Leadership: A Critical Perspective on Challenges and the Importance of ESG Criteria

Running head: LEADERSHIP A CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE
LEADERSHIP A CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE
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1LEADERSHIP A CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE
It has never been easy defining leadership yet it is well known they are all around.
According to the American historian and political scientist James McGregor Burns, the
phenomena of leadership is one of the most observed however it is least understood on earth
(Goethals & Allison, 2016). Defining the term leadership has been one of the most complex
issues due to the fact that leadership in itself is a complex term. Some have even considered
leadership as a myth and people have false hope that someone with force of will come and solve
all the existing problems with their leadership qualities (Burns, 2017). However, there have been
pieces of evidence proving that people do hold certain hopes that leaders are the people who are
capable of doing things which for other might be unrealistic (Swanson & Frederick, 2016). The
concept of leadership has been studied previously by many scholars and the concept will be
defined by studying them. The aim of the essay is to critically evaluate the way leader’s practice
of leadership impacts the success of the organization. Firstly, the essay defines and explore the
concept of leadership. The way the success of the leaders/CEOs can be evaluated. There are
various challenges that a leader face on the path of success. Secondly, the essay discusses the
challenges CEOs face while focusing on just financial metrics to the long-term success of
organizations. Thirdly, there are challenges leader face in balancing financial and ESG
performance metrics and the essay will focus on this particular aspect and the way leaders should
be addressing these forms of challenges.
Leadership is referred to an influence relationship between the followers and leaders. The
concept of leadership involves influence, where the leader is commonly the influencer and the
followers follow the influence (Shamir & Howell, 2018). There is an inclusion of three main
factors in the leadership, influence, changes and purpose. Influence is something that is
noncoercive and multidirectional. It is shared in the relation between the leaders and followers.

2LEADERSHIP A CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE
The people involved in the relationship is acting for a change which for organizations can be
factors such as growth, success and related goals (Dong et al., 2017). Lastly, it is the purpose that
initiates the change. The purpose is the reason that makes the leader and the followers join hands
to bring the change for the purpose. Like every other aspect, there are changes that have taken
place in the concept of leadership along with time. The old paradigm of leader was perceived as
a stabilizer, controller, competitor, diversity avoider and hero (Hickman & Silva, 2018). A new
reality is seen with the rapid change in time and with the massive growth of the corporate sector.
The new paradigm of a leader is perceived as a change manager, facilitator, collaborator,
diversity promoter and humble (Daft, 2014).
Companies struggle hard to find and recruit well-known CEOs with a charismatic
personality. The organization put in them a great amount of hope since it is the leader who will
act and bring good days for the company. Often it works other ways for the organization and
owner realize that the problem has only got worse. A good example of this particular incident is
when Yahoo hired the Autodesk’s CEO, Carol Bartz in 2009 in hopes that the leader will be able
to change the company’s fortune. In the middle of 2012, Marissa Mayer, the Google executive
was hired by Yahoo as the fifth CEO in the five tears. People are actually hopeful regarding their
leader and consider them as someone who would beat the uncertain situation. Barak Obama was
one of the U.S. presidents who with his charismatic person created the feeling of hopeful in
people in 2008.
The success of a leader can be evaluated in various ways such as considering the growth of
the company and the way the company is making its logical movement toward success (Aronson,
Shenhar & Patanakul, 2013). The success of a good leadership can be obtained by the way the
followers act. Often followers’ behaviour can say a lot about the leader. However, the

3LEADERSHIP A CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE
characteristics of the leaders have changed along with time. Therefore, to evaluate the success of
a CEO can be seen from the following perspective:
Direction: a leader is able to create a compelling vision of the future which is used to
influence the followers. A vision is a picture of ambition and a future that is desirable by the by
the organization (Renko et al, 2015). The vision is created by the leader that is able to portray the
future aspirations. Creating such vision motivates the followers to overcome the challenges that
would come the way to the opportunity. The leader is only seen to be successful when he/she is
able to provide the direction or direct the followers towards the goal.
Aligning followers: when the followers are aligned according to the plan, the success is
not farsighted. Therefore, the success of a CEO heavily depends on the followers. A leader is
constantly communicating the vision to shape the followers and align them in the way it is
appropriate. It is not always providing direction. Followers are encouraged to bring out the best
in them instead of just providing performance. Therefore, while evaluating the success of CEO it
is necessary to study the alignments of the followers (Mazarr et al., 2018). A CEO’s success can
be evaluated by the evaluation of his or her follower’s potential trust. There is no place for
coercion in leadership relation and followers tend to act with their own will which develops in
the way CEO builds his relationship (Podsakoff & House, 2013).
The outcome: the most tangible and observed feature that determines the CEO’s success
is the result. A successful CEO’s works are result oriented and that is the first thing that is easily
observed by outsiders mostly (Latham, 2013). The success of a CEO can be evaluated by the
changes he or she brings in the organization along with a positive outcome.