good activity of a leader defines the work of all employees of an organization. The main goals of a leader in the organization are to define the strategy of the actions, to coach, to solve problems, to make decisions, and to build a successful teamwork.
High productivity and successful organizational process depends on a leader. It is important for leaders to know their forces, because the role of leaders is to organize people and be the best examples for imitating.
Nowadays, the weaknesses of leaders make society suffer, because leaders behave selfishly, pompously, and impudently. They take care about their own interests and desires forgetting that they should follow another aim in their lives. It is important for a leader to know his/her abilities, skills, and values in order to understand what to demand from other people. With good reason, Warren Bennis told that “recognizing strength and amends for weaknesses represents the first step in reaching positive self-respect”.
Moreover, a good leader understands who he/she is and never has high self-estimation. He is simply respected by his/her followers who determine if the leader is worthy of being followed. The behavior, the moral values, professionalism, and the human qualities of a leader inspire his/her followers to support him/her and trust him/her.
As one may see, leadership is not an easy task but a serious mission and responsibility. People management is not entertainment. Moreover, being a leader one should be devoted to self-development, since it is necessary to acquire new knowledge, understand the specific tasks, have perfect communicative skills, be able to build teams, value other people, and take risks. An effective leader justifies his/her followers’ trust and fulfills their expectations.
Positive attitudes are essential for a leader if he/she wants to be successful, trustworthy, and respected for a long period of time. One can distinguish the following positive attitudes as hope for the best, trust in others, optimism about the future, and belief in oneself. Positive attitudes include not only friendly relationships between a leader and his/her followers and open smiling to people. They embrace much deeper feelings, which one can notice in the leader’s actions and behavior.
Personal attitude is one of the elements of positive attitudes. It includes energy that is given to the team by a leader, relying upon one’s own forces, supportive, and encouraging thoughts and actions that are approved by the team. Indisputably, a leader should form his/her team with positive attitudes, and then the results of work will be positive and successful. The main goal of a leader is to create friendly and encouraging environment in order to stimulate the high productivity.
Speaking about ethical leadership, it is necessary to mention that nowadays, such a phenomenon is a rare occurrence. The changes of values and other views on life influence people. An ideal ethical leader makes decisions ethically, leads ethically, taking into consideration moral values. There is no absolutely ethical leadership, because there are no leaders who put aside their interests for the sake of other people’s interests.
Leadership is more concerned with people than management, because the main role of every leader is to work with people, control them, organize their work and stimulate them to the best results.
Organizational management strategy
An organizational strategy is an important feature for every organization as well as for the leader and workers of this organization. The main dimensions of an organizational strategy are the strategic plan, leadership, the strategic goals, and tactics which are necessary for solving problems, taking decisions, and collaboration with other companies. Nowadays, an organizational strategy is the essential part for company’s forming and developing. The choice of the right direction in business is the component of success. Without doubt, one can draw a parallel between leadership and an organizational strategy.
There is nothing strange that at the present time, an organizational strategy is the main plan of actions of any company. First of all, any company should have its strategic plan. This strategic plan should not be similar constantly. One should change it according to the circumstances, the situation at the market, etc.
Without doubt, the “strategic mindset” or the ability to think strategically is relevant for an organization. The ability to think strategically is a learned trait that is achieved through observation, experience, and practice and should be the characteristic feature of any leader. First of all, the managers and leaders should develop the “strategic mindset” unfolding clear insights on markets, customers, and technology. They should reflect on other companies’ experience, seek new information, and plan the future of the company. If the leader has such strategic traits as flexibility, cognition, anticipation, learning, and clarity, he/she will then pass these strategic abilities to the employees of the company.
Strategic “resources” and “competencies” are the base of any company. The main strategic “competency” is the effective teamwork that stimulates achieving of good results and unites people with a common aim. It means that for the successful existence of the company, it needs qualified leader, competent managers, etc. They should work on managing the teamwork, leadership, knowledge of organizational goals and strategies, respect to others and collaboration, and the development of their common affair. The strategic “recourses” focus on individual skills development, individual responsibility, and achievement of the goals.
The central part in organizational management belongs to the leader. For the organization, the leader is the trainer, as he/she organizes the activity and is the best example for imitating. Some people are born with the abilities to leadership, while others can learn to be leaders. An effective leader knows his/her abilities and possibilities. However, it does not mean that he/she should stop developing and learning. An effective leader is better than others, and he/she always trains and practices in order to achieve his/her goals and influence other people and specifically, the organization.
Leader should not only manage but also spend equal time learning about his weak points. Without doubt, to be the leader is prestigious. A good leader should be well organized, completely absorbed in his work, and devoted to people. Leadership requires commitment and devotion.
Moreover, a good leader understands who he/she is and never has too high self-estimation. He/she is simply respected by his/her followers who determine if the leader is worthy of being followed. The behavior, the moral values, professionalism, and the human qualities of a trainer inspire his/her football team to support him/her and trust him/her.
Positive attitude is essential for a leader if he/she wants to be successful, trustworthy, and respected for a long period of time. One can distinguish such positive attitudes as hope for the best, trust in others, optimism about the future, and belief in oneself. Positive attitude includes not only friendly relationships between a leader and his/her team.
Personal attitude is one of the elements of positive attitudes. It includes energy that is given to the staff by a leader, relying upon one’s own forces, supportive, and encouraging thoughts and actions that are approved by the team. Without any doubt, a trainer should form his/her team with positive attitudes, and then the results of work will be positive and successful. The main goal of a trainer is to create friendly and encouraging environment in order to stimulate the high productivity and success.
As it was already mentioned, organizational strategy is one of the components of success for the company. However, it is necessary to mention that organizational strategy is a characteristic feature of leadership. First of all, activity of leaders is based on the strategy to find customers for the company.
The activity of leaders is a “big picture” that consists of hidden and open goals, a plan of strategy how to solve problems and stay competitive at the market. The leaders realize strategic goals, priorities, their flexible plans, and programs.
It is important to mention that the strategy of the company will be successful when the members of the company focus on the organization’s values, friendly atmosphere, and effective interpersonal and teamwork relationships. It is possible to learn and to think “strategically” if one has a great desire and does everything in order to achieve the desired results.
Very often people confuse two absolutely different notions, namely, “leadership” and “management”. Without doubt, they are interrelated and interdependent and must be looked at as mutually complementary. However, it is important to distinguish the differences. The duties of a manager are to organize, plan, and coordinate the work. The duties of a leader are to motivate, inspire, and incite to actions. The manager directs and controls the affairs, while the leader applies new methods, ideas, and innovations. One can learn to be a manager that is being a copy. One is born a leader that is being original. The manager maintains already existing ideas and methods. The leader develops the new ideas and looks for new ways of solving the problem. The attention of the manager is focused on the structure and systems. The leader focuses his attention on people. The manager controls and directs. The leader incites to actions, innovates, and puts in practice new ideas. The manager is characterized by a shortly specialized view. The leader should be knowledgeable in many spheres. The manager is always interested in the questions “how?” and “when?”. The leader is interested in the questions “why?” and “what?”. The manager is interested in the organizing activities for solving the problem, but he does not solve the problem. The leader is interested in the solving of the problem. The manager takes as a model his chief whom he imitates. The leader is the model himself for following, and, thus, he originates.
Summary
Leadership exists not only at work, since it touches all spheres of one’s life. It is a societal phenomenon. The modern leaders of social, political, and cultural spheres are aspired by the leaders of the past, they inborn their best qualities and try to put them in practice. People are human beings and social ones, as they live in groups and need to adopt the different roles. Without doubt, not always these roles will be the main ones.
The paper is aimed at the investigation of the importance of leadership development process, differences between leadership, and management. The paper presents the role of a leader for strategic and organizational management.
This study reveals the qualities of a good leader, draws a parallel between leadership and strategic management. , This study seeks to explain leadership as an interactive process and its importance for the development of the organizations. This paper also shows the differences between management and leadership.
The research paper proves that high productivity and successful organizational process depend on a leader. It is important for leaders to know their forces, because the role of leaders is to organize people and be the best examples for imitating. Some people were born with the abilities to leadership, while others can learn to be leaders. An effective leader knows his abilities and possibilities. However, it does not mean that he/she should stop developing and learning. An effective leader is better than others, for he/she always trains and practices in order to achieve his/her goals and influence other people.
This paper draws the parallel between organizational management, indicating that the central part in organizational management belongs to the leader. For the organization, the leader is the trainer, as he organizes the activity and is the best example for imitating.