Leadership: Styles, Traits, and Personal Leadership Approach

This essay delves into the multifaceted concept of leadership, exploring various styles such as autocratic, laissez-faire, democratic, and transformational leadership. It emphasizes the importance of key qualities like intelligence, maturity, and personality in effective leaders. The essay highlights the significance of communication, motivation, and employee morale in achieving organizational goals. It also discusses ethical leadership, emphasizing traits like dignity, respect, justice, and honesty. The author reflects on their own leadership approach, identifying democratic and transformational styles as preferred methods and acknowledging the importance of reliability, vision, and cultural sensitivity. The essay concludes with a call for continuous improvement in areas such as emotional intelligence and fairness in task assignment, underscoring the importance of adaptability in a globalized environment. The essay emphasizes the significance of leadership for organizational success.

Running head: LEADERSHIP
Leadership
Name of Student:
Name of University:
Author’s Note:

1LEADERSHIP
Leadership is a procedure by which an executive can direct, influence as well as guide the
behaviour or the work of others. This is done in order to lead to the accomplishment of particular
goals in a specific situation. Leadership is the capability of individuals in managerial positions to
help their subordinates work with a certain level of confidence and zeal. Leadership is also the
potential to help in influencing a group towards the realization of a specific goal. Leaders are
required to develop visions for the future and they also lead to the motivation of the
organisational members in order to achieve the aims of the organisation. It has been defined that
“leadership is the ability to persuade others to seek defined objectives enthusiastically.”
Leadership is basically an inter-personal procedure where a manager helps in the
influence and guidance of the workers towards the achievement of goals. There are certain
qualities which need to exist in a person which includes the intelligence, maturity and the
personality of a specific individual. A leader is someone who is responsible for the shaping and
moulding the behaviour of the group towards the accomplishment the goals of the organisation
(Bellé 2013).
Leadership is a crucial function of the management which helps in the maximisation of
efficiency for the achievement of the organisational goals. There are certain points which help in
the justification of the idea of leadership in a specific situation. Leader is someone who starts his
or her work by communication of policies and plans to the subordinates from the place where
work actually starts. Motivation also plays a huge role in the organisations and there can be
several ways in which a leader can motivate his or her employees (Bolman and Deal 2017). The
motivation can be by means of economic as well as non-economic rewards. The leader has to
supervise and also play a guiding role for the respective subordinates.

2LEADERSHIP
The idea of confidence is an important factor in the expression of the efforts of work to
the subordinates which explain them clearly and help in the effective achievement of goals. It is
crucial to always help employees regarding all the complaints and problems which they possess
regarding a specific situation. The morale of the employees is also important. It is the duty of a
leader to help in boosting the morale of a particular employee. Those employees who have high
degrees of morale help in the overall performance of the company as they perform to the best of
their abilities (Den Hartog and Belschak 2012). Management is involved with getting certain
things done from certain people. A proper and efficient environment of work assists in the
overall stability in the growth of the organisation. Therefore the employees need to be treated in
a humanitarian manner. Coordination can be achieved by means of reconciliation of personal
interests and also the organisational goals. The synchronisation can be achieved suitably by
proper and effective coordination which is the most important motive of a leader.
It is not possible for leaders to possess the same type of leadership style or even the same
attitude or perspective. It is not possible for all leaders to get things done in an effective manner.
The leadership style is indicative on the basis of the nature of the people with whom the leader
interacts and deals with. The ideal style of leadership is when a leader is assisted in getting the
best out of the people who follow a specific leader (Jordan et a. 2013).
The style of autocratic leadership is when the leader has a complete command and hold
over the employees and the team as well. The team is unable to put forward its views as a whole
despite being in the best interests of the organisation. in addition to this the leaders method of
getting things done cannot be discussed or criticised. The advantages of this particular style is in
the fact that it leaders to the speed in the decisions which are the resultant productivity under the

3LEADERSHIP
supervision of a specific leader. It is the duty of the leader to ensure that all the relevant things
are done on time.
The Laissez Faire Style of leadership is when the leader has complete faith on the
employees for the performance of their job duties. There needs to be concentration on the
intellectual and rational aspect of the work apart from the management aspect of the work. The
team and employees are welcomed and encouraged to share the views along with relevant
suggestions which are best suited for the interests of the organisation. this leadership style us best
only in cases when the employee are skilled, loyal, experienced as well as intellectual.
The leaders help in the invitation and encouragement of the members of the team in order
to help in the decision making procedure. The leader guides the employees regarding the areas of
performance and the way in which their tasks are to be performed. The employees tell the leader
regarding their level of experience and also put forward possible suggestions. The only drawback
of the style of leadership is the fact that it is strenuous and time consuming.
The organisational rules and policies need to be followed strictly at the time of
bureaucratic leadership. This style of leadership develops over a course of time. The style of
leadership gradually develops over a time frame. This style of leadership is more suitable when
the conditions of work are safe and the quality is also as per required levels. This particular style
of leadership discourages the level of creativity and this is positive in the sense that is does not
make the employees self contented at any particular frame of time.
It is desirable for an effective and ethical leader to possess certain traits and
characteristics which include that of dignity and respectfulness, serving others, justice, building
of community and development and most importantly that of honesty. A leader in order to he

4LEADERSHIP
respected also needs to respect others and he or she should not wrongly utilize his or her
subordinates for the achievement of their own goals. The most important attitude which needs to
be imbibed within a leader is that of serving and doing for the sake of others. The leader most
importantly needs to be fair and just at all times. The ethical leader needs to serve others well
and the needs of the followers need to be put above the needs of the leader. The leader also needs
to be honest and loyal. Honesty is essential in case the employees need to rely on the managers
properly.
I have always been extremely vocal in communication and they have also followed a
certain openness in communication and there is also a certain concern to ensure that the
employees need to understand the processes, change and policies in the communication of the
company. I try to follow a pattern in the overall development patterns for my organisation. The
two leadership styles which I follow at all times is that of democratic and transformational
leadership style. I do not believe in the autocratic leadership style despite the fact that it leads to
the immediate achievement of results. I do not believe in this particular style as the employees
are not given importance in this particular style. I have always received praise for a quality
which my colleagues as well as subordinates consider to be the best quality of a manager or a
leader which is that of being reliable. I consider that being an effective leader is extremely
important. There are several trials and tribulations which a leader has to face in his or her life. I
have several positive and negative experiences of being a leader but feel that both positives and
negatives are essential in the determination of the specific reliability and control which a leader
enjoys.
My subordinates consider me to be reliable and feel that this is one of the most important
aspects of being a leader as in case the leaders are not consistent in their actions and efforts it

5LEADERSHIP
leads to a certain degree of doubt of the dedication of the leader to a particular cause. A leader
also needs to be motivating and lead to a certain level of empowerment of the subordinates of the
organisation. There might be situations where people get stressed or burnt out. It is only when a
leader is good or proper that such situations can be recognized and they can provide the required
support that is needed in such cases.
A leader is also responsible for providing a level of hope, purpose and something which
the people can strive for a degree of achievement. Reliability is important and vision is even
more important to survive in particular situations. I feel that transformational leadership is
crucial in an organisational perspective. It is necessary for transformational leaders to possess
global overview. Leadership is crucial for organisational success. The ideal leader needs to
possess not only traditional skills but also cross cultural skills which help in the navigation of the
difficulties of globalization. I have always maintained a transformational approach in my
dealings in the respective organisation. Global transformational leadership is something which
involves the concept of team work and involves a learning environment which allows the
adoption and embracement of change.
Transformational leadership is defined as that particular approach which causes a change
in the individuals, social as well as industrial systems. The transformational style of leadership
helps a leader in identifying the areas which need change and create a vision for the purpose of
guiding the change through the inspiration and the execution of the change which is in tandem
with the committed members of a specific group. This type of leadership is important as it helps
in the creation of valuable and positive change in the followers with the respective goal of the
development of followers into leaders. The enhancement of motivation, confidence and
performance of the followers in the area of development is crucial in organisations.

6LEADERSHIP
I am more or less fair when it comes to assigning tasks to my subordinates. I maintain a
just attitude in the way I look upon my colleagues and the members of my group. I feel that in
case a leader is not just, the people cannot consider him to be a proper role model. Therefore due
to my fair and just attitude I am more or less considered to be a proper manager by my
subordinates.
However, no person is perfect. There are certain areas which need improvement. I feel
that people from all cultures need to be given equal importance and the work timings need to be
adjusted accordingly. The organisation needs to be considerate towards people coming from all
types of cultures and this is possible only when the work scenario is feasible for all. I feel that I
need to be completely fair and just at the time of assigning tasks and no member of the office
should feel neglected. I also need to ensure that I am always understanding and considerate
towards the situations which the employees are facing at different times in their respective
domains of work.
Another important characteristic which I need to imbibe is that of emotional intelligence.
It is common for people to be emotional and it is not different in case of organisational settings.
A workplace needs a certain level of emotional intelligence especially from the leaders and this
is essential because the subordinates also expect it from them. A workplace which is emotionally
balanced and has a certain level of emotional intelligence, operates with a certain rate of success
and is suitable for different levels of growth. It often happens that leaders consider emotional
transactions to be very difficult between the people, but they need to be conducted at the time it
is necessary to be conducted. I feel that I need to be sensitive to the emotional needs of all the
subordinates. In order to keep all the employees motivated I need to ensure that their needs are
catered to.

7LEADERSHIP
References and Bibliography:
Bellé, N., 2013. Leading to make a difference: A field experiment on the performance effects of
transformational leadership, perceived social impact, and public service motivation. Journal of
Public Administration Research and Theory, 24(1), pp.109-136.
Bolman, L.G. and Deal, T.E., 2017. Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership.
John Wiley & Sons.
Den Hartog, D.N. and Belschak, F.D., 2012. When does transformational leadership enhance
employee proactive behavior? The role of autonomy and role breadth self-efficacy. Journal of
Applied Psychology, 97(1), p.194.
García-Morales, V.J., Jiménez-Barrionuevo, M.M. and Gutiérrez-Gutiérrez, L., 2012.
Transformational leadership influence on organizational performance through organizational
learning and innovation. Journal of business research, 65(7), pp.1040-1050.
Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R.E. and McKee, A., 2013. Primal leadership: Unleashing the power of
emotional intelligence. Harvard Business Press.
Grant, A.M., 2012. Leading with meaning: Beneficiary contact, prosocial impact, and the
performance effects of transformational leadership. Academy of Management Journal, 55(2),
pp.458-476.
Jordan, J., Brown, M.E., Treviño, L.K. and Finkelstein, S., 2013. Someone to look up to:
Executive–follower ethical reasoning and perceptions of ethical leadership. Journal of
Management, 39(3), pp.660-683.

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Mayer, D.M., Aquino, K., Greenbaum, R.L. and Kuenzi, M., 2012. Who displays ethical
leadership, and why does it matter? An examination of antecedents and consequences of ethical
leadership. Academy of Management Journal, 55(1), pp.151-171.
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behavior: A perspective of intrinsic motivation. Journal of Business Ethics, 116(2), pp.441-455.
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