Leadership is the driving force for any organization, region, or enterprise. Different people have different understanding on the value of leadership. There is a major concern on whether leaders are born or made. However, proper answer would mainly rely on evaluation of the various traits that a leader should posses. Proper leadership skills are vital to the success of a company. They help in making the right choices at the right time. Proper leadership is a combination of personality traits and several skills, and capabilities that an individual learn with time, and the experience that people acquire in their various occupations.
Leaders have effective ability to resolve complex situations as one of their most critical traits. However, this does not dictate that they are the most knowledgeable individuals in an organization. At some point, they will require the assistance of the subordinates to handle stubborn problems. Successful leadership does not undermine the contribution of a subordinate (Kinicki 2014). Instead, the leader combines his knowledge with that of the team member to set effective directions, as well as make proper decisions.
The character, personality, or attitude of a person may be extremely useful to him in assuming leadership role. However, it calls for application of a range of leadership styles by leaders to suit their personalities, and various leadership situations.
In most cases, people feel well prepared to handle leadership roles without considering the most critical issues at hand. Such people fail to understand the functions of leadership, which are useful in developing skills, and capabilities to acquire successful styles of leadership that match their characters, as well as their talents. It is clear that some of the basics of excellent leadership can be learned individually while several skills will be acquired from experienced gained over time. A leader may acquire leadership skills from the people he, or she spend most of his time with such as teachers, employers, or workmates (Kinicki 2014).This may be through observing the behavior, and style of leadership of the successful leaders.
Leadership skills may also be acquired through watching, and analyzing. This means another person’s leadership style can shape the skills of a leader. There must be certain elements of leadership that one will learn from observing how other people in leadership positions respond to issues (Kinicki 2014).
In the process of building one’s leadership skills, feedback from the team being led is paramount. These people have direct view of the behavior of the leader, and evaluate the effectiveness of the method of leadership that he or she obtains. As a leader, one should learn from the mistakes that the team assists one to identify (Kinicki 2014). In most cases, such people will give the exact information concerning the problem at stake.
Leaders are individuals who are exposed to new problems every day. They will always find themselves in new situations, and may be dealing with new personnel. The continuous exposure to new positions that require exclusive application of leadership skills, the leader will learn new ways of dealing with situations, and interacting with new people. In the new environment, the individual may observe the most critical issues through which he learns, and applies the necessary knowledge useful in defining success in the situation (Taffinder 22).
Commitment in setting clear, and effective objectives should be core among leaders. The objectives of a company act as the driving force to the company. They are the main reason why the company exists, and the leader must be part of the team that identifies this as a requirement for the move. The leader will acquire skills of respecting objectives by sustaining commitment to the objectives. The proper knowledge of objectives of a company assists the leader in having all the employees follow him (Deschamps 35).
Leaders should be individuals with special skills to identify the significance of certain traits as identified in certain situation. At some point, some traits will only be applicable at certain points while they would be irrelevant in another situation. It is clear that the leaders must experience these traits through studying, or experience at work. In most cases, these traits are recurrent from one group of type of business to another (Taffinder 22). The more one sticks to specific area, the more he or she learns of the traits necessary to deal with certain issues.
Patterns of leadership are extremely critical and common in normal running of organizations, or enterprises. At some point, certain behaviors of leadership will be identified as leadership styles. This is mainly in support of the behavioral theory that emphasizes on collaboration, and team development through support for personal needs, and aligning them to the objectives of the team (Kinicki 2014). Excellent leadership must be considerate of these traits, which are usually learned as one continuously becomes exposed to various leadership situations.
Becoming a leader is a process that requires exclusive patience as it grows with time. Leaders will always possess some traits such as proper communication, and negotiation skills. However, these traits are not achievable in one day. They require extensive exposure of the leader through studies and experience while at work. The leader has to master several tricks, and be ready to apply them in his role in the team that he leads. There are theories such as behavioral, and trait theories that show how leadership develops in an individual. Therefore, leaders are made and they are not born.
WorksCited
Deschamps, Jean-Philippe. "Different leadership skills for different innovation strategies." Strategy & Leadership 33.5 (2005): 31-38. Print.
Kinicki, Angelo . "Leadership Theories."Leadership Theories. N.p., 12 Jan. 2008. Web. 25 June 2014. <http://toolkit.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au/part/8/38/185>.
Taffinder, P.. "High impact leadership [leadership development]." Engineering Management 16.4 (2006): 22. Print.
