Leadership is the achievement of a task through guiding human helpers. The individual who successfully rallies his human partners to achieve certain aims is a leader. A great leader is someone who can do this every day, every year, in a wide range of situations.
He may not be powerful or show it; he may never use force or the threat of harm in his interactions. He could not be well-liked, and his admirers might never carry out his orders because they love or respect him. He might never be a flamboyant character, and he might never employ catchy techniques to highlight the goals of his organization or draw attention to his leadership. In terms of the crucial task of defining goals, he could really be a man with little competence or influence who acts more as a follower than a leader. His singular accomplishment is a human and social one that results from his comprehension of his coworkers and how their individual goals relate to the group goal that he must accomplish.
overlooked. We may discover several CEOs in business who only replicate the outward behaviors of a successful coworker or superior without ever attempting to find methods to engage their own staffs actively by demonstrating ways for them to achieve personal fulfillment in the shared job.
Executives adopt a salesman-like attitude, and it is noteworthy, that the finance, manufacturing, and research departments of many businesses view salesmen as a necessary evil and would be terrified at the idea of introducing a “sales approach” to management. Their motivation may never be fully understood, but it undoubtedly has something to do with the deceptive and manipulative nature of some marketing, selling, and advertising. The salespeople and advertising I’m referring to are frequently eager to look for and take advantage of a hole in their customers’ defenses in order to close a deal—even if they have reason to believe or may already know that the consumer would later live to regret the purchase.
The role of an executive is similar to that of an orchestra leader in that it requires the application of talents and human understanding to capture individual satisfactions in the collective endeavor and to foster contentment that keeps the subordinate committed to his role. No assortment of cute showmanship or enticement gimmicks can accomplish that for him.
Contrary to popular belief, leadership is far more than only “understanding people,” “being good to people,” or refraining from “pushing other people about.” Democracy is frequently taken to mean that there is no separation of powers or that everyone is their own boss. That is obviously absurd, especially in business. However, business leadership can be democratic in the sense of giving every employee the greatest chance for success while preventing anarchy.
In truth, a leader’s full development of his talents must always come before the orderly arrangement of functions and the right assessment of his position in that arrangement. It is a leader’s responsibility to establish the roles and responsibilities inside the group that will enable each member to pursue their principal goals and interests.
