Take Ways from Leadership Skills Speech or Presentation

Take Ways from Leadership Skills - Speech or Presentation Example A concluding portion would highlight relevant concepts and lessons learned from the essay. Take ways from Leadership Skills Leadership is an important component in the existence, survival and functioning of any group or organization. Many organizations have been aware of the fact that their success is greatly dependent upon the quality and effectiveness of this dimension. As an organization grows in size and complexity, the requirements for an efficient and effective leadership multiply. In this regard, the essay aims to define leadership using one’s own words and to indicate what components or elements are involved in leadership. Further, the discourse would describe the different leadership theories in simple words. In conjunction with the discussion of the leadership theories, one would present a theoretical application in one’s workplace (convenience store) through the provision of an example. Finally, one’s personal view on the best leadership skills and a d escription of the follower's role in leadership process would be proffered. A concluding portion would highlight relevant concepts and lessons learned from the essay. Definition of Leadership The term ‘leadership’ has received various definitions and explanations depending on the perceptions, experiences and understandings of those who discuss it. One’s personal definition of leadership sees it as an act or behavior manifested by a person possessing qualities and traits that enable that person to influence others into achieving a well defined goal. At the simplest, leadership have three key elements: leader, followers and the situation (Martires & Fule, 2004). To determine what leadership involves, one must take into consideration various points of views. From the view point of the leader, there are skills and traits that are commonly manifested and exemplified by leaders. According to Martires & Fule (2004), leadership is at once personal, interpersonal, and sit uational. But it can be viewed from one perspective at a time. At the personal level, traits and skills are highlighted. At the interpersonal level, style comes to the fore. Finally, at the situational level, the contingent nature of leadership manifests itself. Murray Ross and Charles Hendry drew a personality profile of effective leaders from many tests conducted to identify leadership traits. In general, they found that effective leaders have attibutes as follows: (1) self-confident, well-integrated, and emotionally stable; (2) warm, sensitive, and sympathetic toward other people and give practical, helpful suggestions; (3) intelligent in relation to the gorup members; (4) identify with the goals and values of the groups they lead; (5) want to take leadership responsibility and are competent in handling new situations; (6) can be relied on to perform leadership functions consistently; and (7) in elected or public positions, usually possess more enthusiasm and capacity for express ion than other types of leaders (Ross & Hendry, 1957). On the other hand, various skills are exhibited by leaders as essentially described by Henry Mitzberg, to wit: (1) skills of introspection; (2) entrepreneurial skills; (3) conflict-resolution skills; (4) peer skills; (5) information-processing skills; (6) skills in unstructured decision-making; and (7) resourse generation and allocation skills (Mitzberg, 1973). Leadership Theories There are diverse leadership theories that evolved through the years