Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies

What is leadership?

Student: Banu Alina-Gabriela

Roșioru Elena

Group 504

Professor: Maria Enache

2020
 What is leadership?

A simple definition is that leadership is the art of motivating a group of people to act
towards achieving a common goal. In a business setting, this can mean directing workers and
colleagues with a strategy to meet the company's needs.

Put even more simply, the leader is the inspiration and director of the action.

Leadership in business is the capacity of a company's management to set and achieve

challenging goals, take fast and decisive action when needed, outperform the competition, and
inspire others to perform at the highest level they can.

Leadership provides direction for a company and its workers. Employees need to know
the direction in which the company is headed and who to follow to reach the destination.
Leadership involves showing workers how to effectively perform their responsibilities and
regularly supervising the completion of their tasks.

Leadership is also about setting a positive example for staff to follow, by being excited
about the work, being motivated to learn new things, and helping out as needed in both
individual and team activities.

How Leadership Works

Effective leadership includes exhibiting a strong character. Leaders exhibit honesty,
integrity, trustworthiness, and ethics. Leaders act in line with how they speak and earn the right
to be responsible for others’ success in the company.

Strong leadership involves clear communication skills. Leaders speak with and listen to
staff members, respond to questions and concerns, and are empathetic. Leaders use effective
communication skills for moving the company forward and achieving new levels of success.

True leadership sees where the company is headed and plans the steps needed to get
there. Visualizing what is possible, following trends in the industry, and taking risks to grow the
business are all required of leaders.
 Productive leadership shows optimism and provides positive energy for staff. Good
leaders are supportive and are truly concerned about the well-being of others. Leaders find
answers to challenges and reassure and inspire workers when things go awry. Leaders find ways
for staff to work together and achieve maximum results in an efficient and effective manner.

Everybody defines leadership differently but I really like the way John C Maxwell
defines leadership, “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”
Irrespective of how you define a leader, he or she can prove to be a difference maker between
success and failure. A good leader has a futuristic vision and knows how to turn his ideas into
real-world success stories. In this article, we take an in-depth look at some of the important
leadership qualities that separate good leaders from a bad one.

Motivation is essential for leadership

A leader knows how to motivate better than anyone else; it is one of their main functions as
people managers. Through motivation, a leader channels their coworkers energy and professional
potential in order to achieve objectives. This is a very important feature in a leader. You need to
talk to your team, ask them questions, let them talk, listen and understand what they need.
Leading is not about talking and giving orders, is about listening and creating the perfect
environment for each one in your team.

For motivation it is very important to have goals and targets. If everyone can review their
goals and targets by themselves you will have a constant motivation for your team. Make your
data transparent and accesible to everyone. Transparency is a great tool for motivation.

Leaders: Born or Made?

While there are people who seem to be naturally endowed with more leadership abilities
than others, people can learn to become leaders by improving particular skills.
 History is full of people who, while having no previous leadership experience, have
stepped to the fore in crisis situations and persuaded others to follow their suggested course of
action. They possessed traits and qualities that helped them to step into roles of leadership.

Leadership Qualities That Make Good Leaders

1. Vision

Great leaders have a vision… They can see into the future.They have a clear, exciting
idea of where they are going and what they are trying to accomplish and are excellent at strategic
planning. While a manager gets the job done, great leaders tap into the emotions of their
employees.

2. Courage

Having the quality of courage means that you are willing to take risks in the achievement
of your goals with no assurance of success. Because there is no certainty in life or business,
every commitment you make and every action you take entails a risk of some kind.

3. Integrity

Integrity requires that you always tell the truth, to all people, in every situation.
Truthfulness is the foundation quality of the trust that is necessary for the success of any
business.

4. Creativity

As a good leader is someone the team could look up to for answers or solutions, it is up to you to
think outside the box when any issues arise.

5. Empathy

Having empathy as a leader goes a long way. Empathy is the ability to understand or feel what
other people are experiencing. At times, leaders need to look after their team‘s feelings.

6. Inspire
 Being able to inspire your team is great for focusing on the company’s vision and goals,
but it is also important for the team during their current projects. When your team are drowning
in workload or their morale is low, you as a leader need to be inspiring and start finding ways to
inspire your team. It is your job to keep spirits up, and that begins with an appreciation for the
hard work that they have put in. Start off by giving words of encouragement once in a while.

7. Accountability

A good leader takes responsibility for everyone’s performance as well as their own. When things
are going well, they praise. However when problems arise, they identify them quickly, seek
solutions, and get the team back on track.

8. Communication

Communication is the key to success, said everyone. Without clear communication, your
employees will have trouble to understand your mission, goals, and vision. Good communication
is a leadership attribute for a number of reasons. Communication should be consistent when it
comes to establishing work expectations or giving constructive feedback. With great
communication, your employees will have a broad understanding to what they are working for.

Leadership Traits of Barack Obama

Barack Obama has always been a leader in a true sense. Even before becoming the
44th US President.

Barack Obama boosts of qualities and habits of effective leaders that made him a
statesman and a leader of the highest repute across the globe. Even countries not having friendly
relations with the USA admire Mr. Obama much. That’s why we have decided to put forward 5
leadership traits of Barack Obama that makes him an excellent politician and lead a nation for 8
long years.

Conviction and Perseverance

The campaign slogan of Obama for the 2008 presidential campaign when he was elected
the president for the first time was “Change we can believe in.”
 Obama always has a firm belief that if something is right and if you think you are on the
right track then you can influence others too and get your message across. This will take some
time but eventually you’ll succeed.

We-not-I Attitude

You may have noticed when Obama delivers a speech, he talked with the first person
plural “we” rather than “I”. That is a unique way of making people involved in a conversation
and then making them believe they have actually contributed something positive to a cause.

This is a very important part of being a leader, making everyone around you involved

Taking Risks

In his book the “The Audacity of Hope” Obama mentioned he took a big gamble by
running for the presidency even some friends and aides advised otherwise in the wake that he
terribly lost the primaries for the 2004 presidential race.

Obama always urged people around him and the general public about taking risks,
although calculated ones in the start. The more you’ll know about Obama, the more you will be
inclined to take risks in the life and benefit from this act rather than fail.

The Art of Communication

Obama is a leader par excellence as he knows how to talk to any person, group or
audience regardless of their background, age, race, gender, etc.

His entire campaign was a classic case of how to communicate with virtually each and
every person in the USA who is eligible to vote, gain his confidence and send the message across
in clear terms.

Turning Endings into New Beginnings

 A leader is a person who is never satisfied with even his own work and always look to
achieve more. He uses the positive public reaction and sentiment to begin a fresh project so that
the buoyant mode keeps the momentum going and help in completing the new task with ease.

Four ways that good leaders achieve success

1. Leaders better their environment

Leaders do not exist to order their workers around. While they oversee their team, a true
leader takes initiative and trusts their employees to perform efficiently and independently. A
passionate and compassionate leader can energize a company.

2. They know their team and themselves well

Good leaders want their entire company to succeed, including everyone involved. They
take the time to understand every worker so they can help them achieve their personal goals in
line with the company's. A leader places the people around him or her in a position that sets them
up for success.

A leader must have an in-depth understanding of each individual, such as understanding

their career goals and knowing what motivates them. By being committed to helping each person
achieve their own personal goals, the leader sets the organization up for greatness.

3. Leaders maintain a positive attitude

Businesses face ups and downs. Without someone to take the reins and push forward in
optimism, the company will likely be unsuccessful. A good leader can hold his or her emotions
in check, especially in tough situations. A leader should be confident enough to know when
they're wrong so they can move past a mistake.

4. They build the next generation of leaders

Leaders can't, and shouldn't, stand alone. A company doesn't need just one influential
individual. Leaders should want to develop more leaders from the get-go.
 A leader builds their employees so they can be as successful as, if not more than, the
person in charge. "A leader is someone who builds their team, mentors them and then advocates
for them.

Conclusion

There is a common belief that leadership is vital for effective organizational and societal
functioning and success.

We can conclude that leadership is the ability to direct a group of people in realising a
common goal. This is done by people applying their leadership attributes. Leaders create
commitment and enthusiasm amongst followers to achieve goals. Leadership is achieved through
interaction between leader, follower and environment.
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