Established Strategy for Leadership Essay

Leadership, as defined in the book Leadership Challenge (1995), is a set of practices that is observable and learnable. It is not something mystifying and sublime by which common and ordinary people cannot understand. If a person is bestowed with an opportunity for feedback and practice, and has the desire to lead and to make a difference, he can considerably develop his abilities to do so (Kouzes and Posner 1995: iv) and be a leader. On the contrary, strategy is a plan of action which results from the intended and determined to achieve a specific goal (Farlex 2009). There are a lot of known leaders in the world because they make a change and a difference. They are pioneers for a certain movement that, for instance, bring peace and freedom in their land. Or sometimes, they are the reasons why their company has been saved from bankruptcy or collapsed. There may be a myriad of well-known people in the realm of leadership and yet, anyone, even in their own little ways can be a leader and can definitely be called as leader. One of the leaders whom I know is the vice-president of a women’s organization. She is a scholar and a consistent honor student since her freshman in college. She may not be that famous in the whole university but she does exist. The organization where she belongs is already out of number and their President has not showed up since she is not currently enrolled thus she does not have the privilege to rule and to take a lead in the organization. Definitely, being the vice president in the roster of officers means that she has to carry out all the responsibilities of the president. Presently, the organization is composed of ten members: seven of them are members of the Executive Committee, where faction exists due to political reasons and belief. Being the vice-president, who needs not be biased with the existing division in the group, how did she manage to merge the faction, to increase the number of their members and to carry out all their organizational activities with a limited number of cooperating people? Being in the position, she has the power to lead the members. In order to comprehend the nature of leadership, one must understand the essence of power, because leadership is a special form of power (Burns 1978:12). The way she exercises her power as a vice-president as well as a president has something to do with her motives and resources—her goal for the organization and for her members. According to Burns, motives and resources are two vital factors of leadership for they are interrelated. If a person lacks motive, the resource diminishes. If one lacks resource, motive becomes idle. Thus, lacking either one, power subsides and disintegrates (1978: 12). On the other hand, the faction in the group has something to do with politics, the essence and exercise of power. If the past leaders of the organization have used their power for self-interest and dominance in the group, the current vice-president is different. She just manages and organizes meetings, as well as ideas. But those ideas, for example, for a certain activity that needs to be carried out, come from the members of the group. Everyone is entitled to speak out and to share their thoughts. There might be a division in the proposed ideas, but definitely, those propositions that are not chosen, are still in line for possible alternatives if the chosen proposal has not worked out. On the contrary, the decision-making in the organization is put into action by means of votes and quorum. Everyone is entitled to cooperate. If there are oppositions, those oppositions will be heard. The demands with her as the leader of the group may seem high, but she has achieved to manage all the predicaments because in everything she does, she is driven by her motivation to uplift the organization. Her enthusiasm with her work and responsibility has spread among its members that definitely help in the cooperation; the faction in the group has disintegrated, and thus, the recruitment of members has been done. Definitely, the members have increased its number. Furthermore, whoever the next leader that will be elected, she is certainly been defied to do her best and to rule for her members and for the organization, not for her self-interest and fulfillment, but for the group. List of References: Burns, J. (1978) Leadership. New York: Harper Torchbooks. Farlex (2009) The Free Dictionary. [online] available from http://www. thefreedictionary. com/strategy. Kousez J. and Posner, B. (1995) An Instructor’s Guide to the Leadership Challenge. New York: Jossey-Bass Publisher.