The ideal leadership position Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The ideal leadership position - Term Paper Example This research will begin with the statement that since they are social by instinct and with their sense of organization, humans tend to put a premium on leadership qualities. It is through leadership after all that organizations or groups are can work concertedly toward a common goal. Without it, people would be prompted to follow their individual will, which may not be agreeable to others. Therefore, even if there are similarities in directions, anarchy would prevail, rendering it impossible to achieve common objectives. According to Yukl, â€Å"leadership is the process of influencing others to understand and agree about what needs to be done and how to do it, and the process of facilitating individual and collective efforts to accomplish shared objectives†. Such definition clearly indicates that leadership is not a person’s attitude toward others but a process that is undertaken to rally other people toward a goal. It is in line with this clarification that the resea rcher developed his style of leadership. His style of leading others in an organization is essentially a combination of democratic and autocratic or bureaucratic leadership. These two types may be anathema to each other that it may seem impossible to implement them at the same time. However, the researcher believes that leadership is not only tactical but more important, it is strategic. It is in the strategic sense that the combination of democratic and bureaucratic leadership can be best appreciated although it may also work in tactical situations. I practice a democratic approach in times when I meet with subordinates to discuss problems and too seek solutions. I do the same when in activities like planning and evaluation. Democracy is important during these stages because, it is apparent that even if I am the manager or the leader, I do not have the monopoly of truth. I may be knowledgeable about the larger picture but my subordinates definitely have a more concrete understandin g of their respective departments of work. To achieve viable solutions, I have to rely on their grasping of the situation of their particular fields. To arrive at an accurate evaluation, I have to consider the reports of my subordinates. To formulate workable plans, I have to grasp the situation of the people who will be directly implementing these. Without a democratic approach, it would be impossible to achieve all these. However, once the plans are ironed out and implementation begins, I shift to an autocratic mode. I would relentlessly pursue the plans by constantly monitoring the subordinates and pressuring them to work hard for the realizing the objectives. Pride, Hughes, & Kapoor define the authoritarian leader as one who â€Å"holds all authority and responsibility, with communication usually moving from top to bottom† and that â€Å"this leader assigns workers to specific tasks and expects orderly, precise results† (2010, p. 179). However, there may be a limit to the top-to-bottom communication line. I need to open channels for reports, complaints, and suggestions from the bottom just to make sure that problems are checked while they are not yet too big to badly affect the implementation of the over-all plan. With such style of leadership, I believe that the best position in a corporate setup is as a middle-level manager. The highest position that may suit me best is a department manager and, the least is a supervisor. It is through these positions that I could maintain better understanding of issues and problems of the rank and file or the subordinates as they try to implement the tasks assigned to them according to the general objective of the company and the supporting specific plans of the department that I am heading. The roles that occupy the void between the planners and the implementers or the intellectuals and the workers are certainly the most challenging in any corporate set up but are also the most important. Without middle-level managers, the upper management would not be able to grasp the conditions of the people in the lower levels who are the directly impleme