A Concise Overview of Leadership

It would be correct to say that leadership is an idea that is on a rejuvenation and domination path, having erstwhile almost been put away and replaced with structured management. The modern day form of industrialization, based on systems and structured management brought monumental advancement and wealth into the world, a fact that augmented the importance of management (Storey, 2016). Unfortunately, the rise of management initially came at the expense of leadership through concepts such as personnel management where structure and system were strictly applied in the handling of human talent. The second part of the 20 th century, however, came with a number of global changes including a new focus on human rights and dignity. The new changes may have been considered as detrimental to the labor market and entrepreneurship but instead, the contrary was proven. It was realized that strict structures and systems guaranteed a certain volume of work but a motivated workforce not only produced more but also exponentially increased quality; hence guaranteeing better returns for wages paid (Storey, 2016). It is the new perspective on how to manage human talent that reestablished a focus in leadership both in the public and corporate sectors. Currently, leadership is considered as an invaluable component of the corporate sector with companies investing heavily in acquiring the best possible leadership due to the understanding that having a good leader surpasses the best possible structures and systems. As this research paper will reveal, due to the current value of good leadership, researchers and allied commentators have advanced the understanding of leadership into a fine science. 

Background Information 

Whereas the modern concept of leadership focuses more on corporate leadership as opposed to other forms of leadership, the modern concept of corporate leadership has its roots in non-commercial based leadership. The most powerful people in the current world are corporate leaders with the wealthiest people in the world today being in the corporate sector. It is even argued that Jeff Bezos may be the richest human being who ever lived, and this means a lot considering the emperors and dictators of yesteryears. Unfortunately, history does not record entrepreneurs who rose to the zenith of wealth power and respect and in most civilizations, entrepreneurs were considered at best as members of the middle classes. The history of leadership is thus relegated to either political or military leaders (Storey, 2016). Modern leaders take the time to study the exploits of leaders like Winston Churchill, a man who owes greatness to his ability to read and resolve crisis after crisis. Long before that, great leaders such as Alexander the Great were capable of motivating few men to victory against much larger armies. There are also leaders like Julius Caesar and Napoleon Bonaparte who forged their own destinies and those of their nations. However, instead of a young Alexander the great who is changing the world, the modern world is being changed by the likes of Mark Zuckerberg. Powerful men like Caesar are now replaced by Jeff Bezos and great tacticians like Bonaparte are now replaced by Steve Jobs and Warren Buffet. Global leadership is now and arguably in the future firmly in the hands of the entrepreneur. 

Leadership Theories 

Leadership theories are some of the more modern concepts of leadership and have been developed in an effort to better understand leadership generally. Theories of leadership seek to understand what leadership is and also why some leaders or leadership processes fail while others succeed (Dugan, 2017) . Among the most traditional theories of leadership is the trait theory of leadership, a close affiliate of the great man theory, which focused leadership on the leader (Storey, 2016) . Philosophers such as Plato and political experts such as Machiavelli are among the famous commentators who supported these theories. According to them, leaders are born not made, as they have natural born leadership qualities that will always manifest. If a group of people comes together, the born leaders will somehow come to the fore and lead the group. This concept of leadership is not far from the traditional notion that leadership is bequeathed by God, upon which traditional monarchies were predicated. 

The exact opposite of the trait-based theories outlined above is the behavioral theories of leadership that hold that leaders are made, rather than born hence attributes of leadership are predicated in behavior rather than traits (Hoch et al., 2018) . Under these theories, followers will adhere to leaders not because of who they are but because of what they are capable of. Under this theory, anyone who determines to can be a successful leader as leadership is based on describable actions. It is easy to develop and teach desirable actions both through academic training and experience. Behavioral leadership theories may perhaps be the most applicable to the modern form of leadership due to its exponentially complex nature (Dugan, 2017) . Modern corporate leaders seemingly live under a microscope that carefully evaluates their every move. Stock markets, for example, will react to any news about a corporate leader even if it involves the leader’s private life. To succeed at the echelon of the corporate sector, a leader needs to not only master the dictates of leadership but also issues such as morals, ethics and political correctness. A leader with the best traits such as charisma can fail in leadership because of a single incidence of unethical or immoral conduct. 

Conversely, there is the transformational leadership theory which compares the transformational leader with the transactional leader. This theory focuses on the relationship between the leader and the follower (Hoch et al., 2018) . Transactional leadership is material in nature with the follower following the leader because there are specific gains that the leader offers. However, in transformational leadership, the leader challenges the followers into greatness and betterment. Transformational leaders develop a vision then sell it to potential followers. Based on the vision, the leader knows the way forward and the followers who believe primarily in the leader will dutifully follow (Hoch et al., 2018) . A common version of the instant theory includes the Bass' Transformational Leadership Theory and the Burn’s Transformational Leadership Theory. 

Types of Leadership 

Based inter alia on the theories of leadership, some of which have been canvassed above, researchers and commentators have come up with a set of different types of leadership and leaders. 

Servant Leaders 

Servant leadership may be the most interesting form of leadership as it sounds either as a paradox or as an oxymoron. A servant leader can be defined as the kind of a leader who acts as a part of the team and guides the team in both the preparation and implementation of team strategy. Instead of the servant leader making and enforcing decisions, the leader finds a way of motivating and guiding the team into arriving at the right choices (Dugan, 2017) . Servant leadership is renowned for being a key driver of innovation due to its ability to bring to the fore the creativity of the followers. 

Autocratic Leadership 

The exact opposite of servant leadership is autocratic leadership which is the form of leadership that most closely resembles management. The only difference between autocratic leadership and management is that in the former, instead of clear-cut structures and systems, there is a leader. It is the leader who determines what needs to be done, then moves ahead to do it. The autocratic leader does not share power and rarely takes ideas from the followers. 

Laissez-faire Leadership 

The Laissez-faire leader differs exponentially from the two types above due to an extremely laid back approach. It is the kind of leadership where the impact of the leader is rarely felt unless it is extremely necessary hence the team is mainly on autopilot (Dugan, 2017). 

Democratic Leadership 

Democratic leadership is a close affiliate of servant leadership and is often referred to as participative leadership. Whereas there is active participation of the leader in the activities of the group, the follower is free to actively present and pursue their ideas. However, there is still a distinctive chain of command (Dugan, 2017). 

Bureaucratic Leadership 

The active chain of command without the participative elements and with a clear set of structures and system but under a leader forms the bureaucratic leadership. Such leadership is common in professions where some strictness or rigidly is necessary for success, such as in an operating room or a military situation room (Dugan, 2017). Both the leader and followers operate under strictly set parameters. 

Charismatic Leadership 

The charismatic leader then differs exponentially from the bureaucratic leader and tends towards the trait leadership theory by relying on character to attain team success. Charismatic leadership relies heavily on team motivation through the charm and personality of the leader (Dugan, 2017). Like the legendary Winston Churchill, the charismatic leader is able to rally the team to attain even seemingly impossible goals. Some commentators argue that charisma is more of a personal trait than a behavioral trait that can be learned. 

Transactional Leadership 

A leader who does not necessarily have charisma may still elicit motivation through transactional leadership that assumes the carrot and stick approach. Transactional leadership defines the relationship between the leader and the followers as based on well-set parameters focused on a quid pro quo basis (Dugan, 2017). Faithful followers stand to benefit while rebellious ones suffer consequences. 

Transformational Leadership 

Transformation leadership is often compared and positively contrasted with transactional leadership and involves the leader inspiring the followers to be better. The leader in transformational leadership is like a coach who perpetually seeks to better the best of each member of the team, as opposed to simply seeking to have the team members perform to their optimum abilities (Dugan, 2017). 

Situational Leadership 

Whereas the above leadership types and styles sound definitive in theory, actually leading a team of human beings is quite complicated and convoluted and may require a combination of different approaches and styles. The hybrid form of styles and approaches created by utilizing the right style under the right circumstances has come to be referred to as situational leadership (Dugan, 2017). Under it, the leader utilizes the approach that most suits a particular situation. 

Critical Leadership Skills 

Communication 

Leadership is all about influence between the leader and the followers and this is not possible without proper communication. Communication in leadership can be defined as the two-way imparting of information between the leaders and the followers (Ruben & Gigliotti, 2017) . Effective communication must have a sound strategy and formula that involves both what is said and how it is said. Proper communication in modern leadership has been perfected into a fine science with well-defined rules. For example, compliments should be given publicly and loudly while admonitions must be given privately and softly. This example combines strategies about the message, how it is communicated, and even where the message is being communicated. Charisma is an integral part of communication but it cannot replace competence. Learning how to communicate effectively both verbally and non-verbally is, therefore, a critical leadership skill (Ruben & Gigliotti, 2017) . 

Emotional Intelligence 

Emotional intelligence is a leadership skill that involves the ability to identify and master both personal and follower emotions. Leaders, including the very best ones, are only humans and, therefore, have emotions (Komives & Wagner, 2016) . Proper leadership entails the ability to maintain a high level of temperament at critical times as this is when leadership is needed the most. Emotional intelligence begins with the leader undertaking a personal emotional evaluation to understand emotional weaknesses then learn how to master them. The leader should then do the same to the emotions of the followers (Komives & Wagner, 2016) . With good emotional intelligence, human emotions in the team are harnessed into assets instead of being liabilities. 

Self-monitoring 

Self-monitoring extends the same concept of emotional intelligence to all aspects of the leader. The ratio of leader to followers is always low hence the leader is more often than not under close observation from the followers (Komives & Wagner, 2016) . It is imperative for the leader to always behave in the right manner actively and passively so to retain the level of respect and admiration that makes effective leadership possible. 

Honesty/Integrity 

Leadership is a status not a position and its basic prerequisite is having followership. To attain and retain followership, a leader must not only be honest at all times but also deemed, to be honest by followers. It is possible to succumb to the temptation of falsehood based on expediency to get out of a tricky situation in leadership (Goleman, 2018). However, falsehoods will almost always be eventually realized leading to loss of credibility which is the dearth of leadership. 

Innovation 

Leadership only occurs in real life which as opposed to simulations or plans, almost never goes as pre-planned. A good leader must be able to operate under the understanding that contingencies are the norm and not the exception hence the need to innovatively react to situations (Komives & Wagner, 2016) . Innovation is thus an important element of leadership as followers will always turn to the leader the moment the situation gets out of the script. It is incumbent upon the leader to innovatively and effectively handle contingencies without worsening the situation by creating a secondary crisis. 

Relationship Building 

Leadership cannot be created through an appointment, hiring or election but is rather established through a leader-follower relationship. It is incumbent upon the leader to create the right set of relationships with the followers singularly and severally (Komives & Wagner, 2016) . Based on the concept of situational leadership as outlined above, a leader does not just have a singular relationship with the followers since leadership situations are fluid. Sometimes the leader is a coach, others the leader is an instructor. 

Developing Leadership Skills in Followers 

Every good leader seeks to develop protégés among the followers as leadership positions are not permanent. A good leader should not be proud or selfish as a true mark of leadership lies in the followers that the leader has transformed into future leaders. It is an important skill for a good leader to have the ability to notice then hone leadership skills among the followers. A successful leader is bound to rise in rank while a successful team is bound to expand hence developing leaders is integral to the future of the team (Komives & Wagner, 2016) . 

Awareness 

Both leadership and leaders are complicated entities which entail the leader's ability to understand the self in order to aptly apply the self to the process of leadership. As has been outlined in the instant research paper, leaders have a variety of personal and professional traits, skills, and attributes. These qualities can be assets, liabilities, or competencies depending on the leader and the circumstances of leadership (Goleman, 2018) . In leadership, awareness entails being able to understand personal strengths, weaknesses, competencies, and traits. Understanding the self is an important step in transforming into a competent and effective leader. A leader should understand and capitalize on strengths and competencies (Goleman, 2018) . Similarly A good leader should understand personal weaknesses, biases, and liabilities then seek to mitigate their effects on leadership. For example in the modern global world, a racial, cultural, or ethnic bias can be a real and dangerous weakness in a leader. 

Adherence to Ethics 

Finally, without ethics, all the above skills will not be effective because the position of leadership will be lost or the leadership will be counterproductive. Ethics in leadership refers to knowing the right thing to do and doing it right always (Komives & Wagner, 2016) . In modern corporate leadership, there is so much pressure, caused inter alia by cutthroat competition that it is easy to succumb to the dictates of expediency and cut corners. Many leading organizations have failed because their leaders made the wrong decisions while under pressure then tried to cover them up. An ethical leader will always seek to do the right thing no matter how profitable the wrong thing seems (Komives & Wagner, 2016) . Secondly, a good leader will not seek to cover up a wrong as the effort will always be counterproductive. 

Conclusion 

The totality of the above presents a concise picture of modern leadership and also definitively proves that the concept of leadership has been reduced into a fine science. It is evident that a lot of focus has been made towards leadership due to the realization that it is superior to management when it comes to handling human talent. One of the major evidences of leadership being refined into a science is the concept of leadership theories. Commentators who include entrepreneurs, philosophers, psychologists, and even scientists have taken the time to understand what leadership is all about. These commentators have then proceeded to develop theories about leadership. Conversely, there are different kinds of leaders and leadership styles but there is also a leadership style made up of all leadership styles combined called situational leadership. Situational leadership is arguably the best kind of leadership as it appreciates the fluid nature of leadership. Finally, there are different skills that combine to constitute effective leaders and all these skills have been carefully studied, perfected and reduced into a semblance of science. 

References 

Dugan, J. P. (2017).  Leadership theory: Cultivating critical perspectives . Hoboken New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. 

Goleman, D. (2018). What makes a leader?. In  Military Leadership  (pp. 39-52). New York: Routledge. 

Hoch, J. E., Bommer, W. H., Dulebohn, J. H., & Wu, D. (2018). Do ethical, authentic, and servant leadership explain variance above and beyond transformational leadership? A meta-analysis.  Journal of Management ,  44 (2), 501-529. 

Komives, S. R., & Wagner, W. (Eds.). (2016).  Leadership for a better world: Understanding the social change model of leadership development . Hoboken New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons 

Ruben, B. D., & Gigliotti, R. A. (2017). Communication: Sine qua non of organizational leadership theory and practice.  International Journal of Business Communication ,  54 (1), 12-30. 

Storey, J. (2016). Leadership in Organizations . New York: Routledge.