Summary
The book “Leadership for the 21 st Century” is full of insights on effective leadership. I have drawn significant lessons from the text, particularly from the 6 th and 7 th chapters. Leadership plays a significant role not only in an organizational context, but also in the society at large. Effective leadership is required in order to ensure the achievement of common objectives. The chapters focus on the importance of integrity as an important element of leadership. Basically, everyone in the society needs to possess leadership skills. This is because everyone is a potential leader. Every situation in life requires the appropriate leadership skills. Leadership plays a significant role in resolving issues and in determining the best course of action.
There are individuals who are born to lead. There are important examples of people who were actually born to lead. A perfect example is Elizabeth II, who did not know that she would assume the throne until after her uncle David stepped down from the succession. The lives of such people are led with the knowledge that they will one day become leaders. Such leaders need to know certain things and lead their lives in ways that will bring honor to the title. Generally, leaders need to believe in an idea and proceed to devote their lives in fulfilling such a noble dream. A perfect example is Martin Luther King Jr. who became the leader of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. He devoted his entire life fighting injustice through nonviolence. His efforts would finally bear fruits.
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Essentially, the first step towards becoming a leader is becoming a boss for the first time. However, being a leader does not mean showing off your knowledge in a way that intimidates others. Doing so labels one as a micromanager who is not willing to give others an opportunity to participate. Listening to others in the team, respecting their knowledge and ability, as well as delegating activities help to build a stronger team where everyone feels valued. The team members will develop regard for such a listening leader. Building good individual and group relationships with team members is a strong foundation on which to build a highly functional team. Additionally, new leaders need to demonstrate that they have credibility outside their area of responsibility. The leaders should also be respected for their competence. Effective leaders are capable of using external connections to enhance the activities within their area of responsibility.
New leaders should be always in charge of those that fall under their responsibility. This can be achieved by listening to, sharing, guiding and appreciating the work of others. Leaders should realize that their ultimate responsibility is to ensure that things run smoothly by bringing in new ideas and ways of doing things in response to new goals and external factors that render yesterday’s strategies irrelevant. This means that new leaders need to be creative and innovative.
Leaders need to seek for assistance in order to become effective leaders. Finding a mentor in the beginning of a leadership career is the most important step towards improving one’s leadership skills. Mentors provide new leaders with guidance based on many years of experience. Mentors have been in a similar position and can offer important suggestions as to how to move forward. For new leaders who do not want to stagnate, there are three imperative to consider; managing oneself, managing one’s network, and managing one’s team.
Integrity is the most important element of leadership. A leader who has integrity is the one that is honest, and can be trusted. As such, integrity is a demonstration of an individual’s core belief system that is practiced every day, with every honest act and action. Thus, leaders need to adhere to a strict moral code. Ethical leaders have a strong sense of self, as well as the appropriate way to interact with others. Such leaders are able to live their principles and even die for them, amid challenges.
Leaders with integrity should be honest, forward-looking, inspiring, and competent. Such leaders should do what they say they will do. Effective leaders set the tone for the organizations they lead. They should refuse to engage in behaviors that compromise with their core belief systems. Ethical leaders are committed to living lives of personal and professional integrity.
Concrete Response
The ideas presented in the book are applicable to the daily lives of today’s leaders. Many successful leaders today are those who realize the importance of teamwork. Leaders who are effective team players are good listeners who ensure that their team members are actively involved in the decision making process. One such example is my high school principal. He was ever in contact with teachers and consulted with them before making any decision in the school. I could see that the teachers supported him in every way possible. I attributed the support he received from his juniors to his willingness to listen to each and every teacher. Each teacher in the school felt valued and part of the team expected to participate in the attainment of the school’s goals and objectives. The ideas presented in the text are very practical, particularly for those aspiring to be effective leaders.
Integrity is an important element of leadership. A leader cannot stand the test of time without adhering to a strict ethical code. Ethical leaders make decisions with everyone in mind. Thus, they cannot make decisions based on their own selfish interests. I can relate such an idea to something that happened in the organization that I did my internship in. One of the managers failed the integrity test by accepting bribes from his juniors in order to rate them well in terms of work performance. One of the workers blew the whistle, and he ended up being fired. It was then that I realized that integrity is the engine that drives the wheel of leadership.
Critique
The ideas and view presented in the book are very useful for developing leadership skills. The book asserts that managing individual and group relationships promotes good leadership. The book also suggests that a new leader should identify a role model from whom to learn. Such ideas, in my opinion, are very important for budding leaders. Integrity is also a critical element of leadership. A leader without integrity cannot survive. Thus, the book presents powerful insights regarding leadership. However, I disagree with the idea that leaders are born. The book states that there are individuals who are actually born to lead. In my opinion, such leaders were groomed by others so that they can later lead. However, no one is born a leader.
Action Plan
The book has provided me with powerful insights on the strategies I need to put in place in order to become an effective leader. The most important lesson that I have learnt is that I need to have integrity in order to have a successful career. Additionally, I have learnt that new leaders should consider having a mentor who will provide them with guidance. Going forward, I will adhere to a strict ethical code that will form a foundation on which I will lay my leadership philosophy. I am also going to identify a mentor from the many senior leaders I have in may network. This will help me become a great leader, personally and professionally.
