What Makes A Great Leader?
As long as there have been leaders, people have wondered what makes a great leader. From Plato’s “great man” to Machiavelli’s prince to modern charismatic and transformational leaders, defining the characteristics of a great leader has been difficult, at best (Clawson, 2006, p. 379). The characteristics of one great leader may not match the characteristics of another.
Modern theory has moved away from the inborn traits of leaders to the interaction of leaders with followers as a way of defining exceptional leadership. The transition has focused less on the leader and more on the leadership demonstrated. This transition allows scholars and practitioners to define qualities of leadership that are less biased and more quantifiable. Transformational leadership is one such theory that is based on the relationship between leaders and followers and how one influences the other to improvement (Clawson, 2006, p.390). “Today’s business imperatives of speed and quality mean that executives must try harder and work longer hours to achieve results not merely intended to keep up with their competitors, but to blast them out of the water” (Sarros & Santora, 2001, p. 383). Transformational leadership enables today’s business leader to this level of improvement in that it leverages the intellect and motivation of followers to achieve the goals given to leaders (Sarros & Santora, 2001, p. 392).
References:
Clawson, J. G. (2006). Level three leadership: getting below the surface, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
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Level Three Leadership: Getting Below the Surface Value Package (includes Nightly Business Report Presents Lasting Leadership: What You Can Learn from the Top 25 Business People of our Times) |
Sarros, J. C., & Santora, J. C. (2001). The transformational-transactional leadership model in practice. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 22(8), 383-393.
© 2010, Juanita Woods, PgMP, PMP, MBA. All rights reserved.
