The Challenge of Leadership Today

Essay
Leadership
Institutional Affiliation(S)
Student Name
[Date]

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The challenge of leadership today
A leader is a person who holds a command and is responsible managing other
individuals who work for a shared purpose. Core abilities possessed by a strong leader
includes influencing, inspiring and observing that the projects remains successful beyond
basic drives of job description. Leadership, on the other hand can be compared to science of
management and associated with vision and personality, methods and routine along with
structure and management. Personal attributes that are associated with leadership like
innovation and creativity further adds value to the management ( Wadhwa & Parimoo, 2013).
(Gentry, 2016) reveals that life of today’s leader is very challenging as they need to lead and
inspire diversified group of employees while working for international organisations. On this
note, this essay will draw upon similar challenges faced by leadership today along with
finding out ways that can potentially eliminate those challenges. This essay will conclude
after making appropriate recommendation to develop and improve leadership quality from
academic and theoretical lenses.
Gentry (2016) recognised that contemporary leaders faces complex and globalised
work environment that makes them face challenges related to political and legal barriers and
to keep up with competitors, they have to meet every stakeholders’ expectations
considerably. After conducting a thematic analysis from data collected out of seven major
countries, the author finds that significant challenges faced by todays leadership includes:
developing managerial effectiveness, inspiring others to ensure that the job is done
appropriately, developing and mentoring employees for enhanced organisational culture,
building and leading effective teams, guiding change and innovation as per industry demands
and maintaining stakeholders and politics to eliminate workflow disruptions. (Ibrahim, 2016)

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further categorised leadership challenges into two categories, external and internal
challenges. External challenges include facing issues pertaining lack of resources and
funding, opposition for external forces like community along with interpersonal issues within
organisations that often reduces organisational performance. Social, political and economic
forces in the wider context can significantly affect organisations as well and therefore,
today’s leaders have to measure them effectively to manage with continuous succession of
minor annoyances and crises threatening the mission of the organisations. Internal challenges
to some extent can be related to those limitations that are held by leaders while transmitting
and following their vision. These challenges include insecurity, fear and lack of confidence
and tolerance which further act as a barrier while performing leadership roles. Facing
personal issues and showing positive attitude is another example real world leader face while
adapting organisational behaviour and acknowledging attitude and tendencies that may come
in their way (Ibrahim, 2016).
Apart from the above-mentioned challenges, to lead an organisation leader have to
face intense competition to survive and grow while they pursue towards their mission within
an industrial setting. Managing organisational change and business uncertainty also adds to
the leadership challenge where the leaders have to look after stakeholders and government
demands that remains more than ever volatile. Therefore, leadership across organisations
requires enabling skills that can minimise chaos admits change and directing innovative
steps. The challenge of technological advancement and innovation have made leaders face
new expectations of customers as well as highly driven technological society where any lack
seen within new kind of method or product delivered never suffice their demands. Managing
industrial harmony is another challenge that has grown due to increased complexity in
business environment. It has made workplace filled with people having diversified thoughts,
beliefs and backgrounds thereby enabling conflicts within internal managements. This further