Busn9248 Managing People: Behaviors Of Assessment Answers

Answer:

Introduction

Leadership is defined as the act leading or giving guidance to an organization or group of people. Successful leaders possess the intellect and power needed to govern their subjects or entities. They are visionary and ready to seize opportunities that come along. Successful leaders surpass the mere title of “boss” of “manager.” They have found new mechanisms of achieving enthusiasm, self-assurance, and charisma, probably due to a bit of luck and good timing. Some people are gifted with leadership skills, but most of the leadership skills and traits are learned and sharpened with a healthy dose of practice and time. Successful leaders have been found to possess some key leadership behaviors as discussed in this essay.

Behaviors of successful leaders

Successful leaders are good at managing themselves. It becomes challenging for managers to manage others if they cannot manage themselves appropriately. In other words, self-management entails prioritizing personal goals or being accountable and responsible for the accomplishment of the same objectives. A successful leader must be able and willing to regulate attention and emotions, time while acknowledging the personal weaknesses, strengths and likely sources of bias (Bauer, 2015, pp 30). Successful leaders have the skills and proficiency required to handle stress and balance both the professional and personal lives. They value the need for compassion and are always ready to respond to events and people in the right manner. Self-control and discipline are essential when taking certain actions, though being overly inflexible and reserved is not recommended.

Exceptional and successful leaders act strategically. A liberal and forward thinking leadership is necessary in the modern world. A recent Harvard Business Publishing report, Leading Now: Critical Capabilities for a Complex World; indicates that leaders need to be prepared to alter their strategies to deal with unexpected challenges or seize new opportunities (Sheard, Kakabadse, and Kakabadse, 2013, pp 80). Thinking and acting strategically is a continuous process that entails assessing the leadership environment. Successful leaders have come up with new ways cultivating strategic thinking. First, they are genuine, curious, and interested in their people and company’s’ environment. Second, they have a flexible mindset that is capable of adopting new ideas and approaches. Finally, they focus on the future while maintaining a positive and promising outlook.

Successful leaders are effective communicators. They have the right timing and know when to listen and when to talk. They can succinctly communicate to their people about everything from specific tasks to common goals. They understand that people need to be aware of what is expected of them, and if this is not the case, they will fall short. Hence, leaders are more specific for better outcomes. Successful leaders can communicate on all levels; face to face, to staff members and departments, via phone, social media or email (Marion and Gonzales, 2013, pp 20). Exceptional leaders have been able to build their communication on a continuous flow of nonverbal and verbal exchanges of stories, motivation, information, and ideas.by so doing, they have been able to become involving and approaching people from many levels.

Successful leaders are accountable and responsible. They are aware of their power and know how to control their people without overpowering or overwhelming them. Effective leaders are responsible for their actions and expect the same from others. They establish the right procedures that will enable them to be more efficient and productive when taking vital decisions. They are keen to follow the stated policies and rules while also encouraging and supporting individuality. They can balance different opinions and perspectives while identifying the right action. Notably, every leader is bound to make mistakes and may sometimes stumble and fall. However, successful leaders are defined by their abilities to regroup, gain a conviction, and move again with the newly acquired speed (Yusof, Kadir, and Mahfar, 2014, pp 41). According to Jack Welch, a retired business executive, and author, successful leaders are those who are knocked down severally but run the next race with overwhelming power and vigor.

Goals are essential to the success of every leader. The set goals should be clear and achievable. This is what successful leaders do; they set clear goals and persist in accomplishing them. Successful leaders have a boiled-down approach for acquiring presence and charm; they identify clear goals and are determined to achieve them (Kang, Solomon, and Choi, 2015, pp 540). Their confidence and will are unshakable. Successful leaders radiate and show enthusiasm, and therefore, other people are excited and ready to follow the leaders. Efficient leaders always remember that writing clear and achievable goals is the key to success. But they are aware that accomplishing these goals may take some time. If leaders give up, the same will apply to the people around them. Evidently, successful leaders are always willing to soldier on when others feel like throwing in the towel. They deal with every form of disapproval that might hinder them from achieving their goals. Unduly approval or disapproval does not influence their actions (Singh, 2013, pp 799). When they face criticism, it does not subject them to a downward spiral but encourages them to move on. Simply, successful leaders see the opinion of other people as uncalled for and misplaced.

Pros and cons of successful leadership behaviors

Robust and fruitful leadership practices guide and motivate people. The people can make decisions and complete tasks efficiently. Whether chosen or appointed, no leader or leadership behavior has got the required approach for success. No matter how good the actions of a leader may be, they might not have the appropriate recipe for success (Muenjohn, and Armstrong, 2015, pp 53). For instance, strict leaders might not be accepted by a section of their subjects. As a result, the subjects may portray disobedience and unwillingness to follow orders as dictated by their leaders which result in eventual failure (Lewis, Andriopoulos and Smith, 2014, pp 70). While the drawbacks of successful leadership behaviors are few in comparison to the benefits, the consequences can be detrimental. Right leadership practices should come along with the proper guidance. If the subjects are given too much responsibility without the proper guidance, the good leadership behaviors may not be useful after all (Nankervis, Baird, Coffey and Shields, 2013, pp 101). It is not a wonder to find leaders who possess admirable leadership behaviors but lead a life of confusion and poor decision making. This translates to dissatisfaction among their subjects and unfruitfulness in their side.

Recommendations and Conclusion

As discussed in this essay, setting clear goals is necessary for effective and visionary leadership. And, as evidenced in organizations and teams, successful leaders need to put a special interest on the few main areas that have a high impact on the realization of the goals and vision. As any good trainer would affirm, winning requires vigorous learning and practicing what is learned. Successful leaders are those who are willing to learn and practice. Some people hold the opinion that good and successful leaders are born. However, a good number of thinkers have affirmed and concluded that strong leadership is nurtured by continuous learning, consistent practice, and accepting feedback (Day and Sammons, 2013, pp27). Arrogant leaders believe that they know it all, successful leaders are always ready to hear from people and get new ideas. This marks the main difference between the two. The subjects are less inclined to listen to leaders who are perceived as arrogant. Like an athlete who is determined to emerge as a winner, successful leaders must continually hone their craft to achieve the desired fruits. By following the above-stated and other necessary approaches, the journey to success will be like a walk in the park.

Bibliography

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Day, C. and Sammons, P., 2013. Successful Leadership: A Review of the International Literature. CfBT Education Trust. 60 Queens Road, Reading, RG1 4BS, England.

Kang, J.H., Solomon, G.T. and Choi, D.Y., 2015. CEOs' leadership styles and managers' innovative behaviour: Investigation of intervening effects in an entrepreneurial context. Journal of Management Studies, 52(4), pp.531-554.

Lewis, M.W., Andriopoulos, C. and Smith, W.K., 2014. Paradoxical leadership to enable strategic agility. California Management Review, 56(3), pp.58-77.

Marion, R. and Gonzales, L.D., 2013. Leadership in education: Organizational theory for the practitioner. Waveland press.

Muenjohn, N. and Armstrong, A., 2015. Transformational leadership: The influence of culture on the leadership behaviours of expatriate managers. international Journal of Business and information, 2(2).

Nankervis, A.R., Baird, M., Coffey, J. and Shields, J., 2013. Human resource management: strategy and practice.

Sheard, A.G., Kakabadse, N. and Kakabadse, A., 2013. Destructive behaviours and leadership: the source of the shift from a functional to dysfunctional workplace?. International Journal of Social Science Studies, 1(1), pp.73-89.

Singh, P., 2013. Influence of the leaders' emotionally intelligent behaviours on their employees' job satisfaction. The International Business & Economics Research Journal (Online), 12(7), p.799.

Yusof, H.M., Kadir, H.A. and Mahfar, M., 2014. The role of emotions in leadership. Asian Social Science, 10(10), p.41.