Эссе на тему: "People ask the difference between a leader and a boss"

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Introduction......................................................................................................3
The qualities necessary to every leader...........................................4
Conclusion....................................................................................8
Introduction
“People ask the difference between a leader and a boss ... The leader works in the open, and the boss in covert. The leader leads, and the boss drives.” - Theodore Roosevelt
There exist a lot of sayings about leadership and leaders but most of them are too abstract.
Leaders make history. They are important because they make people change their lives. So it was many years ago, so it is now.
Some dictionaries describe a leadership as a process, the result of which is a well working group of people. A leader is seen as an organizator of that group and their work.
They say one has to be born a leader to lead somebody. They believe that only the characters given from birth really influence a person's life and and predetermine the life course of the person. These people are fatalists, they believe in fate and prefer to go with a flow and not to struggle it.
Those people who are already leaders are absolutely sure that leaders are made; that any person can become a leader if they want and start to do something.
The true leader ignores disbelief and instead concentrates on developing the leadership qualities necessary for success. They know the less time they have to spend on getting others to follow them, the more time they have to spend refining exactly where they want to go and how to get there.
A French lawyer and politician, Maximillien Robespierre used to say: “A leader has two important characteristics; first, he is going somewhere; second, he is able to persuade other people to go with him.”
Today a leader has to be something more than just a guide. The rules of market competition strike the keynote. Those who doesn't match – lose.
The qualities necessary to every leader
A lot of psychological researches have been made in recent years concerning the qualities of a true leader. To highlight those traits the researches asked the acknowledged leader to answer some tests.
The result of those tests shows the list of qualities that can be used as a landmark by managers or any other people who want to become a leader. Those lists include a lot of points like honesty and dominance, but they do not embrace the whole range of leadership traits.
An effective leader should be:
The owner of effective communication skills. And this is for sure the top the list of most important leadership qualities. This means not only a good orator but also a very well prepared interlocutor. A good leader must be able to find common ground with everyone from top-managers to usual workers.
Emotionally stable. Leadership is a great responsibility, this may be very stressful. A leader must meet every obstacle calmly.
Dominant. A leader is better to be decisive and competitive. Mostly leaders are assertive in the way the think as well as in the way they treat other people.
Enthusiastic. People who are already leaders usually are expressive, active, often optimistic and open to changes. Therefore they are alert and quick.
Honest. Everyone is eager to follow an honest leader. But it is not enough just to be honest, a true leader should exhibit the honesty in every possible way. It is necessary because modern people don't believe in honesty without any proofs.
Brave. Leaders are usually thick-skinned and socially aggressive. A good leader is the one who takes a calculated risk when all the others back off. He/she must be brave enough to find opportunities, and strike gold whenever possible. Nevertheless a good leader should also understand the difference between courage and foolhardiness.
Practical. Logical and practical people are good leaders. They have little sentimental attachments and feel comfortable with criticism. They are generally insensitive to hardship.
Self-assured. Self-confidence helps them to make mistakes without any fear before the result. For a leader it is a good trait because it helps to make decisions.
Prudent. All leaders tend to know what is going on. They prefer a good reputation to a surprise. Prudence is necessary for keeping the bar high enough and therefore to join the top level.
Highly energetic. A leader usually has to stay focused and alert for a long periods of time, for example during long working trips and negotiations. This may be not very good for his/her health but it's crucial for the development and progress.
Intuitive. Intuition is important in our rapidly changing world. One can't know everything, so they may use their intuition to make a decision. This seems to be a very controversial statement because a good leader must always know what he/she is doing to be sure the team would be good. But still, without intuition, he/she couldn't make decisions quickly as the modern world demands.
Team orientated. Team progress is the main task of a good leader. Every leader must understand that a team can do more than on person. That's why the education and development of the team should be on the first place.
Forward-Looking. A good leader must always have a plan, a precise and well-structured plan. And, of course, he must have another one, the so-called “plan B”, just in case of failure. In other words he must have a forward-looking vision.
Competent. People wish to follow someone who is competent. This means that a leader should be ready to demonstrate competence in any question in the company. Of coarse, he/she shouldn't get high education for every position in the company but he/she must be aware of it at least roughly.
Inspiring. An inspiring leader can lead even without any other qualities.
Being inspiring is usually just a matter of communicating clearly and with passion. A good example of inspiration can be the following story: Steve Jobs enticed the CEO from Pepsi by asking him, “Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to change the world?” Being inspiring means showing people the big picture and helping them see beyond a narrow focus and understand how their part fits into the big picture.
Intelligent. Intelligent people are sensed by the people around. This is the only trait that a leader should not show off. When people are really smart it would be offensive to the rest ones to feel foolish near them. A good leader can exhibit the intelligence by gently guiding people to understanding. The goal must be to help others to learn–not demonstrating how smart they are.
A team player. A leader can't exist without a team. People who follow him/her are essential. And it is quite clear that for a successful work all the members of the team, including the leader should stay together as a closely-knit unit, and that is only possible when all the members of a team bond together. In fact, the leader has to play the key role in ensuring that his team doesn't fall out over differences within the members.
Goal oriented. A good leader has to be a good visionary. He/she should be able to set long term goals and, what is more important, implement all the measures required to achieve them. In leadership, achievements do matter, and the greater they are the better. But it is very important to set realistic goals - and not give in to temptations, because the latter is a good recipe for failure.
Broad minded. Being broad minded is as important as being an inspiring force for the team. As a good leader, one has to be open to ideas and suggestions, even when they come from his juniors - which is most likely to be the case. A good leader must listen to every member of the team and take their ideas into account, even if the first seem to be not very good. It may occur, that with due leadership, not a perfect idea may become a brilliant one.
Humorous. Although it isn't considered one of the most popular leadership characteristics as such, humor always comes as an added advantage alongside the aforementioned qualities. Being the best way to relieve stress and/or to counter hostility, it comes to our rescue time and again in different situations in life. A good leader should simply know how to use humor to boost the morale of his team and/or solve conflicts within the team members.
What is really important for a good leader is to appreciate other people, their efforts and their results. That is the main condition for keeping the team together.
Good leaders develop efficient systems, productive teams and a positive corporate culture. Good leaders possess positive personal characteristics, such as dedication, vision, integrity, a sense of creativity and fairness. And also they know how to inspire the others by being good motivators and listeners. Although many leadership qualities are born into a person, many other qualities can be learned.
Good leaders delegate, motivate, listen, and provide vision.
Leaders can improve listening skills through education and practice.
One is the most important leadership skills is to choose the right time and person who would do exactly that task the best way.
Although leaders may be born with qualities that make them effective at influencing others, good leaders are always learning. Good leaders attend leadership conferences, involve themselves in accountability groups, and read books that strengthen leadership skills.
Conclusion
Leaders are rarely born. Circumstances and persistence are major components in the developmental process of any leader.
This means that any individual can become a leader if he/she wants to. The most important about becoming a very good leader is constant learning and self-perfection. Every trait, mentioned above, can be a result of hard learning. Intelligence, etiquette, communicational skills and all the others can be acquired.
It is important to exhibit, model and display these traits. Simply possessing each trait would not be enough; a good leader have to show it in a way that people notice. Team members are eager to see that their leader actively demonstrate those leadership characteristics and will not just believe that he/she has them.
For example, just because a potential leader is not dishonest will not cause people to recognize that he/she are honest. Just avoiding displays of incompetence won’t inspire the same confidence as truly displaying competence, and so on.
The focus of each of these traits needs to be on what people see the leader does –not just the things they don’t see he/she doesn't. Being honest isn’t a matter of not lying–it is taking the extra effort to display honesty.
Other than all these qualities, the determination to get more scores with humor is also of great help. In the end, it isn't just important to have all these leadership traits if he/she can't strike the right blend of them all. It is the combination of all these qualities and the individual's efforts that brings out the best in him.
It is not important to be a Superman – to be a good leader but it is important to tend to be him.