Leadership: Character, Competencies, and Virtues Essay

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When talking about leadership, many people first of all name professional competencies and knowledge. However, even without much experience in the field, people can show leadership qualities and motivate other employees to work better. These leadership qualities come from a person’s character. Therefore, this paper will analyze the relationship between personality and leadership and how it affects the work of other people and the company as a whole.

The Importance of Character in Leadership

Being a good leader and being a leader are different. For example, a person may be an expert in their field and, in theory, know how to properly manage people but not have the necessary qualities to do it effectively. A person’s character predominantly affects the person’s behavior and interaction with others. Crossan et al. (2012) note that character shapes “what we notice, what we reinforce, who we engage in conversation, what we value, what we choose to act on, how we decide” (para. 7). All of these actions are critical in the work of a leader, and therefore character is of great importance.

Moreover, people often notice that someone has or does not have a lead character. Managing people comes with a certain amount of responsibility and can even be a stress-increasing factor for some. Leaders often face challenges that cannot be solved with theoretical knowledge but require applying specific skills (Kouzes & Posner, 2017). In such conditions, a person often cannot control his character and shows precisely those natural traits. For example, employees may often feel that their management is unfair or lacks the humanity to tailor the workflow to people’s needs. In such conditions, employees can usually be demotivated and have no desire to work effectively to achieve the company’s goals.

Four Areas of Competencies

However, competencies in different areas are of great importance for leadership. Crossan et al. (2012) speak of four leadership competencies: strategic, business, organizational, and people. First, the leader must know the company’s various business models and processes. In addition, it is necessary to consider competition and consumers’ needs so that the company’s work is practical and profitable. Secondly, the leader must have a strategic It means that it is necessary to critically assess the situation and understand what actions need to be taken so that the work has a result not only now but also in the future.

Thirdly, the leader must be able to understand people and build mutually beneficial relationships with them. Understanding each person’s needs and characteristics helps increase motivation and improve work. Finally, the leader must have organizational competencies, including effective teamwork, responsibility distribution, and rewards. These four competency areas apply not only in business but in almost any human activity. Using them, students can understand in which areas their knowledge and skills need to be improved to build practical work. Moreover, even though some areas have a theoretical basis, like business or organizational competencies, each has an individual component and is formed and developed based on a person’s unique qualities.

Ten Leadership Virtues

In addition to specific character traits and values, a leader must have virtues. Crossan et al. (2012) identify ten leadership virtues, the presence of which determines the success and effectiveness of a leader. I have strong humility, collaboration, courage, accountability, humanity, and transcendence. On the other hand, integrity, justice, and temperance require additional development and strengthening. For example, a person with a sense of justice must remain subjective to assess the situation from all sides and make the right decision. Since judgment implies balance and using other qualities, this virtue can only be fully developed after the other attributes have been established.

The absence of these virtues can lead to negative consequences for the team’s work. For example, without humility, “leaders cannot be open-minded, and solicit and consider the views of others” (Crossan et al., 2012, para. 39). Given that the world around us, and the market, in particular, is constantly evolving, the lack of desire to learn leads to a decrease in the company’s performance. In addition, people do not want to work with a leader who does not consider their opinion but only imposes his own. Moreover, teamwork is influenced by integrity, collaboration, humanity, and a sense of justice. If a leader possesses these virtues, employees will be more motivated and perform better to achieve a common goal.

Changes and Development

The nature of leaders affects not only their work but also the work of employees and the company. Consequently, the presence or absence of certain character traits and virtues can contribute to improving work or, vice versa, sabotage it. Seijts and Grandz (2018) have demonstrated the relative importance of each character trait for successfully implementing change in a company. The crucial role in this process is played by virtues aimed at other people, such as collaboration, humanity, and integrity. In addition, Seijts and Grandz (2018) emphasize drive as another trait of a successful leader. Drive implies that the leader “has a strong desire to succeed, tackles problems with a sense of urgency, and approaches challenges with energy and passion” (Seijts & Grandz, 2018, p. 241). Any changes are impossible without this quality. In addition, judgment as a balance of all qualities and the ability to use them in work is necessary at all stages of the change process. However, all virtues are needed to introduce changes and new approaches to culture. Therefore, the leader must constantly develop and improve to ensure the company’s effective operation.

References

Crossan, M., Grandz, J., & Seijts, G. (2012). . Ivey Business Journal, Web.

Kouzes, J.M., & Posner, B.Z. (2017). The leadership challenge: How to make extraordinary things happen in organizations. Jossey-Bass.

Seijts, G.H., & Grandz, J. (2018) . Business Horizons, 61(2), 239-249. Web.

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