The Concept of Employee Obselence in Organisations

Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Are Leaders Born Or Made? 3. What Makes A Leader? 4. Knowledge And Understanding 5. Skills And Ability Communication 6. Teamwork 7. Visioning 8. Risk Taking 9. Value In Others: Recognition And Encouragement 10. Leadership Styles 11. The Four Situational Leadership Styles 12. How To Choose The Most Useful Situational Leadership Style 13. A Last Thought... 14. References

Introduction

You 've heard the expression "He/She is a born leader." Are all leaders born? Or can leadership be learned?
This Factsheet takes a close look at the concept of leadership. It will give leaders who volunteered, were elected or appointed, a number of guidelines to help them effectively lead their groups.
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Are Leaders Born Or Made?

Leadership can be learned. We all have leadership potential, just as we have some ability to sing or run. Some people may be better than others, but each of us has a starting point to build on with training and practice. You do not have to be officially designated as a leader of a group to be an effective leader.
Leadership is a process that helps a group to achieve its goals. Leaders and group members can mutually influence each other 's ideas.
"The person who exhibits leadership is ... someone that makes things happen that would not happen otherwise."
(A.D. Edwards and D. Jones)
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What Makes A Leader?

Leaders should be well organized and have made time in their lives for their organization. Leadership requires commitment.
Leadership is a mix of knowledge, values, skills, and behaviours. Each of us has beliefs about what characteristics an effective leader should possess. Different groups will also have different beliefs or values about what "makes" an effective leader than other groups have. Your group will assess your leadership, and your success may depend on how well your leadership characteristics match those that

References: Anthony, John H. "Therapeutic Leadership." Leadership Abstracts, Vol. 2, No. 13, August, 1989. Baker, Joel. (cited in Partners in Print Vol. 3, No. 6, Nov./Dec., 1991.) Bennis, W., & W Burdett, John. "Identifying Leaders - The Challenge of the 90 's." The Human Resource, Feb./March, 1987. Elfving, Beverley B. A Survey of Attitudes of Agricultural Society Leaders Toward Leadership Development Education. Brock University, June, 1992. Hershey, P. & Ken Blanchard. Management of Organizational Behaviour: Utilizing Human Resources. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1977. Kouzes, J. & Barry Posner. The Leadership Challenge. Jossey-Bass, 1987.