Leadership
WEBSTER UNIVERSITY
MNGT 5670
RESEARCH PAPER
Leadership and the Challenges of Leadership
Leadership can be defined in many ways. Two popular definitions that come to mind are: the process in which an individual influences others to accomplish a common goal; the act or ability of a person to deliberately influence others toward a particular vision. Both definitions have two points in common, and that is an individual leading or influencing others to an accomplishment. The problem with leadership is it’s often presented with challenges that come about because of changes. There is no way around the challenges, and it does not matter who the leader is, challenges in leadership cannot be prevented. The actual challenge itself does not define a leader, but how the leader handles the challenge determines the individual’s leadership ability. One of the most common leadership challenges for a leader is leaders often use the words management and leadership interchangeably to define leadership. There is a distinguishable difference between the two words and they have different functions. This challenge causes problems because the individual is operating as a manager instead of a leader. Management is a process used to help an organization forecast its’ performance such as budgeting, staffing, and planning. Management role is focused on producing and providing services. Leadership on the other hand is about moving into the future toward a particular goal. Leadership can best be described as a vision and the leader is trying to get everyone to accomplish the defined vision. Other challenges of leadership are:
Poor Fit- if a leader is not the proper fit for the organization it can cause a disaster (nothing can fix this)
Maturity- (judgement, temper)- if lacking maturity, organization may not give time for the individual to grow/learn
Poor Communication Skills- if unable
MNGT 5670
RESEARCH PAPER
Leadership and the Challenges of Leadership
Leadership can be defined in many ways. Two popular definitions that come to mind are: the process in which an individual influences others to accomplish a common goal; the act or ability of a person to deliberately influence others toward a particular vision. Both definitions have two points in common, and that is an individual leading or influencing others to an accomplishment. The problem with leadership is it’s often presented with challenges that come about because of changes. There is no way around the challenges, and it does not matter who the leader is, challenges in leadership cannot be prevented. The actual challenge itself does not define a leader, but how the leader handles the challenge determines the individual’s leadership ability. One of the most common leadership challenges for a leader is leaders often use the words management and leadership interchangeably to define leadership. There is a distinguishable difference between the two words and they have different functions. This challenge causes problems because the individual is operating as a manager instead of a leader. Management is a process used to help an organization forecast its’ performance such as budgeting, staffing, and planning. Management role is focused on producing and providing services. Leadership on the other hand is about moving into the future toward a particular goal. Leadership can best be described as a vision and the leader is trying to get everyone to accomplish the defined vision. Other challenges of leadership are:
Poor Fit- if a leader is not the proper fit for the organization it can cause a disaster (nothing can fix this)
Maturity- (judgement, temper)- if lacking maturity, organization may not give time for the individual to grow/learn
Poor Communication Skills- if unable