Leadership is a way of life that determines the output and behavior towards others. It is a continous process that guides, inspires, teaches and imparts life skills and occupational or professional skills. Leadership is not arrogance, dominance, oppression or delegation. Authority can be displayed in gentle ways that do not undermine the contribution of the followers. Leadership must also encourage cohesive coexistence between other forms of leaders and the all aspects of the organisation. Interaction is the most important aspect of leadership because they have a ripple effect on all future engagements.
My research project on leadership has been completed by reviewing a variety of literature. The works of literature have been influenced by the experiences of various leaders and of followers who have served under different kinds of leaders. The literature shaped my understanding on the role of kindness in a leadership position. The article demonstrated how kindness and empathy led to the development of relationships or personal connections that inspired loyalty and encouraged team building. The article also highlights the importance of providing honest and timely feedback to followers. This is a sure way to guarantee that the leader and follower are on the same page. The other aspects of leadership that I has previously down played include being realistic, combining some work activities with leisure and being confident in the as well as taking the blame for mistakes made as a team (Bradbury, 2016).
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My understanding of open and frequent interactions and their role in success was also enhanced. This was boosted by reading about 3 teams of artists who interacted with each other in various ways. The team members had varying levels of success that could be directly related to the intensity and sincerity of the interactions. In my view, this was because open interaction put things into better perspective for each of the participants and helped them to make better decisions in carrying out their various roles. This helped me know more about the issue than I had known previously. It also cleared earlier misconceptions that associated effective leadership with aloofness and an air of separation from the followers. It was also made clear that duration of interaction was not a direct influence on the type of relationship that developed. Instead the nature of interactions were more influential in success.(Nikita, Ju-Sung & Artem, 2017). In other words, working together for 10 years without interacting closely would be less beneficial than 1 year of working closely and interacting professionally.
The importance of interaction kept coming up over and over again when various aspects of leadership were mentioned. A leader's response to interactions also determined the organizational culture and the extent of future interactions. Cold responses hampered interactions and limited future interactions. The same case applied to harsh responses that targeted or witch hunted individuals discouraged future interactions. Equalizing interactions by initiating project members together was a great way to strengthen the team (Gardner et al., 2006). The list that was generated by this authors also discouraged a chain of command when it came to communication. This was because information was distorted by personal interpretations and biases. The list also emphasised the importance of interaction across horizontal and vertical levels. It encouraged sharing of perceptions and the motives behind every decision making. Another change on an assumption occurred when informal interaction was encouraged. The change was necessitated by the positive outcomes of interaction over lunch or coffee breaks.
The process of writing about leadership affected my initial thoughts on the topic. Among those that were transformed was my idea on the role of mentorship. It was made clear that mentorship roles were more prominent when they were used to resolve troublesome social situations. This made. the leader to present a role of a friend and guide instead of a mere authoritative figure. Additional interactions included taking place in recreational activities like sports and social out reach program like visting and supporting charitable organizations (Gächter & Renner, 2018). This creates a ripple effect that shows the workers how they should behave in respect to each other. This shows that mentorship is indirect as followers may mimic the direct actions of the leader. The other aspects of leadership that are adopted from observation are resolution of conflicts, taking responsibility for mistakes and holding themselves accountable for any shortcomings or success stories.
The final important skill that is a vital part of leadership is the ability to create other leaders. The creation of leaders begins at a young age where children are taught how to take initiative and be in charge of various decisions. This prepares them for leadership roles that they can begin to take part in from an early age (Owen, 2006). Leadership does not need a title or a position for it to be effective. It only needs someone to take up the role of authority and influence others to follow the same path.
This research was beneficial as it collected various views that were applicable to different walks of life. The application process was also enhanced by first hand accounts of the people who have experienced varying aspects of interaction and found them to have varying effect. In essence, leadership is all about positive interactions. They have a lasting effect on the institutional culture and they teach the follower how to become a leader.
References
Bradbury, T. (2016). If you want to be a better leader, try being nicer. World Economic Forum. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/07/if-you-want-to-be-a-better-leader-try-being-nicer/
Gächter, S., & Renner, E. (2018). Leaders as role models and ‘belief managers’ in social dilemmas. Journal of Economic Behavior " Organization, 154, 321-334.
Gardner, H., Williams, D., McDonough, W., Nohria, N., Stewart, T. A., Cares, J., & Allen, H. (2006). The HBR list-Breakthrough ideas for 2006. Harvard Business Review, 84(2), 35+.
Owen, H. (2006) Creating Leaders in the Classroom : How teachers can develop a new generation of leaders. Routledge
Nikita, N., Ju-Sung, J. S., & Artem, A. (2017). Social networks and construction of culture: A socio-semantic analysis of art groups.
