Leadership theories have evolved as human behavior practitioners and scholars continue to examine different facets that influence and affect this intriguing concept. In the concepts of leadership, excerpts from the book of Clark (2005) have emphasized that “good leaders are made not born. If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders develop through a never ending process of self-study, education, training, and experience” (Concepts of Leadership , 2012, par. 2). As such, through appropriate theoretical framework on leadership theories and with application of these concepts in actual work settings, leaders transcend from being good to utlimately becoming great, effective, inspiring and successful leaders.
Equipped with a managerial background, leaders whose entry position in organizational settings gets to be immersed in assuming roles that require competencies in planning, organizing, directing and controlling various facets of the organization. This implies being able to govern and administer a defined number of subordinates. At entry level, leaders could be expected to manage a group of people ranging from less than 10 to about 20. The position could require overseeing the administration of a department or a function. In the military career, it was emphasized by Reed (2008) that “leadership is a really big thing with the military. Too big. Their focus needs to be on results, not process. Leadership is process” (Reed, 2008, par. 8). This being said, leadership roles and positions in the military service from being a Second Lieutenant to assuming the role as a General . Thus, the number of subordinates would categorically be the total number of military personnel who enlisted.
Despite the disparity in the workplace setting, similarities in applying leadership theories could be observed. These theories include observing and realizing that as leaders, there are evident common traits, motives and characteristics; preference to a selected leadership style; and conformity to ethics and social responsibility, among others . Likewise, there is viability in effective assessment of the situation to apply contingency and situational leadership approaches, as well as the need to develop teamwork and implement motivational programs .
In one’s personal experience as a leader, it could be acknowledged that there is validity in catering the leadership style, according to the personalities of the subordinates and the demands of the situation . Likewise, as one encourages the inputs and comments from subordinate, one virtually learns and develops through experience. There is also the need for continuous training and professional development along one’s leadership career. As noted, “the military’s ability to train leaders is limited to their knowledge of how to handle the situation” (Reed: Covered in Blood, 2008, par. 5). Therefore, the more training and experience a leader has gained, the more competent and qualified he is in echoing the knowledge, skills and abilities to the subordinates.
In the future, when one assumes the highest position as CEO or VP or General, for that matter, the expertise in managing, leading, and sharing what one has gained through experience is expected to be relayed to others so that the same skill sets and exemplary competencies could likewise be gained. As aptly emphasized by Reed, “you cannot lead until you know the job. Job one for a guy just out of the military is to learn the business you are entering. You cannot lead generally until you know more about it than the people you are leading” (Managerial, Not Leadership Experience, 2008, par. 2). Therefore, leaders evolve and learn the process of influencing others to achieve a defined goal by having experienced the roles as followers, and thereby be able to empathize and discern the best leadership approach required to fulfil the tasks ahead.
References
Concepts of Leadership . (2012, October). Retrieved from Head Start: http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/operations/Management%20and%20Administration/human%20resources/leadership%20&%20supervision/conceptsofleade.htm
Clark, D. (2005). Leadership Training and Development Outline.
DuBrin, A. J. (2010). Leadership: Research Findings, Practice and Skills (6th ed.). South-Western College Pub.
Reed, J. (2008). Is the U.S. military as good at producing leaders as it says? Retrieved from John T. Reed: http://www.johntreed.com/leadership.html
U.S. Department of Defense. (2012). U.S. Military Ranks. Retrieved from infoplease: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004604.html
