On Leadership
Positive leaders motivate, inspire, guide, build people’s characters and recognize human potential. Positive leaders overcomes obstacles, solve problems, teach by example and inspire followers. They create and share their positive vision. They turn negativity into positive outcomes. Positive leaders aspire to reach the higher ground. They make the team stronger.
Destructive leaders are by nature selfish. They are not concerned about the team’s objectives, only about furthering their own agenda. Destructive leaders instill fear, division and hate. Destructive leaders attempts only to accomplish those goals and objectives that build and embolden their twisted egos.
Whether in the private or public sector, good leaders create positive change. They do this by influencing others in order to achieve common goals and objectives that lead the collective to desired outcomes. The ultimate success or failure of an organization depends greatly on its leader. History has been and will continue to be made by great leaders. Whether in politics, military, corporate, religious or civic settings leaders create the type of environment that engenders positive growth and development.
Today, most experts point to four types of leaders. Transactional, transformational, charismatic and visionary leaders.
Transactional leaders are those who guide or motivate followers in the direction of established goals. They do this by clarifying the roles and requirements needed to achieve positive outcomes. These leaders focus on the role of management and supervision that lead to organizational and group performance. Transactional leaders often perform their roles through systems of reward and punishment as well as by closely monitoring subordinates in order to ensure that expectations are met.
Transformational leaders inspire followers to transcend their own self-interests for the good of the organization. These are leaders who are also capable of having a profound and extraordinary effect on their followers. They focus on motivating followers to not only perform at high levels but to also develop their own careers, improve themselves and develop their own leadership potential. Transformational leaders seek to transform the organization and followers in a positive way.
By developing a vision or a view of the future, transformational leaders typically excite and converts follower into high performing team members. They present their vision in compelling and motivational ways that bring the organization together allowing the members to act in extraordinary fashion.
Charismatic leaders are enthusiastic, self-confident leader whose personality and actions influence people to behave in certain ways. These are leaders with a vision and the ability to articulate that vision in such ways as to move their followers. They are willing to take risks to achieve their vision on one hand, but are sensitive to the needs of the organization and to the follower on the other. Charismatic leaders exhibit behaviors that are out of the ordinary.
These are leaders who are excellent and skilled communicators. They are eloquent speakers who are able to communicate to followers on a deep and emotional level. By arousing strong emotions in followers, they are able to move and inspire many people.
Visionary leaders are those who create and articulate a realistic, credible, and attractive vision of the future that improves upon the present situation. They have the ability to explain their vision to others. They can express their vision not just verbally but through their exemplary behavior.
These are for the most part uncommon leaders who project openness, creativity, innovation, imagination, persistence, and conviction. They deeply care for people, seeing them as their greatest asset. They listen to others and learn from other people’s point of view. These leaders create partnerships between them and their followers and create a shared sense of vision that develops team spirit and team learning.
Gender Differences and Leadership
Recent research findings point to the fact that males and females use different leadership styles. Women tend to adopt a more democratic or participative style unless in a male-dominated job. However overall, women tend to use a transformational leadership style, while men tend to use transactional leadership.
The evidence shows that female leaders typically have more compassion and empathy, and a more open and inclusive negotiation style. This is not, of course, necessarily true of all women — there are many different leadership styles. That said, modern ideas of transformative leadership are more in line with qualities women generally share: empathy, inclusiveness and an open negotiation style. (Gwen K. Young — CNN — July 31, 2016)
Where Female Managers Do Better: A Scorecard
Current Women Heads of State
06.02.1952- Queen Elizabeth II of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Her other Realms and Territories, Defender of the Faith and Head of the Commonwealth
14.01.1972- Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
17.09.1997- Governor General Hon. Dr. Dame C. Pearlette Louisy, St. Lucia
22.11.2005- Chancellor Angela Merkel, Germany
16.01.2006- Executive President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Liberia
15.10.2012- Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (South Africa)
25.02.2013- President Park Geun-hye, South Korea
13.03.2013- Prime Minister Željka Cvijanović, Republic Srpska
07.05.2013- Governor-General Dame Cécile La Grenade, Grenada
20.10.2013- Prime Minister Erna Solberg, Norway
11.03.2014- Executive President Michelle Bachelet Jeria, Chile
06.01.2009- Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed, Bangladesh
04.04.2014- President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, Malta
08.07.2014- Governor General Dame Marguerite Pindling, The Bahamas
18.02.2015- President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, Croatia
21.03.2015- Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, Namibia
05.06.2015- President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, Mauritius
29.10.2015- President Bidhya Devi Bhandari, Nepal
16.11.2015- Prime Minister Beata Szydło, Poland
25.11.2015- Premier Katrin Sjögren, Åland (Finish External Territory
28.01.2016- President Hilda Heine, the Marshall Islands
07.04.2016- State Councillor Aung San Suu Ky, Myanmar
20.05.2016- President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan
08.07.2016- Head of the Joint Acting Presidency Doris Bures, Austria
