Becoming An Effective Leader Research Paper

Josh Speed
Mgt 122
Paper 8
May 2, 2014

Becoming an Effective Leader

We have a close family friend that is a leadership development coach. He had a highly successful career working for IBM, and followed that with his current company. As the President and CEO of Alpine Link Corporation, he has garnered much respect as an executive coach, management consultant, author, and speaker on topics such as leadership, consultative selling, self-improvement, and business management. I recently read his latest series of six books called the SCOPE of Leadership, and especially enjoyed book one entitled Leadership. A good leader has the ability to lead others by developing the competencies of great self-leadership. Effective leaders possess intrinsic passion, character, courage, and confidence that others respect and want to follow. When you lead yourself well, operate productively, and think strategically, others notice and are motivated to attain the
higher standards you demonstrate. (Hawkins) This is so true and anyone attempting to start a business or run a business should unequivocally adhere to these principles.
In another part of my life, I am working as an youth minister intern. And I am finding that it does indeed take courage and confidence to be a leader, especially to a bunch of teenagers. I can remember my youth ministers and the ones that conveyed their passion and their commitment are the ones that were effective in my eyes. One of these ministers stands out from the others in his absolute commitment to the teenagers in his care spiritually. This man lead by example, as well as words, and boy, did he have the words. He was one of the most inspiring teachers I have ever had. He could motivate our group of rowdy teenagers to achieve great things. He gave us the confidence to live life right in a very tough place to do so, in high school. I have taken many of his lessons to heart and even now almost thirteen years later, still strive to live life
right. As a future small business owner, I am learning every day what guidelines and principles I do and do not want to incorporate into my business and the way it operates. As I am in various businesses around the island, it is ridiculously easy to see which businesses are being run by a good leader and which one are not. I was recently in a local store, and after ten minutes, could see that the owner or manager was not a good leader. This guy was yelling at one of his employees right there at the cash register for placing stock in a different location than what he wanted. It was such a small thing, but he was so upset about it and treated that employee with absolutely no respect whatsoever. Patience is not my strong suit, and I have an especially short fuse for that kind of behavior. If I were that employee, there would have been some words exchanged. Instead, this young lady stood there with silent tears running down her face, so obviously embarrassed at being treated that way publically. Another customer went to her rescue by making a purchase, forcing that manager to stop. A business person in any type of leadership position MUST strive to lead by example and positive reinforcement. That is the way that great results are realized.

Works Cited

Hawkins, Mike. Leadership. Dallas: Brown Books Publishing Group, 2013. Book.