Three Essential Qualities of Leadership Essay Example for Free

Three Essential Qualities of Leadership Essay What is a leader? According to Kouzes and Posner, leadership is â€Å"the art of mobilizing others to want to struggle for a shared aspiration†, and indeed, these men go further to posit that leadership transcends a certain mode of behavior, rather, that it is an active set of skills and qualities that is clearly apparent. (Kouzes Posner, 2012) An essential quality then, is a quality in leader that is necessary to achieving the goal of inspiring subordinates to said struggle. This essay will attempt to identify the three essential qualities of leadership from a stimulus, namely an episode of Undercover Boss. The three essential qualities that can be extrapolated from the film are competency, charisma and consistency, as these skills have been shown to inspire colleagues to action and breed trust between the leader and his or her charges, which is key to successful communication (Bordum, 2005) which is the foundation for the execution of the former. Competency in leaders gives the leader credibility in the eyes of his subordinates, which in turn inspires confidence in and thus a willingness to submit to said leader’s leadership. We examine this phenomenon through the example of Walter, a day manager at Waste Management. Although Walter suffers from a crippling ailment that requires him to be under dialysis a large part of the week, Walter is still able to carry out his job well, making him a role model for his new recruit, whom his story inspired to at least try to do better. In today’s modern and increasingly liberal world, leaders are no longer conferred their title through blood relations or rank. In today’s world, a leader must live up to the expectation of the people he leads- he or she must make sure his subordinates actively want to submit to his or her leadership. (Kouzes Posner, 2011) The foundation of the leader- subordinate relationship is credibility, which creates trust in the leader and which is key to inspiring subordinates to action. (Bordum, 2005) Walter’s extreme proficiency even in the face of his handicap is a display of his merit, that his leadership position was well deserved, thus breeding in his subordinates a willingness to struggle for a shared aspiration, thus making competency an essential quality of leadership. Next, consistency in leaders breeds trust in the leader, which goes towards maintaining the credibility gained from competency (as we have discussed in the previous paragraph) and thus, while it does not actively serve to gain credibility or inspire on its own, but rather helps maintain the level of credibility created through the leader’s skill set. We examine the example of Jaclyn, another manager at Waste Management. Due to downsizing in the company, Jaclyn is made to juggle the workloads of multiple jobs, and is underpaid and struggling to pay her taxes. Despite her many woes, Jaclyn still keeps up a positive attitude, and consistently performs her tasks well, earning her respect and credibility in her subordinates. It is a common adage that succeeding once is easy, but doing it consistently, is much more difficult. As mentioned earlier, leaders are being judged by their subordinates, who hold their leaders to high expectations, which are to be fulfilled consistently. Should the leader disappoint in this respect, the leader loses his or her credibility (Kouzes and Posner, 2011) However, a leader that consistently lives up to the standards is a leader that will actively maintain if not increase her credibility, as consistent competency inspires trust in said leader’s subordinates (Whipple, 2002) , in turn creating credibility, and as discussed in the former paragraph, this credibility goes towards inspiring others into the struggle for the shared aspiration. Jaclyn’s consistency in her performance, in the face of difficulty looming over her, grants her trust in her subordinates, thus allowing her to mobilize them towards their shared aspiration. Hence we see how consistency links into the maintenance of a leader’s credibility, allowing the leader to continue mobilizing subordinates towards a common goal. Finally, charisma is an important quality of leadership as it helps a leader communicate an aspiration to the group and influences subordinates to want to partake in the aspiration, thus creating the shared aspiration. For example, a manager that supervises the cleaning of portable toilets for Waste Management uses this charisma to help his subordinate find the job fun. Charisma is an important part of leadership as charismatic leaders are emotionally expressive, eloquent, charming (House, Spangler and Woycke, 1991) and are thus able to communicate a goal to their subordinates and persuade them to sacrifice personal aspirations to partake in a common goal, mobilizing them toward a shared aspiration (Fiske, Gilbert and Lindzey, 2010) In the example, the manager was able to communicate the objective of cleaning toilets, but uses his charisma in order to win over his subordinate, and allow them to share the objective of cleaning out the toilets. Thus we see how central charisma is in generating the shared aspiration in the first place, and in conjunction with the two qualities mentioned previously, help encourage and mobilize subordinates to action, thus making it a quality essential to leadership The three skills of consistency, competency and charisma are thus important- essential, if you will- qualities for being a good leader, and inspiring one’s colleagues into action towards a common objective References: Bordum, A. (2005). Trust and leadership. CBS OpenArchive. Retrieved from http://openarchive.cbs.dk/handle/10398/7671 House, RJ., Spangler,WD. Woycke, J. (1991) Personality and charisma in the us presidency: a psychological theory of leader effectiveness. Administrative Science Quarterly, 36(3), pp 394-396. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2393201?uid=3738992uid=2uid=4sid=21101663020273 Kouzes, J. Posner, B. (2011) Credibility: how leaders gain and lose it, why people want it. John Wiley. and Sons Inc Kouzes, J., Posner, B. (2012). The leadership challenge. John Wiley and Sons Inc. Lindzey, G., Fiske, S., Gilbert, D. (2010). Handbook of social psychology. (Vol. 2). John Wiley and Sons Inc. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.sg/books?id=Pye5IkCFgRYCpg=PA1194dq=charisma in leadershiphl=ensa=Xei=i4kgUZ7EMMTtrAe7jYHYCwved=0CDsQ6AEwAg Whipple, R. (2002). Consistency can help leaders prevent lack of trust. Rochester Business Journal, Retrieved from http://webs.zd-cms.com/cms/res/files/371/RBJArticle112902.pdf

Critical Race Theory and the Rodney King Case Essays -- Recism

Critical Race Theory and the Rodney King Case In reviewing the article, Canadian Critical Race Theory, I found that the author, Carol Aylvard, raises some very interesting as well as disturbing questions on the nature of racism within the realm of police enforcement. In looking through the lens of the Rodney King case, we are provided with a very specific example of how the issue of race was dealt with, or not dealt with within the LAPD and judicial system. To gain a clearer understanding of how race was a major issue in this case but at the same time not confronted on the front lines, Alyvard highlights several aspects of the case. In the 1991 state trial of the four police officers accused of beating Rodney King, the prosecution did not even attempt to introduce evidence of "racial animus" on part of the officers. Even though there was video-audio evidence as well as eyewitness testimony to the contrary, they still did not challenge the defense's assertion that no racial epithets had been used by the police officers. As well, the prosecution neglected to appeal the decision of the State Court to move the trial from a racially diverse area to the predominantly white area of Simi Valley, where it was inevitable that the officers would be judged by an all-white jury. Furthermore, they also did not challenge the defense's portrayal of King's injuries as trivial. While it is needless to say that the list goes on and on, it came as no great surprise that the jury acquitted the four LAPD officers. It was also not surprising that riots followed this acquittal. One month after the beating and one year after the acquittal, two independent commissions, The McCone Commission and The California State Assembly Commission were appoint... ... is possible to implement alternative legal strategies that have their roots in recognition instead of avoidance? In looking at additional information displayed on the Internet, there seems to be an even wider range of issues being developed around the Rodney King Case. How do people of different social classes, gender or race fair in the law enforcement system? A few sites as well as the article alluded the O.J. Simpson case. Did this case confirm the importance of race consciousness and show a move toward a better understanding of the role that race plays in law? At any rate, Aylvard argues that the Rodney King case, " †¦exposed the significance of race in constitutional and criminal law and the dangers of avoiding it to maintain the "myth" of color blindness." (p. 66). References Carol, A. Aylvard. Canadian Critical Race Theory. Halifax: Fernwood, 1999.

Rape of the Lock Satirical Devices Essay

From the excerpts studied in The Rape of the Lock, Alexander Pope skilfully uses the mock epic genre to satirize the trifling nature of his society through exaggeration, parody and juxtaposition in rhyming couplets. The epic form makes everything larger than life which Pope uses to reveal the absurdity of the society he lives in. A simple card game is turned into a complex â€Å"combat on [a] velvet plain,† which exaggerates the little action that actually takes place in the Canto. In the card game called Ombre, hands are not just hands. They represent armies of different suites. Face cards are â€Å"four kings in majesty revered, with hoary whiskers and a forky beard† ,†four fair queens whose hands sustain a flower, the expressive emblem of their softer power† and â€Å"four knaves in garb succinct, a trusty band, caps on their heads and halberds in their hand.† Pope also parodies the epic form in order to depict questionable values in his time. A feast is a scene common in epics like Beowulf and is mirrored by the coffee scene in this mock epic. â€Å"The board with cups and spoons is crowned† shows the great worth placed on China and utensils. Instead of vessels to hold beverages, Pope portrays them as â€Å"China’s earth [that] receives the smoking tide.† Coffee is almost given supernatural powers since it â€Å"makes the politician wise, and see through all things with his half-shut eyes.† The coffee is the â€Å"fuming liquor† that â€Å"sent up in vapors to the baron’s brain,† giving him the idea to plan to cut off a lock of Belinda’s hair. Pope combines the ordinary with the unusual with simplicity to suggest the triviality of the values of his time through the juxtaposition in rhyming couplets. Canto III describes Hampton Court where Queen lives â€Å"whom three realms obey, dost sometimes counsel take – and sometimes tea,† which sets the tone for the events to follow in the court. He suggests that â€Å"One speaks the glory of British Queen, and one describes a charming Indian screen; a third interprets motions, looks, eyes; at every word a reputation dies† through the conversation of the ladies and gentlemen in court, describing society’s twisted value system. Pope uses aspects of the mock epic to satirize his society’s irresponsibility. He uses exaggeration to mock misplaced importance. He takes specific scenes and uses parody to illustrate the irrelevance of rituals such as coffee drinking. He uses the structure of rhyming couplets to contrast the ordinary with the extraordinary to reveal how important things are considered.

Marriage Is A Sensitive Relationship - 1614 Words

Marriage is a sensitive relationship. It can be affected by anything and specially the long term decision. Jim and Lisa Jones have to make a serious decision that may affect their relationship for a long term. Jim works 45 hours per week and earns about 60,000$ per year. Maria works about 60 hours and earns 105,000$ per year. They pay about 3,500$ for their mortgage and about 1050$ for a child care for their son Jason. Lisa has been offered a job in Atlanta city and they are having a hard time to make that decision. Here is some scenarios about what might happen with the Jones family. †¢ The first scenario: Lisa wanted to turn down the offer, because she wanted less responsibilities and she wanted to spend more time with her son. But†¦show more content†¦She even noticed that her son started to grow away from her and they are not close. Her life began to be unstable and unhappy. She even created a gap between her and Jim and it was really uncomfortable. Jim noticed that about her and got her to talk with him about her problems. Jim was really understanding that he put a lot more pressure on her. They felt comfortable with talking to each other and decided that Lisa will take a break from working to relax and to take care of Jason. Meanwhile, Jim got a job offer where he can work the same hours per week, and gets a salary of 105,000$ per year. Lisa took her time to relax and got so much closer with Jim and Jason. The finical situation for the family was good, because they don’t have any mortgage payments left. After one year, they had Maria and expanded the family. Lisa f elt really comfortable about their situation and took two more years of to take care of Maria. After that, Jim and Lisa started to think more about their future and the kid’s colleges. Lisa applied for many part-time jobs where she can work, earn and also take care of her family. She got a new part-time job, they started to save for the college for both kids and also for their retirement. After 25 years, Jason was about to get married. Maria was in college. Jim and Lisa has a really good retirement savings and they are about to retire and start a new project together. Their life has been just great since they decided to