what is a leader short essay

Feb 15, 2023

Essays on Leadership for Students | 200 - 500 Word Essays

Are you writing an essay about leadership? Check out these examples!

Leadership is often defined as "the action of inspiring others to act in concert to achieve a particular goal." It signifies the harmony in actions that lead to a common objective. A genuine leader not only exudes confidence but also paves the way for their followers towards triumph. Over the years, various leadership styles have been identified and discussed by psychologists.

 Qualities such as intelligence, adaptability, extroversion, innate self-awareness, and social competence often emerge as the hallmarks of impactful leaders. There's a consensus that these traits mold an individual into an effective leader. Interestingly, some theories suggest that extraordinary situations can thrust an ordinary individual into the spotlight, bestowing upon them the mantle of leadership. It's also believed that leadership isn't a static trait but an evolving journey. It underscores the belief that with dedication and the right resources, anyone can hone their leadership abilities.

 True leadership goes beyond merely advocating for a cause. It involves taking responsibility, igniting motivation in others, and differentiating oneself from just being a 'boss'. A leader's essence lies in their ability to inspire and propel people towards grand visions, whereas a manager typically focuses on oversight and operational aspects.

What Is a Leadership Essay?

A leadership essay falls under the category of student application essays and serves to provide student admissions officers with insight into your past leadership experiences. Despite appearing to be very specific, this type of essay acknowledges that the nature and perception of leadership can vary significantly depending on the individual and the context.

 If you find yourself in need of further insights or a unique angle for your leadership essay, consider exploring an expert essay-writing tool designed to assist students in crafting compelling narratives by analyzing vast data and generating fresh ideas within minutes. In this article, we'll also delve into various leadership essay examples to offer a clearer understanding of the genre and inspire your writing journey.

4 Examples of Leadership Essays

Qualities of a good leader, introduction.

Confidence is the most important attribute first of all. One of the most important qualities in a leader is confidence in one's own abilities. A lack of self-assurance is fatal to a person's leadership potential. If you want others to follow you, you need to exude self-assurance. It's imperative for a leader to have faith in his own judgment and actions. How can people want to follow him if he doesn't even know what he's doing?

Every effective leader knows that they need to be an inspiration to their followers. A leader needs to set an example for his team. In addition, he ought to inspire them whenever feasible. A leader must also maintain optimism in trying times.

What qualities a good leader must have?

Leadership is the ability to influence and guide individuals or groups toward a common goal. A leader must possess several qualities to be effective, including:

Communication skills: A leader must be able to communicate their vision and goals clearly and effectively, both verbally and in writing. This requires excellent listening skills, empathy, and the ability to adapt to different communication styles.

Emotional intelligence: A leader must be able to understand and manage their own emotions, as well as those of their team members. This includes being able to understand and respond to the emotions of others, and handling conflicts in a constructive manner.

Visionary: A leader must have a clear and inspiring vision of the future, and be able to articulate this vision in a way that motivates others to work towards it.

Strategic thinking: A leader must be able to think critically and creatively to identify and solve problems, make decisions, and develop plans and strategies to achieve their goals.

Flexibility: A leader must be able to adapt to changing circumstances and be open to new ideas and perspectives. This requires the ability to embrace change, be innovative, and continuously learn and grow.

Integrity: A leader must have strong ethics and values, and be willing to make difficult decisions that are consistent with their beliefs. This requires honesty, transparency, and accountability.

Decisiveness: A leader must be able to make tough decisions quickly, without undue hesitation or procrastination. This requires courage and the ability to take calculated risks.

Empowerment: A leader must be able to delegate responsibilities, give team members the resources they need to succeed, and foster a sense of ownership and accountability among their team.

Conclusion 

These qualities are essential for effective leadership, and when combined with hard work, determination, and a commitment to excellence, can help leaders to achieve great things.

How one can be a Great Leader?

Leadership is the act of performing the duties of a leader. In the business world, for instance, it is essential to have someone in charge of a team to ensure everything runs well. Effective leadership is essential for any group that wants to maximize its prospects of success.

Leadership Comes from Experience

As we've shown, leadership can be innate in some cases but is more often learned through practice and exposure. Sometimes the best traits of a leader must be learned over a lengthy period of time, so that one can become a notable one, proving that leadership is not always about a person's innate qualities. Leaders should continuously be on the lookout for opportunities to grow their leadership skills.

Nobody can disagree that experience is a key component of leadership. Numerous examples exist to back up this claim, such as:

Instance 1:

Our school's head boy or girl has traditionally been an older student who has been around for a while and thus has a better grasp of the ins and outs of school politics.

Instance 2:

When there is a vacancy for a team leader, it is common practice for the employee who has consistently put in the most effort and attention to the office job to receive a higher number of votes than their coworkers. 

“The best teacher for a leader is evaluated experience.” - John C. Maxwell

How one can be a Great Leader/Skills to be a Great Leader?

Effective leadership is a skill that develops through time. Developing into a leader with all the qualities that are needed takes a lot of hard work and potential. Being a prominent leader calls for a wide variety of traits. Some of these characteristics are addressed in further detail below:

One should be a Good Communicator

To be an effective leader, one must be able to convey his thoughts clearly to his/her/its subordinates.

Should have Confidence

The individual should have faith in what he says and does.

Give Credit to other Team Members too

A leader not only needs to impose his viewpoints and opinions instead he must also hear to the suggestions of other members of the team and offer them credit if their concept is appropriate.

Good Bond with the Team

A leader's ability to command respect from his team members depends on his ability to develop and maintain positive relationships with them.

Leads with Responsibility

A leader needs to be completely committed to his position. It's important that he takes on responsibility so that he can effectively deal with the various challenges he will inevitably face.

Any group or organization needs a leader above all else. Leadership development takes time and effort. One needs to have lived through a lot to be an effective leader. It's not enough to simply have years of experience in the field; one must also have the traits that make one an effective leader. You can't be a great leader unless you possess certain traits.

What makes a Good Leader?

Trying one's hand as a leader appears easy when viewed through this lens. Is that so tough? Of course not; leading is difficult, and not everyone aspires to be a leader. The vast majority of us have settled into well-established careers where we report to superiors and make a living. Still, not everyone is content to go along with the crowd. They become leaders in whatever field they pursue. A leader is an example to followers and will prioritize the needs of those around them.

Some Unique Qualities of a Leader

Many individuals resort to their leaders to vent their frustrations, therefore it's important for them to be good listeners.

A leader ought to be completely forthright; they can't play favorites or give anyone preferential treatment. One of the most essential qualities of a strong leader is the ability to make decisions with integrity.

They need to be aware of the bigger picture and understand what makes an individual stand out or become a leader. It's their expertise in addition to other distinguishing traits. Their awareness of current events and the results of recent studies is essential. In many ways, this is helpful, and it's the leader's responsibility to stay current.

Since some might not understand them, they should utilize straightforward, easily comprehended language. Leaders need to be able to communicate effectively at all times. In reality, what sets them apart is their exceptional communication skills. Adolf Hitler was such a gifted orator that his followers believed every word he said.

No matter how you're feeling or what's going on in the world, if you listen to a leader, they may make you feel energized. Since leaders are in charge of inspiring confidence in their followers, they can't afford to be wary or unsure of themselves. People tend to blindly follow their leaders.

Whether you're a leader or a doctor, you should devote yourself completely to your chosen field. Everything we do is for the benefit of others; engineers, for example, spend much of their time designing and constructing buildings for other people. So, take pride in what you do, and if you possess the aforementioned traits, you are also a leader who doesn't have to rely on others to succeed. No matter what you do, aspiring to leadership positions will always benefit others.

What is Leadership in Management and what are the weaknesses and strengths of a Leader?

Simply said, leadership is acting as a supervisor or manager of a group. Different mental pictures pop up when we hear the word "leadership" used in conversation. One might think of a political leader, team leader, corporate leader, school leader, etc. Leaders facilitate order and efficiency in the workplace. Teamwork and success are fundamental to effective leadership. Leaders utilize their managerial abilities to establish courses and guide their teams to success.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Leadership

Able to express oneself more clearly

Growth of character.

Self-awareness.

Possession of teamwork skills.

Gain assurance in yourself.

Weaknesses:

Acting favorably toward one's teammates.

Having no faith in the leader.

Thinks they're better than everyone else, but act hypocritically.

Not living up to the promised standard.

Insufficient morals.

Leadership and Management

Management and leadership are inextricably linked to one another. Leadership and management are both vital to the efficient operation of an organization; but, they accomplish very different things in the process. Leadership is a necessary skill for anyone aspiring to be an effective manager. The terms management and leadership are synonymous with one another. In this manner, we are able to draw the conclusion that a manager who demonstrates the traits of a successful leader is, in fact, a manager who is effective.

Leadership in School

Leadership is essential in nearly every group, as we've seen above. That group includes one's educational institution. Every school needs an outstanding figure to serve as its head of school. Class monitor, assembly captain, cultural leader, etc. are all examples of leadership roles that can be taken on at school, but this raises the question of what makes a person a successful school leader.

Any student hoping to be chosen as a student body leader will need to demonstrate a wide range of competencies. He or she needs to be a consistent student who pays attention in class and does well in extracurricular activities. For the simple reason that no intelligent and hardworking kid would ever be considered for leadership. Student leaders are most often selected from among those who participate fully in all activities.

Leadership in Organization

Leadership in an organization, also known as organizational leadership, is the process of establishing long-term objectives that further the company's mission and help it reach its ultimate destination. This is a classic illustration of how Bill Gates often works with his team: they agree on a strategy, and Gates implements it. To the same extent, it is the responsibility of the leader in each given organization to determine what it is that the group is trying to accomplish.

Leadership in Politics

Leadership in politics, also known as political leadership, is the process of becoming actively involved in a political party in the role of a party leader. Knowledge of political processes, their outcomes, and the political agenda is central to the idea of political leadership.

An effective leader can be developed in anyone who has the determination and drives to do so. Both the strengths and the areas for improvement should be nurtured. Whether in the classroom, the workplace, or the political arena, leadership is always necessary. Therefore, one can exercise leadership anywhere they like inside their own organization.

What are the types of Leadership?

The ability to lead is a rare trait that not everyone possesses. The ability to do so is a gift, so count your blessings if you possess it. It's recommended that you hone it even more so that you can propel your career forward and serve as an example to people around you. However, it is crucial to grasp the various leadership styles before you go ahead and polish your skills.

Types of Leadership Styles

Democratic Leadership

In this style of management, subordinates are given a voice in decision-making. Although the subordinates' efforts are highlighted, the leader is ultimately held responsible for the group's actions. Many people find this type of leadership to be effective.

Transformational Leadership

Transformational leaders motivate and inspire others to adopt new behaviors and ways of thinking in order to improve their own performance and that of their teams and organizations. A transformational leader is someone who encourages their team to strive for greater things and works to boost morale and output.

Team Leadership

A good leader fully incorporates his team into the task at hand. Members of the team are motivated to reach their goals and advance in their careers thanks to the leadership of the group.

Strategic Leadership

It requires a chief executive who doesn't restrict himself to brainstorming sessions with his superiors. He contributes on every level of the team. He is well-liked for his ability to unite the need for fresh ideas with the necessity of grounding them in reality.

Autocratic Leadership

The leader in a command and control structure is the center of attention. The chief executive has absolute power in this setting. He decides things on his own, without polling his staff. He relays this information to his staff and stresses the importance of swift action. The buck stops with him, and he alone must answer for his actions. Not much room for negotiation exists. It's no secret that this method of leading has its detractors.

Visionary Leadership

This kind of leader appreciates the abilities and requirements of his team members. He describes his ideal outcome and the teamwork that will be necessary to attain it.

Coaching Leadership

Leaders who coach their teams do so regularly in an effort to raise output. He inspires his employees to do better and works to keep them motivated. This approach to leadership has been much praised.

Facilitative Leadership

With occasional guidance, a facilitative leader ensures that the process runs smoothly for his team. As a precaution in case his team is ineffective. If the team is highly effective, the leader will take a hands-off approach.

Cross-Cultural Leadership

The leadership of this type is necessary when interacting with people from various cultural backgrounds. Because of the wide variety of cultures represented in the workforce across the United States, many managers and executives hold cross-cultural positions.

Laissez-Faire Leadership

The members of the team are given responsibility in this style of management. They are free to choose how they spend their time at work, with minimal oversight from the boss. It's not a good way to lead, according to experts.

Transactional Leadership

An interactive approach is integral to this kind of leadership. When team members successfully implement their leader's ideas and choices, they are rewarded with immediate, material benefits.

Charismatic Leadership

In order to bring out the best in his followers, this kind of leader makes the effort to change their attitudes, values, and actions.

This article should dispel the notion that leadership qualities can't be further subdivided. It should also assist you in pinpointing your own personal brand of leadership so you can perfect it over time.

Final Words

In conclusion, leadership is a complex and multifaceted concept that involves various qualities and skills. Effective leaders possess traits such as integrity, vision, empathy, decisiveness, and the ability to inspire and motivate others. They are able to navigate challenges, make difficult decisions, and lead their team toward success. Leadership also involves continuous learning and self-improvement, as leaders must adapt to changing circumstances and remain relevant. Effective leadership can have a positive impact on both individuals and organizations, fostering growth and creating a culture of success.

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English Compositions

Short Essay on Leadership [100, 200, 400 Words] With PDF

In this lesson today, you will learn how you can write short essays on Leadership. There will be three different sets of short essays in this session that will cover Leadership within different word limits. 

Short Essay on Leadership in 100 Words

The term leadership denotes the capability of someone to lead his team. Leadership is a work of skill, responsibility, and power, and only the strong and determinant is capable of giving an able shoulder. Leadership is the potent behind the development of civilization. His confidence, as well as care for others, is what is necessary for him.

We are aware of eminent leaders like Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji, Jawaharlal Nehru, M. S. Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly, who have been great proofs of honesty and integrity. Also, a leader is a communicator who can realize the issue of his people and act likewise. A person becomes a lead when he turns out to be the guardian of his people. 

Short Essay on Leadership in 200 Words

Being a leader is never an easy task. It involves the dependency and faith of the people he is supposed to guide and lead. Also, a true leader is marked by certain virtues that make him the perfect elected among his people. It is very important to have a leader who can guide everyone through all perils and help them reach a safe spot. From a classroom to a company, to a country, everywhere we observe such an able hand who cares and shows the correct way without any biased opinion. 

A leader is simply not someone with the power to rule over everyone. A tyrant like Hitler is never excepted who will torture his fellow beings. Also, a leader is not someone who is lazy and pleases all without taking any strong steps towards the problem creators. Hence leadership is the strength to stand morally firm and upright and be the shelter for all.

He must be an inspirational figure for all. A leader is the centre of integrity and confidence who encourage everyone to participate in teamwork. Eminent leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji, Mother Teresa, Indira Gandhi, Sourav Ganguly, M. S. Dhoni have been great sources of strength and inspiration. Their deeds have made them immortal to people. Hence they are the ideal representation of leadership.

Short Essay on Leadership in 400 Words

Leadership is the essence of any movement that brings complete success for any team. A great leader is like the wind for a sail that steers the vessel towards the correct path. A leader means a person who is in charge of everything. So the term leadership is the way by which a leader guides the team. In different fields of life, be it in school, a business company, or the nation, a leader is present everywhere.

He must have virtues that will make him unique and easily supportable. A leader must have the faith of his fellow beings so that he can be the best choice. This faith and support will enable him to achieve success.

The qualities of efficient leadership are quite prominent. A leader must be honest about his work and organization. He must never hide any problem that might hamper the balance of his team. Also, he should not indulge in unfair means that can destroy his position and reputation among people. A leader must show confidence, integrity, and strength. He should bear an affirmative attitude so that others are inspired by him to work harder. If a leader gets negatively vibed, then no one will feel the urge to carry on their mission. 

Leadership is not an easy task. He has to go through many trials and tribunals and then only can prove himself the ideal guide for all. Oftentimes, even the greatest leader can experience mental imbalances due to the extreme pressure he experiences daily on his way of leadership. It is then the responsibility of his teammates to support him and cheer him up with positive energy. Leadership is not the sole responsibility of one man or woman but a combined effort of the team that will eventually fetch the desired success. 

Leadership is important for the overall development of personality. A person morally and physically weak cannot be an ideal leader. This ability to lead a team regulates, coordinates, and constructs the group according to some strong principles and ethics, that affects the performance of the group. Wonderful teamwork is the effort of the overall company under the guidance of an able leader.

He is the pivot of everything. Our country is rich in eminent leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji, Surya Sen, Mother Teresa, Sarojini Naidu, Sourav Ganguly, and others who have shown the way to ht e future generations. In them lies the ideal representation of leadership.

I have adopted a pretty simplistic approach to writing these essays above. Hopefully, after going through this session, you will be able to write such essays on your own. If you still have any doubts regarding this session, please let me know through the comment section below. To read more such short essays on various important topics, keep browsing our website. 

Kindly, join our Telegram channel to get the latest updates on our upcoming sessions. Thanks for being with us. Have a great day ahead. 

What is leadership?

All leaders, to a certain degree, do the same thing. Whether you’re talking about an executive, manager, sports coach, or schoolteacher, leadership is about guiding and impacting outcomes, enabling groups of people to work together to accomplish what they couldn’t do working individually. In this sense, leadership is something you do, not something you are. Some people in formal leadership positions are poor leaders, and many people exercising leadership have no formal authority. It is their actions, not their words, that inspire trust and energy.

Get to know and directly engage with senior McKinsey experts on leadership

Aaron De Smet is a senior partner in McKinsey’s New Jersey office, Carolyn Dewar is a senior partner in the Bay Area office, Scott Keller is a senior partner in the Southern California office, and Vik Malhotra and Ramesh Srinivasan are senior partners in the New York office.

What’s more, leadership is not something people are born with—it is a skill you can learn. At the core are mindsets, which are expressed through observable behaviors , which then lead to measurable outcomes. Is a leader communicating effectively or engaging others by being a good listener? Focusing on behaviors lets us be more objective when assessing leadership effectiveness. The key to unlocking shifts in behavior is focusing on mindsets, becoming more conscious about our thoughts and beliefs, and showing up with integrity as our full authentic selves.

There are many contexts and ways in which leadership is exercised. But, according to McKinsey analysis of academic literature as well as a survey of nearly 200,000 people in 81 organizations all over the world, there are four types of behavior that account for 89 percent of leadership effectiveness :

• being supportive
• operating with a strong results orientation
• seeking different perspectives
• solving problems effectively

Effective leaders know that what works in one situation will not necessarily work every time. Leadership strategies must reflect each organization’s context and stage of evolution. One important lens is organizational health, a holistic set of factors that enable organizations to grow and succeed over time. A situational approach  enables leaders to focus on the behaviors that are most relevant as an organization becomes healthier.

Senior leaders must develop a broad range of skills to guide organizations. Ten timeless topics are important for leading nearly any organization, from attracting and retaining talent  to making culture a competitive advantage. A 2017 McKinsey book, Leading Organizations: Ten Timeless Truths (Bloomsbury, 2017), goes deep on each aspect.

How is leadership evolving?

In the past, leadership was called “management,” with an emphasis on providing technical expertise and direction. The context was the traditional industrial economy command-and-control organization, where leaders focused exclusively on maximizing value for shareholders. In these organizations, leaders had three roles: planners (who develop strategy, then translate that strategy into concrete steps), directors (who assign responsibilities), or controllers (who ensure people do what they’ve been assigned and plans are adhered to).

What are the limits of traditional management styles?

Traditional management was revolutionary in its day and enormously effective in building large-scale global enterprises that have materially improved lives over the past 200 years. However, with the advent of the 21st century, this approach is reaching its limits.

For one thing, this approach doesn’t guarantee happy or loyal managers or workers. Indeed, a large portion of American workers—56 percent— claim their boss is mildly or highly toxic , while 75 percent say dealing with their manager is the most stressful part of their workday.

For 21st-century organizations operating in today’s complex business environment, a fundamentally new and more effective approach to leadership is emerging. Leaders today are beginning to focus on building agile, human-centered, and digitally enabled organizations able to thrive in today’s unprecedented environment and meet the needs of a broader range of stakeholders (customers, employees, suppliers, and communities, in addition to investors).

What is the emerging new approach to leadership?

This new approach to leadership is sometimes described as “ servant leadership .” While there has been some criticism of the nomenclature, the idea itself is simple: rather than being a manager directing and controlling people, a more effective approach is for leaders to be in service of the people they lead. The focus is on how leaders can make the lives of their team members easier—physically, cognitively, and emotionally. Research suggests this mentality can enhance both team performance and satisfaction.

In this new approach, leaders practice empathy, compassion, vulnerability, gratitude, self-awareness, and self-care. They provide appreciation and support, creating psychological safety so their employees are able to collaborate, innovate, and raise issues as appropriate. This includes celebrating achieving the small steps on the way to reaching big goals and enhancing people’s well-being through better human connections. These conditions have been shown to allow for a team’s best performance.

More broadly, developing this new approach to leadership can be expressed as making five key shifts that include, build on, and extend beyond traditional approaches:

• beyond executive to visionary, shaping a clear purpose that resonates with and generates holistic impact for all stakeholders
• beyond planner to architect, reimagining industries and innovating business systems that are able to create new levels of value
• beyond director to catalyst, engaging people to collaborate in open, empowered networks
• beyond controller to coach, enabling the organization to constantly evolve through rapid learning, and enabling colleagues to build new mindsets, knowledge, and skills
• beyond boss to human, showing up as one’s whole, authentic self

Together, these shifts can help a leader expand their repertoire and create a new level of value for an organization’s stakeholders. The last shift is the most important, as it is based on developing a new level of consciousness and awareness of our inner state. Leaders who look inward  and take a journey of genuine self-discovery make profound shifts in themselves and their lives; this means they are better able to benefit their organization. That involves developing “profile awareness” (a combination of a person’s habits of thought, emotions, hopes, and behavior in different circumstances) and “state awareness” (the recognition of what’s driving a person to take action). Combining individual, inward-looking work with outward-facing actions can help create lasting change.

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Leaders must learn to make these five shifts at three levels : transforming and evolving personal mindsets and behaviors; transforming teams to work in new ways; and transforming the broader organization by building new levels of agility, human-centeredness, and value creation into the entire enterprise’s design and culture.

An example from the COVID-19 era offers a useful illustration of this new approach to leadership. In pursuit of a vaccine breakthrough, at the start of the pandemic Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel increased the frequency of executive meetings  from once a month to twice a week. The company implemented a decentralized model enabling teams to work independently and deliver on the bold goal of providing 100 million doses of vaccines in 12 months. “The pace was unprecedented,” Bancel said.

What is the impact of this new approach to leadership?

This new approach to leadership is far more effective. While the dynamics are complex, countless studies show empirical links among effective leadership, employee satisfaction, customer loyalty, and profitability.

How can leaders empower employees?

Empowering employees , surprisingly enough, might mean taking a more hands-on leadership approach. Organizations whose leaders successfully empower others through coaching are nearly four times more likely to make swift, good decisions and outperform other companies . But this type of coaching isn’t always natural for those with a more controlling or autocratic style.

Here are five tips to get started  if you’re a leader looking to empower others:

• Provide clear rules, for example, by providing guardrails for what success looks like and communicating who makes which decisions. Clarity and boundary structures like role remits and responsibilities help to contain any anxiety associated with work and help teams stay focused on their primary tasks.
• Establish clear roles, say, by assigning one person the authority to make certain decisions.
• Avoid being a complicit manager—for instance, if you’ve delegated a decision to a team, don’t step in and solve the problem for them.
• Address culture and skills, for instance, by helping employees learn how to have difficult conversations.
• Begin soliciting personal feedback from others, at all levels of your organization, on how you are experienced as a leader.

How can leaders communicate effectively?

Good, clear communication is a leadership hallmark. Fundamental tools of effective communication  include:

• defining and pointing to long-term goals
• listening to and understanding stakeholders
• creating openings for dialogue
• communicating proactively

And in times of uncertainty, these things are important for crisis communicators :

• give people what they need, when they need it
• communicate clearly, simply, and frequently
• choose candor over charisma
• revitalize a spirit of resilience
• distill meaning from chaos
• support people, teams, and organizations to build the capability for self-sufficiency

Learn more about our People & Organizational Performance Practice .

Is leadership different in a hybrid workplace?

A leader’s role may look slightly different in remote or hybrid workplace settings . Rather than walking around a physical site, these leaders might instead model what hybrid looks like, or orchestrate work based on tasks, interactions, or purpose. Being communicative and radiating positivity  can go a long way. Leaders need to find other ways to be present and accessible, for example, via virtual drop-in sessions, regular company podcasts, or virtual townhalls. Leaders in these settings may also need to find new ways to get authentic feedback. These tactics can include pulse surveys or learning to ask thoughtful follow-up questions that reveal useful management insights.

Additional considerations, such as making sure that in-person work and togetherness has a purpose, are important. Keeping an eye on inclusivity in hybrid work  is also crucial. Listening to what employees want, with an eye to their lived experience, will be vital to leaders in these settings. And a focus on output, outcomes, results, and impact—rather than arbitrary norms about time spent in offices— may be a necessary adaptation in the hybrid era .

How should CEOs lead in this new world?

Just as for leadership more broadly, today’s environment requires CEOs to lead very differently. Recent research indicates that one-third to one-half of new CEOs fail within 18 months.

What helps top performers thrive today? To find out, McKinsey led a research effort to identify the CEOs who achieved breakaway success. We examined 20 years’ worth of data on 7,800 CEOs—from 3,500 public companies across 70 countries and 24 industries. The result is the McKinsey book CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest (Scribner, March 2022). Watch an interview with the authors for more on what separates the best CEOs from the rest .

Getting perspective on leadership from CEOs themselves is enlightening—and illustrates the nuanced ways in which the new approach to leadership described above can be implemented in practice. Here are a few quotes drawn from McKinsey’s interviews with these top-level leaders :

• “I think the fundamental role of a leader is to look for ways to shape the decades ahead, not just react to the present, and to help others accept the discomfort of disruptions to the status quo.” — Indra Nooyi , former chairman and CEO of PepsiCo
• “The single most important thing I have to do as CEO is ensure that our brand continues to be relevant.” — Chris Kempczinski , CEO of McDonald’s
• “Leaders of other enterprises often define themselves as captains of the ship, but I think I’m more the ship’s architect or designer. That’s different from a captain’s role, in which the route is often fixed and the destination defined.” — Zhang Ruimin , CEO of Haier
• “I think my leadership style [can be called] ‘collaborative command.’ You bring different opinions into the room, you allow for a really great debate, but you understand that, at the end of the day, a decision has to be made quickly.” — Adena Friedman , CEO of Nasdaq
• “We need an urgent refoundation of business and capitalism around purpose and humanity. To find new ways for all of us to lead so that we can create a better future, a more sustainable future.” — Hubert Joly , former chairman and CEO of Best Buy

What is leadership development?

Leaders aren’t born; they learn to lead over time. Neuroplasticity refers to the power of the brain to form new pathways and connections through exposure to novel, unfamiliar experiences. This allows adults to adapt, grow, and learn new practices throughout our lifetimes.

When it comes to leadership within organizations, this is often referred to as leadership development. Programs, books, and courses on leadership development abound, but results vary.

Leadership development efforts fail for a variety of reasons. Some overlook context; in those cases, asking a simple question (something like “What, precisely, is this program for?”) can help. Others separate reflections on leadership from real work, or they shortchange the role of adjusting leaders’ mindsets, feelings, assumptions, and beliefs, or they fail to measure results.

So what’s needed for successful leadership development? Generally, developing leaders is about creating contexts where there is sufficient psychological safety in combination with enough novelty and unfamiliarity to cultivate new leadership practices in response to stimuli. Leadership programs that successfully cultivate leaders are also built around “placescapes”—these are novel experiences, like exploring wilderness trails, practicing performing arts, or writing poetry.

When crafting a leadership development program, there are six ingredients to incorporate  that lead to true organizational impact:

• Set up for success:
• Focus your leadership transformation on driving strategic objectives and initiatives.
• Commit the people and resources needed.
• Be clear about focus:
• Engage a critical mass of leaders to reach a tipping point for sustained impact.
• Zero in on the leadership shifts that drive the greatest value.
• Execute well:
• Architect experiential journeys to maximize shifts in mindsets, capabilities, and practices.
• Measure for holistic impact.

A well-designed and executed leadership development program can help organizations build leaders’ capabilities broadly, at scale. And these programs can be built around coaching, mentoring, and having people try to solve challenging problems—learning skills by applying them in real time to real work.

What are mentorship, sponsorship, and apprenticeship?

Mentorship, sponsorship, and apprenticeship can also be part of leadership development efforts. What are they? Mentorship refers to trusted counselors offering guidance and support on various professional issues, such as career progression. Sponsorship is used to describe senior leaders who create opportunities to help junior colleagues succeed. These roles are typically held by more senior colleagues, whereas apprenticeship could be more distributed. Apprenticeship  describes the way any colleague with domain expertise might teach others, model behaviors, or transfer skills. These approaches can be useful not only for developing leaders but also for helping your company upskill or reskill employees quickly and at scale.

For more in-depth exploration of these topics, see McKinsey’s insights on People & Organizational Performance . Learn more about McKinsey’s Leadership & Management  work—and check out job opportunities if you’re interested in working at McKinsey.

Articles referenced include:

• “ Author Talks: What separates the best CEOs from the rest? ,” December 15, 2021, Carolyn Dewar , Scott Keller , and Vik Malhotra
• “ From the great attrition to the great adaptation ,” November 3, 2021, Aaron De Smet  and Bill Schaninger
• “ The boss factor: Making the world a better place through workplace relationships ,” September 22, 2020, Tera Allas  and Bill Schaninger
• " Leading agile transformation: The new capabilities leaders need to build 21st century organizations ," October 1, 2018, Aaron De Smet , Michael Lurie , and Andrew St. George
• " Leading Organizations: Ten Timeless Truths ," 2017, Scott Keller  and Mary Meaney
• “ Leadership in context ,” January 1, 2016, Michael Bazigos, Chris Gagnon, and Bill Schaninger
• “ Decoding leadership: What really matters ,” January 1, 2015, Claudio Feser, Fernanda Mayol, and Ramesh Srinivasan

Want to know more about leadership?

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Leadership Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on leadership.

First of all, Leadership refers to the quality of leading people. Probably, it is one of the most important aspects of life. Above all, Leadership has led to the progress of human civilization . Without good Leadership, no organization or group can succeed. Furthermore, not everyone has this quality. This is because effective Leadership requires certain important characteristics.

Qualities of a Good Leader

First of all, confidence is the most quality. A leader must have strong self-confidence. A person lacking in confidence can never be a good leader. A person must be confident enough to ensure others follow him. The leader must have confidence in his decisions and actions. If he is unsure, then how can people have the desire to follow him.

A good leader must certainly inspire others. A leader must be a role model for his followers. Furthermore, he must motivate them whenever possible. Also, in difficult situations, a leader must not lose hope. How can a leader inspire people if he himself is hopeless?

Honesty is another notable quality of a leader. Honesty and Integrity are important to earn the love of followers. Above all, honesty is essential to win the trust of the people. Probably, every Leadership which loses trust is bound to fail. People will not work with full effort due to an immoral leader.

Good communication is a must for a good leader. This is because poor communication means the wrong message to followers. Furthermore, good communication will increase the rate of work. Also, the chances of mistakes by followers will reduce.

Another important quality is decision making. Above all, if a leader makes poor decisions then other qualities will not matter. Furthermore, good decision making ensures the success of the entire group. If the leader makes poor decisions, then the efforts of followers won’t matter.

A good leader must be an excellent innovator. He must display a creative attitude in his work. Most noteworthy, innovation is a guarantee of survival of a group or innovation. Without creative thinking, progress is not possible.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Real-Life Examples of Good Leadership

Mahatma Gandhi was an excellent example of a good leader. He was a staunch believer in non-violence. With his brilliant Leadership skills, he made the British leave India. Probably, this was the most unique independence struggle. This is because Gandhi got freedom without any violence.

Abraham Lincoln was another notable leader. Most noteworthy, he ended the slavery system in the United States. Consequently, he made many enemies. However, he was a man of massive self-confidence. His struggle against slavery certainly became an inspiration.

Sir Winston Churchill was a great patriotic Englishman. Most noteworthy, he led Britain in the 2nd World War. Furthermore, he was extremely inspirational. He inspired Britain to fight against Nazi Germany. His great communication motivated the entire country at a time of hopelessness.

To conclude, Leadership is required in probably every sphere of life. Good leadership is the door to success. In contrast, bad leadership is a guarantee of failure. Consequently, good leaders are what make the world go round.

FAQs on Leadership

Q.1 Which is the most important quality for being a good leader? A.1 The most important quality for being a good leader is self-confidence.

Q.2 Why Sir Winston Churchill is a good leader? A.2 Sir Winston Churchill is a good leader because he inspired Britain to fight in 2nd World War. Furthermore, his excellent communication also raised the motivation of his people.

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• How to Structure a Leadership Essay (Samples to Consider)

Leadership is a complex concept, but it’s essential for boosting your career. That’s why a leadership essay focuses on applying the theoretical models and concepts of successful management to real-life situations. 

If you don’t know where to start writing such a paper, please read on for professional tips!

What Is Leadership Essay?

A leadership essay is a paper that analyzes leadership concepts and their application to real-life situations that may involve everyday business management, crisis situations, and other scenarios. 

Every essay on leadership is about defining a concept. Then, it’s either comparing it to similar management tools or proving that it’s useful (or not).

While some students enjoy writing such papers, other learners hate them. The below samples will come in handy, no matter which group is yours.

What Does Leadership Mean to You? (Essay Sample)

It is one of the most popular topics for a leadership essay. If you need to write a paper like that, ask yourself:

• Who is a good leader?  
• What style do they use?  
• What are the situations when they might switch styles?

You may take a more personal approach to such an essay if your professor allows you to. In the example below, you will see the academic approach to this topic. It analyzes three leadership styles to discover which one corresponds to the meaning of leadership if one thinks of it as guidance and support.

Why I Want to Participate in a Leadership Program (Essay Sample)

It’s another example of a popular topic. Such papers often have a meaning beyond the classroom since they may decide whether you plan to participate in a specific program. It’s critical to make them as effective and compelling as possible.

A personalized approach is the best when it comes to essays like this. In the example below, you will see the paper that relies on individual beliefs and a personal life story to explain why it’s so important for the specific student to participate in the chosen program.

How to Write a Leadership Essay

Like every other essay, this paper has an introduction, several body paragraphs, and a conclusion summarizing your thoughts. (1) The most important part of the introduction is the final sentence,  aka  a thesis statement. That’s where you state your claim to prove or develop in your leadership essay.

Each body paragraph should correspond to the purpose of your essay. To ensure you don’t stray from the aim you’ve established in the thesis statement, write the topic sentences for all your paragraphs in the outline . In simple words, write the first sentence of every paragraph to define its development in advance and see if you cover everything you need.

And now, to the conclusion:

Its most essential element is thesis restatement or the first sentence of that paragraph. It’s not just paraphrasing your thesis; it’s also considering the new information you’ve discovered while writing the essay.

Structure :

• Introduction (End it with a thesis statement.)
• Body paragraphs (Each one starts with a topic sentence.)
• Conclusion (Start it with a thesis restatement.)

Understand the purpose of a leadership essay

When starting to write, think about why you’re creating this paper. Before you sit down and type the words, think about the ideas you want to convey and their meaning in your life:

Can this essay teach you to take responsibility? Or maybe will it help you understand how to be a leader in crisis situations? When you’ve answered the “why” question, begin outlining.

Build a strong thesis

Always start with your thesis statement. It will help incorporate your answer to that notorious “why” question into your essay. Once done, you can plan out the rest of the paper and start working on the body paragraphs as soon as you finish the introduction.

There’s another important tip —don’t rush into writing the conclusion before you finish everything else!

It might seem like a good idea to create a thesis statement and thesis restatement right off the bat. However, you’ll find yourself with more refreshing ideas after completing all the research and thinking necessary for the introduction and each body paragraph.

Decide on a structure; format accordingly

Even if your essay about leadership seems not so formal, and you can use personal pronouns, you still need a clear structure.

The best way to write any academic paper is to keep your introduction and conclusion as short as possible. (But no shorter than three sentences and four lines of text). 

Another important tip is to try making all your body paragraphs equal in length. That way, you’ll give the same attention to all the vital points of your essay.

Ready to Write Your Essay on Leadership Now?

Hopefully, this article has helped you understand the most critical elements of a leadership essay. 

Remember the structure, grammar, and appropriate academic style to create a top-level paper. Please don’t forget to answer the “why” question and remember  why  you’re writing. Then you’ll impress everyone with your results!

References:

• https://lsa.umich.edu/onsf/news-events/all-news/directors-blog/writing-leadership-essays.html
• Essay samples
• Essay writing
• Writing tips

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Writing an Essay About Leadership: A Complete Guide for Students

Leadership is typically defined as the capacity of a person (as well as a group of people or organization) to “lead” others, influence their opinions, or guide them. A good leader must be able to rally people around a shared cause or goal, help shape a vision, and motivate and inspire others to attain that goal.

For decades, leadership has been one of the most sought-after abilities. It is considered one of the primary driving forces of humanity and progress. Leaders foster innovation, growth, and a goal-accomplishing attitude. So, this quality is highly valued in all areas of our lives, including in school, at work, and in one’s personal life as well.

Being such a pivotal skill, leadership often becomes a topic for academic essays. Although the topic is incredibly popular, writing a compelling paper on this subject might be uneasy. Yet, this doesn’t mean that there are absolutely no ways to ease the process.

In the guide below, we are going to answer some of your biggest questions about this type of assignment and provide actionable tips for writing a good paper. Also, we are going to give you some leadership essay examples and ideas that should help inspire your own writing.

What Is Leadership Essay?

The first big question students face when assigned this task is ‒ “What is a leader essay, in the first place?” So, let’s start from there.

In a nutshell, a leadership essay is a short piece of writing focused on the topic of leadership. Just like any other essay, it can serve multiple purposes. For example, if it’s written as a part of your class or homework, it can be:

• Informative;
• Persuasive;
• Argumentative;
• Compare and contrast, etc.

Depending on the type of assignment, your task might be to define leadership, compare different leadership styles, reflect on real-life applications of this skill, etc.

Alternatively, this type of work can be a part of the college admission process. Leadership is a common topic for admission essays. In this case, the primary goal of the paper is to show the admissions officers that you are a true leader. You might need to explain what personal traits make you a good leader and showcase real-life examples of situations when you demonstrated this skill.

In both cases, this type of essay requires you to understand the nature of leadership and communicate it in your paper, following the provided prompts and guidelines. 

Read on to learn how!

How to Write a Leadership Essay Step by Step

Typically, a leadership paper is a short essay that follows the traditional essay structure. It consists of three main components: an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Traditionally, an introduction and conclusion take up one paragraph each. The number of paragraphs in the body of your paper can vary depending on the given word count. In any case, there should be at least two body paragraphs.

The writing process for this type of paper is also pretty conventional. It requires decent planning and organization to convey your ideas efficiently. Here are the core steps that should be involved in the process:

• Reading and analyzing the prompt and assignment guidelines;
• Brainstorming ideas and selecting a relevant topic (unless you are assigned a specific subject);
• Researching the topic and collecting valid sources of information that will help you answer the primary essay question and justify your ideas;
• Crafting a detailed outline to organize your ideas and streamline the writing process;
• Writing the essay following your outline;
• Proofreading and editing your first draft until it looks perfect.

These are the main steps to handling this task, and they look pretty simple. Nevertheless, the task itself often turns out to be rather challenging. So, let us give you a few extra guiding tips to help you ace your essay.

How to Start a Leadership Essay

It’s hard to call a more crucial part of a leadership essay than its intro. This part of the paper aims to introduce the readers to your topic and make a logical transition to the ideas and arguments you are going to provide. But most importantly, this section should grab the readers’ attention and spark their desire to read your work to the end.

To grab the attention instantly, you should start your intro with a hook. Traditionally, there are six types of effective essay hooks:

• A rhetorical question;
• An impressive fact or statistic;
• An anecdote (as long as it’s relevant and appropriate);
• A common misconception about the topic;
• An imagery description of the subject.

Depending on your task, pick a hook that has the highest likelihood of engaging your readers. Then, use a few sentences to create a topic onset and give your readers an idea of what you will be talking about in your paper:

• If you are writing an admission essay, design the setting of your story.
• If you are writing an informative or another type of work for the class, provide some background info on the subject matter and state your thesis.

Most importantly, keep your intro short and straight to the topic.

The Perfect Length of a Leadership Essay

Now that you know how to start your paper, we also need to take a moment to clarify the ideal length of your work.

The length of this type of work can vary significantly depending on its type and purpose. Most often, if you are writing for an admission committee, schools will ask you to stick with a 250 word essay on leadership. However, if you are writing for a class, the word count can go up to 1000 words.

As was mentioned earlier, your essay might come with a specific word count. Whether it’s written for admission or a class, you might be given a set of instructions with a specific limit of words. In this case, you should carefully study the guidelines and stick to the word count indicated in them.

In the rare case that the word count isn’t specified, stick to the general rule of thumb and limit your essay to 500 or 600 words.

How to Write a Killer Conclusion for Leadership Essay

While the body of your essay will be unique, which means we can’t give you much advice on how to handle it, the conclusion always follows a traditional structure.

The conclusion of a paper is its final clause. It aims to wrap up everything you’ve discussed in your paper and give it a sense of a logical ending. Often, you will also leave your readers with some food for thought to ensure that your essay makes a lasting impact. Now, let’s define how to write this part of your work in detail.

The first and most important rule for writing a conclusion is to summarize the information from your paper without introducing any new data. Providing new information will only make your readers confused and destroy the effect your essay has on them. So, keep this tip in mind.

Also, when writing a conclusion for your college essay, you should begin with a restatement of your thesis. This trick will logically link your conclusion to the intro.

If you are writing for a class, you can end your final clause with suggestions for further research. For students writing an admission paper, the best way to finish this essay is to emphasize how you plan to apply your leadership skills discussed in the paper to your education, future career, and community in general.

Leadership Essays Examples: Ideas and Topics

Unless you are provided with a specific prompt, question, or topic that you need to address in your essay, you will have to generate ideas for your work on your own. This can feel rather overwhelming. So, let us give you a few thoughts on what you can write about in your paper.

If you are writing an admission essay, the best way to handle it is to tell a story about your own leadership skills. There are a few ways to do this. For example, you can talk about:

• A specific challenge that you faced, overcoming which required you to demonstrate your leadership abilities;
• Your leadership style and, if applicable, how it was shaping and changing throughout your life;
• What, in your opinion, makes an effective leader, and how you relate to the qualities and personal traits you provide;
• How your own leadership skills can be used to make a positive change in your community or the world in general, etc.

If you are writing a paper for a class, the choice of ideas can be even more extensive. Depending on the type of your paper, you can write about the great leaders from history, business, or other areas. Also, you can define and analyze different leadership skills, styles, theories, etc.

Winning Examples of Leadership Essay Titles to Consider

To help you get started with your paper, we compiled a list of good leadership topics that you can try for your essay:

Homework leadership essay topics

• The Difference Between Ethical and Unethical Leadership
• Leadership Throughout History
• The Role of Gender in Leadership
• An Evaluation of the Key Leadership Styles
• Theories of Leadership
• The Key Differences Between Autocratic and Democratic Leadership Styles
• The Most Common Myths About Leadership
• The Role of Leadership in Organizations
• Different Styles of Leadership Adapted to Cultural Differences
• The Role of Leadership in the Political Landscape
• The Key Leadership Skills and How to Develop Them
• The Roles of Ethics and Emotional Intelligence in Effective Leadership
• Female and Male Leadership: Compare and Contrast
• The Core Challenges of Leadership

Admission essay leadership topics

• What Makes Me a Great Leader?
• My Personal Model of Leadership
• Changing My Leadership Style
• A Challenge I Had to Overcome That Made Me a Leader
• My Personal Leadership Role Model
• How Can I Change the World With My Leadership Skills
• The Most Valuable Leadership Experience I Had in My Life and How It Changed Me

Now that you have some general topic samples, let’s look at the complete essay example to help you find inspiration.

The Concept of Leadership: Common Styles and Qualities of a Good Leader

Introduction.

“Great leaders are not defined by the absence of weakness, but rather by the presence of clear strengths.” ‒ John Peter Zenger. Leaders motivate, inspire, and guide others to greater achievements. They foster innovation, communication, and progress in every landscape. But what exactly does it mean to be a great leader? From Mahatma Gandhi and Abraham Lincoln to Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher ‒ these exceptional leaders have been shaping the history of humanity for many years. They all had different styles of leadership, values, and vision. Yet, they also had a lot in common. Regardless of the type and style of leadership one chooses, it’s personal skills and traits that make a true leader.

What Are the Main Leadership Styles?

It’s possible to define over ten different styles of leadership. These styles have been shaping and changing throughout history, affected by a variety of factors, including the overall structure of the world and the mood of society. In the 21st century, one of the most widespread types of leadership styles is democratic leadership. This style implies that the decision-making power is never concentrated in one person’s hands. Instead, all subordinates of the leader with this style are given a voice in the process of making decisions. Yet, the responsibility for the actions of the entire group is still on the leader. Throughout decades, this form of leadership has been considered one of the most effective and humane ones. No wonder so many impressive leaders in history relied on it, including Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F Kennedy, Mahatma Gandhi, Barack Obama, and many others. Due to its nature, the key characteristics of a good leader with this style include teamwork, empathy, and a fair mind.

An opposite of the democratic style is autocratic Leadership. This style implies that the entire control, command, and power are concentrated in the hands of a leader. In this setting, the leader makes all decisions on their own, without giving their subordinates much room for negotiation or objections. And the responsibility is also fully on the leader. Due to its somewhat tyrannic nature, this style of leadership has a lot of detractors, especially in the modern world. Nevertheless, it still has some adherents. Some of the most famous leaders who used this style and believed in its effectiveness include Queen Elizabeth I, Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler, Donald Trump, and others.

Apart from democratic and autocratic, there are also many other leadership styles, including transformational, team, visionary, strategic, and other types of leadership. Each of them has certain pros and cons. And each has its own adherents and detractors. Yet, in broader terms, it’s not a leadership style that determines a good leader but their qualities and the way they use their styles.

Top Qualities of a Good Leader

Regardless of the leveraged style of leadership, a good leader is determined by a set of personal traits, qualities, and skills. A good leader must be self-aware, resilient, accountable, and confident. Most importantly, they must possess such qualities as empathy and emotional intelligence. After all, a leader must motivate and inspire people to follow them, which is impossible without these two skills.

As for important leadership skills, they include decision-making, critical thinking, and problem-solving. Yet, the two essential skills are active listening and communication.

How to Start a Leadership Essay for College?

How to write a leadership essay step by step, what skill makes a good leader.

Leaders come in many shapes and kinds. Some of them are in-born, whereas others overcome a long and thorny path of self-exploration and development. They also use a variety of leadership styles, such as democratic, autocratic, and others. Yet, if you have to describe a good leader, it’s their qualities and skills that matter the most.

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A Full Guide On How To Create Good Leadership Essay

Attempting a leadership essay isn’t such a daunting task, provided you have a grasp of the necessary information needed for a leadership paper. To write this special essay, you’ll need to redefine what exactly an essay on leadership is, how to choose the perfect topic, what should be in the content, and how to organize and structure the paper. Let’s delve deeper!

What Is A Leadership Essay?

A leadership essay is a well-formatted, organized and specialized type of formal writing which elaborates on a generic leadership topic or a superior human figure exercising a great influence on people and transmitting desire and optimism to achieve goals.

What Makes A Good Leader Essay?

There are some peculiarities needed to infuse in your write-up if, for example, you’re trying to learn how to write a leadership essay about yourself.

Also, if you’re just trying to produce leadership essays for college, then you’d first and foremost, learn  how to structure an essay , among other skills needed for this type of essay. Here are some qualities which can be found in a good essay about leadership.

• Choose a creative topic
• Avoid the passive voice (the active voice sounds stronger)
• Search for and study leadership essay examples
• Follow the appropriate essay style
• Focus on the essay structure
• Review the essay

How To Choose A Topic And Make A Great Title?

To choose a topic for a paper on leadership, you need to do some research on the concept of a leader (whether in the corporate industry, political society or even in the criminal world). You have to know the current leadership tendencies in organizational groups or society. You can choose to make a leader the point of your reference by explaining the consequences of their leadership abilities or inabilities.

In the body of your essay, don’t forget to mention several types of leadership styles and point out which one the subject portrays. Finally, you should not rule out making comparisons of famous leaders in the modern world or in history. An example of a great prompt for a leadership essay that deploys the comparison technique would be the leadership styles of President Trump and The Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte as both leadership styles have been subjected to political reviews in recent times since their emergence as president of their respective countries.

Outline For A Leadership Essay

When writing a college or professional essay such as -long and short essays on leadership, planning is the key to perfection. The general outline for any essay, including leadership papers, include an introduction, the body paragraphs (which must be properly linked with transition words and/or phrases) and a recapitulating or finding-based conclusions. Here’s what your outline should look like:

Introduction

Knowing how to start a leadership essay depends on your introduction writing ability. The introduction is the gateway to the essay. Aided by punchy opening words, which are the hook, the purpose of the introduction is to draw the reader’s attention. The introduction presents the thesis statement and leaves the body paragraphs to sustain the reader’s interest.

Body Paragraphs

Having informed the readers of the topic of the essay in the introductory paragraph(s), the body paragraphs follow immediately.

Here, you can elaborate on the concept of leadership and do a meaningful interpretation of the subject – the topic or the thesis statement. Don’t forget to talk about your leadership philosophies and leadership experience in whatever capacity you might have found yourself in. Remember, people are more interested in personal experiences. They are great in helping to sustain readers’ attention.

Remember to state a thesis or hypothesis in the opening paragraphs – which is the intro. In each of the body paragraphs of the essay, try to relate your points to the thesis and use each point to prove its validity.

The conclusion is the end part of any well-structured essay. Its purpose is a no-brainer. You don’t want to leave your reader hanging by ending the essay cold turkey. Any standard essay without a conclusion is just as useless as an essay with no purpose. However, be careful not to present new ideas not mentioned in the body.

As mentioned, the conclusion serves to summarize the developed points, restate the thesis and/or present the findings. It is your last opportunity to create an impression on the reader, and this is where they take the message away. If your conclusion is weak, then we might say the essay’s objectives are not achieved.

What To Include In A Leadership Essay?

Here are some tips on what your leadership essay should include.

Your Definition Of A Good Leader And Why He Or She Is Important

Since your essay revolves around leadership and the traits of a good leader, you’ll need to define what it takes to be one. You may also take this opportunity to trash some common myths on what a leader is (i.e., a manager being confused for a leader).

For reference purposes, the concepts of leadership and being a good leader are explained:

Leadership is the quality of a leader and is that person capable of exercising a great influence on people and transmitting desire and optimism to achieve goals. A leader is a guide; someone with ideas and goals that can spread to a large group of people who still believe he or she can lead them in the right direction.

There are many types of leaders and therefore, of leadership since people generally always look for a person or group that shows them a direction to follow. You can find religious, political, social, or philosophical leadership. Leadership can be exercised in a traditional way. In many countries, there is a monarchy. The king or queen is a leader with limited political power, at least in western democracies, but still have the respect and consideration of the people. Their words continue to be heard and taken into account, especially in problematic times. There are other types of leadership that are not given by birth, such as legitimate leadership exercised by, for example, political leaders freely chosen by their people, or charismatic leaders.

In a way, charismatic leaders are what many understand as leaders since they are people who, by their way of behavior and characteristics, get many people to follow and adhere to their ideas. Some charismatic leaders can become legitimate leaders if they choose the path of politics. A traditional leader can also be charismatic. There have always been kings loved by his people more than others. But it can also be a person who prefers independent movements outside of power.

Charisma is the personal magnetism a person has. It is something very difficult to define but makes one capable of convincing others without too much effort, making people follow and trust the leading figure. Charisma can be used positively or negatively. The leaders of the most destructive sects are very charismatic people that are capable of convincing their followers of the eeriest ideas, including donating all their belongings or committing collective suicide.

Examples Of Your Leadership Style

In the content of your essay, you may consider giving an interpretation to your (or your chosen leader’s) leadership traits. Below are some examples of leadership qualities that separate a good leader from a bad leader.

What qualities are necessary for leadership

• Communication
• Emotional intelligence
• Strategic thinking
• Commitment and passion
• Knowledge and experience
• Leading by example
• Active listening
• Ability to enhance talent
• Setting goals and expectations
• People investment
• Discernment
• Concentration
• Positive attitude
• Problem-solving
• Self-discipline

Leadership Essay Example

To know how to do essay fast, you’ll need some ready-made essay examples for the sake of guidance and inspiration. You may find below a leadership essay written by Oliver Smith useful in your leadership paper.

Writing a leadership essay should be easy. A good essay on leadership starts from the hook, and the thesis statement in the introduction. The points developed in the body paragraphs help affirm the hypothesis. Finally, the conclusion offers the reader a summary through the restatement of the essay’s main idea.

As required for every essay type, your essay on leadership has to follow a definite style and format. Examples are MLA, APA, Chicago and AP styles. Take your time in choosing a creative but new topic and also in writing the content. By following this guide, everything should be as perfect as possible.

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Leadership Essay

27 August, 2020

12 minutes read

Author:  Richard Pircher

As a college student, you must write essays on a regular basis since the latter is one of the most common types of home assignments. All this means is that in order to get good grades and be successful with writing the papers, you need to have a sound understanding of the structure. Additionally, what you should never neglect is the variety of essay types. Indeed, your essay will significantly differ from one type to another: description essay will most likely have a structure that is slightly different from an argumentative one.

What you may have already encountered in your academic life is the work on a leadership essay. Although it sounds pretty complicated and vague, it is mostly possible to master an essay on leadership. Below is a guide for you to get an insight into this particular essay type.

What is a good leadership essay?

A good leadership essay is the one in which the essay writer has fully covered the topic of leadership and understood its core ideas. More specifically, to end up with a flawless leadership essay, you will need to indicate what makes a person a good leader. For achieving the latter, you will most likely need to conduct research and trace how a particular person reaches his or her goals. In other words, the task is to discover which actions the person undertakes, what their followers say about him or her, and how the person organizes the work. So, a leadership essay implies providing real-life success examples and further revealing them.

Above all, a good leadership essay is the one that follows a precise, clear, comprehensive structure. Structuring your essay about leadership in the most coherent way leads to a win-win situation: you have fewer troubles and barriers to writing a brilliant essay, and your teacher is able to comprehend the essay easily. This guide is what you will need to refer to to get an insight into how the flawless structure for a leadership essay looks like and how it will let you take a benefit.

How to write a Leadership essay?

To write a leadership essay that stands out, you first need to brainstorm all the ideas that you have and come up with a topic for your essay. If you are struggling with this step, you may think of some of the most influential people, read about them, and find out what makes them unique. Or, you can pick any topic which is mentioned at the end of this article. After you have chosen an issue, it is time to structure your essay appropriately.

As you already know, an essay constitutes three essential sections: introduction, main body, and conclusion. Below is the more detailed description of each of the parts.

Introduction

Of course, your leadership essay introduction will always vary depending on the topic of the essay. However, you can always begin by stating your vision of leadership regardless of the topic. Additionally, to motivate the reader and instantly catch his or her attention, you may use a quote of a famous leader, or simply a quote which you find relevant to the topic. Be aware that you should avoid outlining the essence and the role of the leadership in your introduction; leave it for the body paragraphs.

What you may also do in your leadership essay is ask a question, which will most likely intrigue the leader. Or it will at least give your reader an overview of what you will dwell on  in your essay.

Body Paragraphs

You will need to divide the main body into 3-5 paragraphs to make the structure more comprehensive. What you have to do at this point  is  give your reader a sound understanding of your ideas. Therefore, try to fit each idea in a single body paragraph so that you do not confuse your reader. Do not hesitate to indicate your examples to strengthen your arguments. For instance, you may explain a fact that makes a particular person you are writing about a real leader.

Also, always stick to your thesis statement and don’t forget that the body paragraphs should reveal the parts of your thesis statement.

As you may already know, you need to restate your opinion and briefly summarize all the points from the main body in conclusion. For instance, if you wrote your essay on qualities of an effective leader, state the most fundamental qualities and indicate why they matter the most. Besides, try not to copy what you have already written in the body – it is better to restate your opinion using different words. And, of course, beware adding any new and extra information; indicate only those points that you have already outlined in the text. Finally, keep in mind that it is always favorable to keep your concluding remarks short.

Leadership Essay Examples

Writing a leadership essay requires some research and time. In case you feel the necessity to go through an essay example, below is a leadership essay sample you can refer to.

Is leadership an inborn or an acquired feature?

Is everyone capable of becoming a leader, or is this ability innate? A lot of researchers have been struggling to answer this question. One assumption about leadership implies that the leader is the person who possesses particular characteristics. Another assumption claims that leaders are capable of acquiring specific features over their life span. As the evidence shows, leaders own many features that distinguish them among others and make more and more people become their followers. These might be cognitive abilities, psychological traits, professional qualities, and a lot more, and all of them will be either acquired or innate. Based on the importance of leadership qualities, such as commitment, stress resistance, and the ability to make quality decisions, it is reasonable to claim that leaders are made, not born. 

One can deem commitment as one of the top fundamental qualities of the leader. In essence, such a feature indicates that a person is passionate about the common goal, strives to be a team player, and makes every effort to reach a shared goal. As the history shows, none of the successful companies was uncoordinated by an influential, committed leader: Apple, Amazon, Microsoft – all of these companies are examples of dominant teams led by a dedicated leader. A committed leader also inspires his or her team to achieve common goals and put more effort into the shared activity. Besides, commitment is unlikely to be an innate feature; it instead comes with experience. This is so, since commitment implies dedicating oneself to the shared task, and one can reach it only via learning and continuous self-improvement.

Stress resistance is another incredibly important feature that every good leader should possess. This is because only a stress-resistant leader has sufficient capabilities to overcome any complexity and not let the anxiety and stress prevent him or her from making proper decisions. Besides, such a leader will most likely have a positive influence on the team, as long as leading by example will motivate the team members to attain the same emotional stability. What is so far familiar about stress resistance as an effective leader’s feature is that it can be either innate or attained. However, although some researchers admit that emotional stability is something one is born with, it is not entirely true; many people still put a great effort into self-improvement, changing the attitude to unfortunate situations, and so on. Therefore, being resistant to stress can be mostly attributed to a personality.

An ability to make high-quality decisions most likely determines the chances for an enterprise’s success. In particular, such quality is incredibly fundamental for a company of any size and professional orientation. Additionally, it is one of the top tasks of a good leader to make final decisions. What he or she should do implies brainstorming, discussing various opinions in the group, making forecasts, analyzing all the pros and cons. However, the leader is the one to make a final decision. Thereby, he is in charge of researching the market, discovering all the hidden truths, and analyzing the organization’s potential and capabilities to result in the most effective decision. As it flows logically from the latter, an ability to make sound quality decisions is purely a professional quality. This leads to the conclusion that one has to work hard to become a genuine leader and master the skill of making effective decisions. 

Overall, the leader may possess a multitude of different skills and master them perfectly. However, what has so far become transparent is that any leader, regardless of which team he leads, must possess three essential qualities. These qualities are commitment to the common goal, ability to handle and resist stress, and, finally, an ability to make effective decisions. All of the three qualities are most likely to be acquired over a lifetime. The statement below leads to the conclusion that even though some qualities can be innate, most are not the ones that leaders are born with. Hence, this answers an essential question: leadership feature is acquired, and not necessarily inborn.  

20 leadership essay topics

When coming up with your next leadership essay topic, it is imperative to brainstorm ideas and think of what leadership might be related to. If you are struggling with a topic of the importance of leadership essay or any relevant type of essay, you may quickly take a look at some of the possible topics we prepared for you:

• What are the main qualities of the leader?
• Successful Time Management as a feature of an effective leader
• The role that rhetoric plays in leadership
• The most exceptional leader in the history of the 20-th century
• The role of female leadership
• What are the challenges of the leader of the 21-st century?
• How college helps students develop leadership skills?
• Qualities of the leader that motivate people to follow them 
• Top things to avoid doing to become a team leader
• Examples of effective and ineffective leadership in the history
• Top techniques for developing leadership skills
• The interconnection of creativity and leadership 
• Is a university’s role fundamental in developing leadership skills?
• Dictatorship as an anti-example of leadership
• Liberal vs Authoritative leadership: which one works better?
• The influence of the leader’s role model on the followers’ mindset
• Main difficulties that the new leader may face in a new team
• Leadership of today vs leadership of the past: what has changed?
• Reasons why I want to become a member if the leadership program
• The role of cognitive abilities for the leader 

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Essay Samples on Leadership

What type of leader i am: examining my leadership.

What type of leader are you? This question delves into the unique qualities, values, and approaches that define my leadership style. As a leader, I recognize that my actions and decisions influence others, and understanding my leadership style is crucial for effective collaboration and impact....

• Leadership Styles

How to Be an Effective Leader: Guiding with Excellence

Becoming an effective leader requires more than just holding a position of authority; it entails embodying qualities that inspire and guide individuals toward shared goals. Whether leading a team, an organization, or a community, effective leadership is marked by the ability to foster collaboration, motivate...

• Effective Leadership

How to Be a Good Leader: The Path to Effective Leadership

Leadership is a multifaceted skill that involves guiding and inspiring individuals or groups toward a common goal. While leadership styles may vary, there are essential qualities and practices that define effective leadership. In this essay, we will explore how to be a good leader, discuss...

Are Leaders Born or Made: the Nature vs Nurture Debate

Are leaders born or made? This age-old question has ignited debates, discussions, and exploration into the realms of leadership. The inquiry into whether leadership is an innate trait or a cultivated skill has intrigued scholars, practitioners, and curious minds. This essay delves into the heart...

• Leadership Development

Analysis of President Barack Obama as a Leader

Successful leaders possess distinct traits and qualities that set them apart. One such leader is Barack Obama, who exemplifies several key leadership characteristics. Inspirational communication, unwavering conviction, and a willingness to take risks are among the qualities that have contributed to Obama's success. Furthermore, Obama's...

• Barack Obama
• President of The United States

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Leadership and Management: My Personal Philosophy of Leadership

Everybody can be a leader. Nevertheless, I feel that not every individual can lead effectively. I also believe that it is not a position but a process. Leadership is an action to influence other people to move and accomplish the same goal. Leaders are ineffective...

• Leadership and Management

Leadership Development: Analysis of My Leadership Experience

This reflective essay is an analytical look into my leadership experience not only as a leader but also as a member of a group. I specifically adopted the situational approach and the path-goal theory when presented with different leadership challenges hence the adoption of changing...

My Chevening Leadership: Leadership Skills that I Developed

I acquired leadership skills from early adulthood based on my experiences in church and my family. I developed organisational, resilience and other leadership skills which have been honed over the years. My leadership skills continued in secondary school when I started volunteering and campaigning against...

What Is Leadership For You

It is a general term that can have very different meanings with broader possibilities and scales associated with it, and it goes through some evolution with constant permutations and combinations that go on forever. It starts from ancient times and then into the Middle Ages...

Important Role of Leadership Quality and Professionalism

Dedication, strength, honor, and integrity, are just a few of the descriptive words that can be used to define a leadership role. Accountability, knowledge, as well as integrity are words used to help describe professionalism. Notice how the words used to describe these roles are...

The Meaning Of Leadership To Me: Qualities That Create A Leader

For countless millennia, we had witnessed the birth of several societies and organizations that had flourished from successful leadership. Today, in modern businesses you could immediately tell how the leadership it had evolved into at present and the leadership it had decades earlier. Take for...

• Personal Qualities

The Definition Of Leadership: What Does Leadership Mean To Me

My leadership philosophy is established about the need for a leader to encourage and inspire to do what motivates them. It can be accomplished by a leader and at the same time attaining the goals and the task of the team, department, institution, or corporation...

• Personal Beliefs

Chelladurai's Model Of The Leadership

The model that is used for leadership in sports would be the Chelladurai's model of leadership. Chelladurai's model is a framework which builds on research from non-sporting settings in order to analyze effective leadership in sport. The fundamental target of the leader is to achieve...

Example Of Effective Leadership In Jeff Bezos Life Path

Since the beginning of people’s lives, everyone makes choices and decisions which gradually define a person itself. It is often difficult to identify whether the decision was good or bad because each person has a different level of awareness of the importance. Some things which...

Leadership Style Of Jeff Bezos

Jeffrey Preston Bezos is an American technology entrepreneur and the founder, CEO, and president of Amazon.com. Since high school, he has had an interest in computer science which led to him pursuing a degree in electrical engineering and computer science from Princeton University in 1986....

Management Vs Leadership: The Good And The Bad Of Being A Manager

Being a manager is a job. Being a leader is a role. Increasingly companies are seeing that you need both skills for an effective work environment. In the article, “What Leaders Really Do” by John Kotter, John highlights the differences between a leaders and managers,...

Ender's Game Character Analysis Essay

A mission that decides the destiny of humanity, its survival or obliteration, is a challenge many will succumb to. Failure is not an option. Ender’s Game, a science fiction novel written by Orson Scott Card, tells the story of Andrew “Ender” Wiggin who fights in...

• Ender's Game

The Rule of Charlemagne: The Development of Europe Under Successful Leadership

“Right action is better than knowledge; but in order to do what is right, we must know what is right.”- Charlemagne Charlemagne, also known as Charles I, Charles the Great and the Father of Europe was an important Germanic figure in medieval times and has...

• Charlemagne

The Benefits and Disadvantages of Transformational Leadership Style

Transformational Leadership deals with the motivation, inspiration, and encouragement of the personnel in order to carry out the innovative and creative change. This change directly helps the company in the growth and allows the scope for development. This leadership style is based on improving the...

• Charismatic Leadership

What Makes a Leader Charismatic

Leadership is a dense genre that had remained under debate regarding the difference in opinions of the definition and components of leadership, and either it is intrinsic quality or learned behavior. Despite all the debate, Leadership can be contributed as a personal impact that is...

The Influence of Mansa Musa's Leadership

The most important aspects of this topic would be the importance of Mansa rebuilding the Mali empire. After he helped rebuild the empire they were more powerful and had a more important standing within society. The emperor who came to make a difference within their...

My Motivation to Obtain the Darwin T. Turner Scholarship

The Darwin T. Turner Scholarship is a program of diversity and leadership initiatives. Hello, my name is Simratdeep Kaur and I believe I should be a Turner Scholar because I show great potential in the future. I have maintained great academics, participated in many school...

• Scholarship

What Does Being Inducted into National Honor Society Mean to Me

From the time I was inducted into National Junior Honor Society in seventh grade, I had always dreamed of the day when I would walk across the stage to become a part of National Honor Society. I have been continuously determined to do my very...

• National Honor Society

The Four Tenets of National Honor Society I Exemplify in My Everyday Life

Induction into the National Honor Society validates academic goals that I have worked extremely hard towards thus far. Membership would not only help maintain my academic performance, but assist me in accomplishing further goals of my school career. Getting accepted into NHS has been a...

A Brave Leader: The Success of Rosa Parks Leadership

Refusing to give up your seat on the bus; a seemingly trivial decision in the goings-on of everyday life. Maybe one would be considered rude, or irritate others – but beyond that, the effects of the refusal would seem relatively insignificant. How is it then,...

• Racial Segregation

Implementation of Leadership and Personal Development Planning in South Africa

Introduction Post-1994, the dream of the masses (previously disadvantaged groups), was a vision of self-governance, prosperity, equality, liberation and a sense of belonging and patriotism. Most of all, the yoke of Apartheid was demolished, it was a new future that held promise, a better life...

• Personal Development Planning

The History of Syrian Leadership and Its Impact on the State of a Country

Syria became one of the most discussed and controversial countries in the world in recent years due to its ongoing armed conflict. Millions of Syrians escaped from their homeland looking for a shelter and a better future abroad causing internal conflicts in highly developed countries...

The Concept of Leadership and Mother Teresa as Its Vivid Illustration

Leaders have the power and the intellect behind the organization, and they have the capability to influence the ones working for the company to accomplish and reach the company’s goal. According to Patel (2017), a strong manager or leader must reach and develop eleven traits...

• Mother Teresa

Investigating the Losses and Leadership Positions in Starbucks

The Starbucks brand started in 1971 by opening its to begin with store area in Seattle, Washington. Within the 1970s and 1980s, Starbucks Corporation experienced victory within the U.S. market. By 1987, Howard Schultz purchased Starbucks after serving for 5 years within the operation division...

The Humor Style Suitable for Leadership Positions

Throughout this report, the main topic in focus will be the Leader Humor Style. The definition of humor is not straightforward, “Over the years, researchers have been trying to arrive at one definition of humour which is both comprehensive and universal. All their efforts have...

The Results Of My S.M.A.R.T. Leadership Experience

Leadership, S.M.A.R.T. goals, and the Seven Habits profile are all interconnected in many ways. Throughout the course of this paper I will address the results of my Seven Habits profile, servant leadership, and make S.M.A.R.T. goals. They will assist me in becoming a better leader...

• Emotional Intelligence

The Definition of Leadership: Barack Obama's Presidency

Leadership can mean various things a success, power, efficiency, andintelligence. Among other qualities. However, leadership is taken into accountwhen the leader or the person who is the heads of a movement has the abilityto influence others and make a positive impact on the world around...

Leadership Is My Strong Side

Mustering the courage, penetrating the challenge, and engendering the creativity are the abilities to define myself as a visionary leader. After the head of Corporate Social Responsibility of PT Pertamina Region VII awarded me as the best presenter in Pertamina Technology Challenge, an opportunity as...

• About Myself

The Importance of Good Ethics and Leadership in Society

One of the most important, yet least understood phenomena on earth is leadership. The research was done to investigate leadership traits, activities, behaviour, and processes; yet, until Burns (1978), a few researchers were able to distinguish between leadership that is "transactional" and leadership that is...

• Human Behavior

Change Management in Organizations Dependency on Leadership

This paper seeks to establish how change can be effectively introduced to the challenging global business environment of today. However, to establish this, one has to first understand what a change management strategy is and to critically analyze the key composition of an ideal change...

• Change Management

Analysis Of Individual Aspects Of Leadership

The first factor for business success is empowering leadership. Leadership has taken companies to its peak of success. This report will look into the leadership style of Sandberg in the different companies she had worked. How her leadership skills influenced and impacted the people she...

Application Of Engineering Leadership To Improve Group's Performance

This case occurred during a practical lab session where my group and I were tasked with a graded lab report based on that session’s experiment. That week’s experimental procedure was knowledge-intensive and rigorous, requiring a good understanding of that week’s lecture content while involving many...

• Engineering

Best Way For Society To Prepare It's Youth For Leadership

The provided memo brings a lot of questions to mind. These need to properly addressed before jumping to the conclusion that increasing the advertising budget will help increase the attendance of people in movies produced by Super Screen Movie Production Company. Firstly, the memo talks...

• Modern Society

Classic Leadership And Organization Dilemmas

The main challenge of any organization is to perform tasks in the right time. If they cannot perform it within the prescribed time, their ongoing work can be interrupted. Therefore, if the job is to be executed at a given time, it is necessary to...

• Organizational Behavior

Jim Davis Case Study Analysis: The Problem Of Leadership And Power

Leadership and power have a fine line in which they were most effectively together. In that relationship it is important that a good sense of credibility is established in order to achieve and maintain a status. The problem at hand is how Jim is going...

Leadership – The Art Of Managing People

The capacity to sort out a gathering of individuals or an organization is called leadership. The individual who directs the gathering is characterized as a Leader. Despite the fact that the bigger fault and less credit come to them, a pioneer is the foundation of...

Leadership And Management In International Hospitality Business

Introduction Leadership includes giving the data, information, and techniques to understand that vision, and organizing and adjusting the clashing interests of all individuals and partners. Be that as it may, the initiative has changed after some time and has made numerous difficulties for the individuals...

• Hospitality
• Marketing Management

Leadership In Different Aspects Of Life

Introduction Leadership is defined to be the action of leading a group of people or an organization. In the coaching profession, coaches lead their teams. If you were to ask me what my personal definition and general philosophy of leadership is, I would say, “Leadership...

• Personal Life

The Challenges in the Leadership School: Stepping out of the Comfort Zone

I applied to leadership school and I was told it was going to easy but boy was I wrong. As soon we got on the bus things turned for worse. First, all phones were confiscated as we got on the bus then we to be...

Leadership Style And Influence Of Two Historical Figure

This is an extensive study of leadership styles and scope of influence of 2 historical figures of Nepal. “Siddhartha Gautama (Gautama Buddha) and Prithivi Narayan Shah. They can be seen as an effective and influential leader known to whole world. I found difference in their...

Leadership Theories And Personal Evaluation

Trait Theory Of the eight trait theories presented in the textbook I feel that I possess predominantly the desire to lead, honesty, integrity and emotional intelligence. In most jobs that I have been employed, I often find myself thinking of ways that the manager could...

Psychology Of Work: Organizational Leadership Theories

In lieu of the changing business environments globally, companies strive to be competent enough to be able to respond to customer expectations, have sound and healthy relationships with all the stakeholders, have operations that are transparent and accountable and increase their bottom line fulfilling their...

• Social Psychology

Revitalization Through New Leadership For Success In Any Field

The topic presented here makes a very valid argument that revitalization through new leadership is crucial for success in any field, be it politics, education or government. I am in concord with the claim that those in power should graciously make way at regular intervals...

An Overview of the Five Levels of Leadership

Nowadays the word ¨leadership¨ is used in all spheres of society, from the political field to the business and religious fields. One of the modern precursors of the study of leadership is John C. Maxwell, who for years has used and taught an instrument of...

The Social Influence Of Leadership On Human

For many years, many people (scholars) have had lot of interest in leadership, there have been many debates and some occasional confusion explaining the concept of leadership or what it really means. (Bass 1981) (Northouse, P 2016) Even now, defining it is not as easy...

Value Proposition Of Investing In It Leadership

Companies that invests in IT leadership perform much better than the companies that don’t. IT Leadership development is very important for creating competition and having an upper hand over other companies. A standout amongst the most important internal features to implement change is IT Leadership...

Essay About What Leadership Means To Me

For me, leadership means not only pursue success for myself but also to motivate and empower others to do the same by setting the perfect example to follow. For me, leadership means knowing where to go, leading the right path, taking new challenges and not...

Best topics on Leadership

1. What Type of Leader I Am: Examining My Leadership

2. How to Be an Effective Leader: Guiding with Excellence

3. How to Be a Good Leader: The Path to Effective Leadership

4. Are Leaders Born or Made: the Nature vs Nurture Debate

5. Analysis of President Barack Obama as a Leader

6. Leadership and Management: My Personal Philosophy of Leadership

7. Leadership Development: Analysis of My Leadership Experience

8. My Chevening Leadership: Leadership Skills that I Developed

9. What Is Leadership For You

10. Important Role of Leadership Quality and Professionalism

11. The Meaning Of Leadership To Me: Qualities That Create A Leader

12. The Definition Of Leadership: What Does Leadership Mean To Me

13. Chelladurai’s Model Of The Leadership

14. Example Of Effective Leadership In Jeff Bezos Life Path

15. Leadership Style Of Jeff Bezos

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• Published May 15, 2024
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What Is Leadership?

Essays About Effective Leadership: Top 6 Examples and Prompts

Effective leadership is an essential trait that all people should strive to develop; here are 6 examples and topic ideas essays about effective leadership .

Many qualities make an inspiring and effective leader, such as vision, focus, and motivation. Like other skills, effective leadership can be innate or learned and practiced. When writing about leadership, include the strengths of an effective leader and how these qualities positively impact their team. You can also discuss weaknesses that can make a poor leader and how to combat these issues.

Here are 6 examples and 10 essay prompts to get you started on your next essay.

1. What Makes an Effective Leader? by Tony Gill

2. a guide to becoming an effective leader by yashi srivastava , 3. leadership: 5 practices of effective leaders by yvette gyles, 4. 6 characteristics of an effective leader by lauren landry, 5. six leadership lessons by order of the peaky blinders by andrew denton mbe, 6. leadership and the quest for certainty by keith grint,  1. what is effective leadership, 2. what does effective leadership look like in the corporate industry, 3. what to avoid to become an effective leader, 4. habits of an effective leader, 5. studying the mindsets of effective leaders, 6. effective leadership and its benefits to an organization, 7. indicators of strong and effective leadership, 8. poor leadership vs. effective leadership, 9. real-life examples of effective leadership, 10. how perception creates effective leadership.

“Work at using leadership styles that do not come naturally, styles that you find difficult. By becoming a well-rounded leader, it is easier to adapt your leadership technique for different situations.”

Gill uses a research-based approach to answer the central question of his essay. He looks at various sources that tackle the topic of effective leadership and stitch them together to make a comprehensive guide to effective leadership.

“Leadership is not a mystical quality, and anyone can become a more effective leader by developing some important skills.”

The author, Yashi Srivastava, defines what differentiates leaders from managers first. Then, she provides some dos and don’ts of an effective leader and how people could apply them in different situations. 

“Whereas as leaders, we need to be concerned about creativity and innovation, making positive changes, and seeking to challenge and push boundaries.”

Gyles specializes in leadership training for companies, so her approach to the essay is geared more toward company leaders. Nevertheless, it’s highly educational for all those interested in learning effective leadership meant for dealing with various people and guiding people to a direction or goal.

“Effective leaders don’t avoid the hard truths. Instead, they take responsibility for their decisions, maintain optimism, and focus on charting a new course of action.”

Landry’s essay focuses on her six top characteristics of an effective leader. Some of these characteristics are what you’d expect to see in an essay like this. Entries like transparency are less common but equally important in practicing effective leadership.

“Rolling your sleeves up with everyone else not only sets an example, it makes people want to follow you.”

Fiction mirrors life, and it’s one of the best sources to learn lessons that are otherwise too complex or vague to see in real life. Despite his penchant for crime and violence, Thomas Shelby is undeniably one of the most influential leaders on TV. This essay details the leadership skills used by a 1920s gangster character and how you can use them in modern life to become an effective and inspiring leader.

“Leadership is often associated with certainty; indeed, it is sometimes reduced to the decision-making process such that anything which smacks of uncertainty is categorized as weakness or a failure of leadership.”  

Grint’s essay on leadership explores the factors around leaders’ certainty or confidence. Of course, not all leaders have a clear answer to a problem, which is fine. The important thing is that they have a mindset to look for solutions and a modicum of honesty about their lack of uncertainty.

10 Essay Prompts on Effective Leadership

It’s your turn to express and explore your view of effective leadership. Use these prompts to work out your approach or steps to effective leadership. Here are ten prompts about effective leadership to help you get started on your essay.

Defining effective leadership is one way to explore your understanding of the idea. Remember that your definition of effective leadership could vastly differ from the other essays you’ve read. It’s also a great starting point for new people who want to warm up to the habit of writing essays about leadership.

Essay writing tip: If you’re new to writing essays, consider simplifying your essay. Try shortening it down to a five-paragraph essay .

You can find many leaders in the corporate industry, but some are more effective than others. Use this prompt to work out how you envision effective leadership in the corporate world. You can also apply the same idea to other fields, like at school, among friends or peer groups, or in the family. Consider carefully the field or organization you’d like to use for the essay.

You may have personal experience with a person who could have been an effective leader if not for their bad habits. You might have been that person and realized how your bad habits had held you back from practicing effective leadership. This is your chance to write about your experience, whether via observing someone else or through personal growth.

Practicing effective leadership goes beyond having direction and a vision for the organization. Becoming an effective leader also takes time and patience. Use this prompt to discuss the habits of great leaders and how these habits make them effective in their leadership.

Get into the mind of a leader and explore how such a person might become more effective in their leadership. This topic may involve discussing various people, whether real-life persons or fictional characters. Research how they think, handle their role and manage the people they lead.

Understanding the benefits of effective leadership is one of the best ways to drive someone to practice and adopt it. Use this prompt to detail how an effective leader boosts morale, productivity, motivation, communication quality, and confidence in the people they lead. It applies to all organizations, like businesses, teams, and networks.

How do you know whether a person’s leadership style and approach are effective or not? Use this essay topic to discover the different methods of measuring effective leadership. Read about the different measurements and indicators of leadership used in corporations and organizations.

Leaders can be good, mediocre, or bad in their leadership approaches and styles. This essay prompt will push you to compare bad leadership and effective leadership. You can also add methods of improving one’s leadership style to become more effective.

You can find a lot of excellent leaders throughout history. This idea focuses on discussing different leaders, their leadership styles, and levels of effectiveness.

Interpersonal skills are vital to great leadership. Perception of others’ feelings and thoughts can help you become an even better and more effective leader. Discuss how intuitiveness positively affects one’s leadership style. 

Check out our list of great essay writing topics for students for more topics to improve your writing.

Maria Caballero is a freelance writer who has been writing since high school. She believes that to be a writer doesn't only refer to excellent syntax and semantics but also knowing how to weave words together to communicate to any reader effectively.

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Anyone Can Learn to Be a Better Leader

• Monique Valcour

You just have to put in the work.

Occupying a leadership position is not the same thing as leading. To lead, you must be able to connect, motivate, and inspire a sense of ownership of shared objectives. Heightening your capacity to lead others requires being able to see how you think and act, and how your behavior affects others. Leading well requires a continuous journey of personal development. Yet people in leadership roles often eschew the long and challenging work of deepening self-insight in favor of chasing after management “tools”— preferably the “quick ’n’ easy” kind, such as personality type assessments that reduce employees to a few simplistic behavioral tendencies. Tools can be handy aids to good leadership. But none of them can take the place of fearless introspection, feedback seeking, and committed efforts to behavioral change for greater effectiveness and increased positive impact on others.

When you’re an individual contributor, your ability to use your technical expertise to deliver results is paramount. Once you’ve advanced into a leadership role, however, the toolkit that you relied on to deliver individual results rarely equips you to succeed through others. Beware of falling into the logical trap of “if I can do this work well, I should be able to lead a team of people who do this work.” This would be true if leading others were akin to operating a more powerful version of the same machinery you operated previously. But it’s not; machinery doesn’t perform better or worse based on what it thinks about you and how you make it feel, while humans do .

• MV Monique Valcour is an executive coach, keynote speaker, and management professor. She helps clients create and sustain fulfilling and high-performance jobs, careers, workplaces, and lives. moniquevalcour

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Essay on Leadership: Samples in 100, 200, 300 Words

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• Oct 7, 2023

The concept of leadership has been known to us since ancient times, from Ashoka: The Great to modern-day democratic leaders. Whether it’s politics or business, sports or entertainment, leadership is an essential part of human society, Leadership is the art of inspiring and guiding people towards a common goal. 

Critics might argue that being a leader is just about holding a prestigious position and living a fancy life. That might be 1 in 1000 cases, as leaders across the globe work for the welfare and development of their people and country. Below we have discussed some essays on leadership where the multifaceted roles of this position are highlighted. 

Table of Contents

• 1 Essay on Leadership in 100 Words
• 2 Essay on Leadership in 200 Words
• 3 Essay on Leadership in 300 Words

Also Read – Essay on Summer Vacation

Essay on Leadership in 100 Words

Leadership involves a set of qualities, values and actions, which are focused on the benefit of people and their country. A person holding the position of a leader plays a pivotal role in every facet of life, influencing the direction and success of organizations, communities, and nations. To become a leader, one must have a clear vision to understand a future state that is better than the present and communicate that vision to their team or followers.

A leader’s actions should be aligned with their words, and they must demonstrate their honesty, transparency and ethical behaviour. Trust is the foundation for any successful leadership, and it is built through consistent ethical conduct. 

Essay on Leadership in 200 Words

Leadership is a complex and multifaceted concept and is an essential part of developing a society or organisation. Leadership can involve various positions and types, from democratic to autocratic, where the leaders inspire and empower their teams, fostering an environment where individuals can thrive and achieve their fullest potential.

Effective leadership involves skilled communicators to can convey ideas, expectations, and feedback clearly and persuasively. They also listen actively to their team’s input and concerns. A great leader empowers a team of professionals by entrusting them with responsibilities and decision-making authority. With the formation of delegates, the power of leadership is divided among different authorities who are responsible for fostering growth and development among team members, making the organization more robust.

Some of the fundamentals of leadership are authenticity, integrity, ethical behaviour, a clear vision and other vital traits. Trust is the bedrock of leadership, and it is built through honesty, transparency, and consistency in actions and decisions. A leader who understands and cares about the needs and concerns of their team fosters strong relationships, promoting collaboration and cohesion.

At last, leadership is more than a title; it’s the embodiment of vision, integrity, empathy, communication and resilience. Effective leaders work to bring positive changes, inspire people around them and create a sense of purpose and direction in their terms and organizations.

Also Read – Essay on Cricket

Essay on Leadership in 300 Words

Leadership is a vital concept for the welfare of a society, community or country, depending on what the leadership is about. A leader transcends boundaries and is fundamental to human endeavours in various domains. Their job involves the ability to influence and guide a group of individuals toward achieving a common objective. Effective leadership is characterized by a combination of qualities, skills, and behaviours that inspire, motivate, and empower a team.

The first and most important aspect of a successful leader is having a clear vision. A clear vision works as a guiding light, outlining the desired future and providing a sense of purpose and direction for the team. Leaders with a compelling vision can inspire and rally their followers, creating a shared sense of purpose. 

The other cornerstone of leadership is integrity. Leaders must demonstrate honesty, transparency, and ethical behaviour. Trust, which is essential in any team or organization, is built on the foundation of integrity. When people believe that their leader acts with integrity, they are more likely to follow willingly and commit to the cause. 

Another trait that is essential for effective leadership is empathy. Leaders with empathy understand and connect with the emotions, needs, and perspectives of their team members. By showing compassion and actively listening, they create a supportive and inclusive environment that fosters trust and collaboration.

Apart from these traits, other important qualities for effective leadership include effective communication and interpersonal skills. A leader must be able to articulate their vision, goals, and expectations clearly and persuasively. 

In conclusion, leadership is a multifaceted concept that plays a pivotal role towards the positive growth and development of organizations, communities, and societies. Effective leaders inspire their teams, create a sense of purpose, and drive positive change. Leadership is not merely a position; it is a journey of personal growth and a commitment to serving the greater good.

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Some of the synonyms for a leader are: Coach, Captain, Principal, Chairman, Kingpin, Boss, CEO, etc.

What makes a good leader is their ability to persuade people using their effective communication skills, having a clear vision working towards the welfare of society, and taking responsibility for their actions.

Writing an essay on leadership in 200 words must include the fundamental aspects of leadership and the qualities they must possess. Effective leaders around the world create a supportive and inclusive environment where people can thrive and contribute their best efforts. They inspire a shared sense of purpose, foster collaboration, and guide their teams toward achieving collective goals.

For more information about such informative articles, visit our essay writing page and make sure to follow Leverage Edu .

Shiva Tyagi

With an experience of over a year, I've developed a passion for writing blogs on wide range of topics. I am mostly inspired from topics related to social and environmental fields, where you come up with a positive outcome.

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What is a leader, what do they do, and how do you become one?

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What is a leader?

What is the role of a leader, what does a leader do, what are the most common characteristics of a leader.

Leadership versus management—what’s the difference?

How can you become a better leader?

Final thoughts on the question, “What is a leader?”  

When you think about great leaders, who comes to mind?

Impactful figures like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., or perhaps Winston Churchill and Nelson Mandela might come to mind.

While we’ve all experienced leadership in our lives, very rarely are we asked to define “what is a good leader.” Answers vary from company to company and person to person, making the qualities of leadership even more elusive to pinpoint.

Are you thinking about the next step in your career? This article explores the definition and qualities of leadership, how it differs from management, and tips for becoming a better leader.

Simple explorations of the question, “what is a leader?” include:

A leader is someone who inspires passion and motivation in followers.

A leader is someone with a vision and the path to realizing it.

A leader is someone who ensures their team has support and tools to achieve their goals.

A leader may be any of those things, but a good leader is all three. 

An effective leader has a shared vision aligned with core values and understands what it will take to reach their team goals . They inspire, manage, and support their teams to work creatively and confidently toward that shared vision.

A leader empowers their team members to embrace their own unique leadership qualities and act with independently accountable passion . And they inspire and motivate their teams to maintain long-term progress and excitement toward achieving their goals.

Now you have a better understanding of who a leader is, but might still ask, “what does a leader do?” The age-old answer of “it depends” is pretty relevant here. The specifics of each leader’s role change based on the size of their team, organization, or base. It also depends on their values and goals –– both short and long-term.

In general, the role of a leader is to coach, guide, and inspire others. They motivate teams through challenging times and guide individuals through their career progressions. A leader manages individuals to keep teams aligned and working toward shared goals. They foster a collaborative culture and lead by example.

As you can see, a leader has many responsibilities. But they tend to fall into the same three buckets:

A good leader strives to develop their employees and teams through coaching and mentoring. This can be through one-to-one meetings and asynchronous touchpoints. And most of their coaching ladders up into supporting the overall goals of the company.

A great leader will balance both the goals of the employee with those of the organization. Making each individual’s development a symbiotic relationship. Oftentimes the individual’s growth correlates with the company’s growth.

Alongside coaching, leaders also guide their employees. This comes through building and organizing teams, setting goals, devising ways to achieve those goals, and leading employees through the process.

A leader can guide employees through difficult conversations, for example, or various ways to solve problems.

One undervalued role of a leader is to inspire. A great leader can leverage their storytelling, empathy, and communication skills to inspire their employees and key stakeholders.

Whether they are vouching for a direct report’s promotion, pushing back on a strategy, or managing a team who missed its goals –– inspiring others is a large part of a leader’s role.

Leaders are bold but never leave their teams behind. Balancing vision with support that empowers team members to achieve shared goals, leaders embrace a number of leadership qualities and can’t be pinned down to a single style.

However, leaders across the board tend to exhibit seven major characteristics: 

• Purpose. Without a sense of purpose , it’s hard to motivate team members. Leaders empower people to see the intention behind specific goals, enabling them to take equal part. Making the day-to-day process feel more purposeful helps maintain team motivation and personal investment in larger goals. Leaders who incorporate a sense of personal purpose in the company’s overall mission inspire individual accountability in their teams . This motivates team members to embrace their own leadership qualities towards big-picture achievement. 
• Motivation. Leaders are great motivators and create value-aligned goals so team members feel personally inspired to work toward the company’s vision. Paired with consistent outreach, leaders empower their team members to work passionately beyond their responsibilities towards a common goal. Motivation goes beyond inspiring words . Great leaders talk to their teams, and listen to their ideas and questions. Being a leader isn’t about giving orders and managing results—it’s about listening, supporting , and inspiring the best from others.
• Vision. Leaders see the bigger picture and can unite their team members behind their vision. By incorporating team strengths and core values, leaders inspire their team with an end-goal that resonates with individual values and inspires action. Without a cohesive vision aligned with core values, companies often find themselves hitting goals that don’t progress their company in a specific direction. Staying afloat does not equal growth. Leaders are visionaries for growth and expansion.
• Empathy. Leaders empathize with their team members. It’s how they inspire people to work beyond their responsibilities toward a shared purpose. By listening and sharing their appreciation for their teams, leaders impart a sense of value. When leaders prioritize empathy and appreciate their team members’ efforts, they can empower team members to see the vision for themselves and act toward its achievement. Putting themselves in the position of their team members also helps leaders address critical concerns and provide solutions.
• Creativity. Whereas managers might feel inclined to stick to the status quo, leaders innovate in bold and creative splashes. Rather than being concerned with the chain of command, leaders encourage their employees to ask, “Why?” and think in new ways to realize a bigger picture. With a lofty vision guiding them, leaders embrace new ways of conceptualizing and strategizing. Nothing is off the table when it comes to providing imaginative and more effective pathways to long-term goal achievement and success. 
• Team vision. Although the company's overall vision may begin with its leaders, their vision will account for nothing if it doesn’t speak to team members. Exploring the values and individual goals that bring meaning to team members helps leaders thread their long-term goals through individually motivating and fulfilling achievement. When team members share their leader's vision and values, they’re inspired to work beyond their responsibilities toward their goals.  
• Always trying to improve. Leaders never stop bettering themselves. With an eye toward growth, leaders continuously seek opportunities to improve for themselves and their teams. This leaning towards personal betterment means leaders actively seek feedback and value ideas that favor effectiveness and improvement over defending their egos. When leaders create an environment where feedback isn’t just helpful but highly valued, they inspire team members to voice their thoughts and bring the best ideas to the table. This can lead to higher innovation and long-term success.

Leadership versus management — what’s the difference?

We often hear managers referred to as leaders and vice versa . But while qualities of leadership might include managerial responsibilities, they certainly don’t stop there. 

Managers often work within a chain of command, limiting their ability to free the reins and innovate toward a large-scale vision. Managers ensure timely delivery of projects, project assignments, and facilitate interpersonal communication.

Leaders ask questions, embracing innovation and out-of-the-box thinking, alongside honest feedback and transparency. Leaders seek to empower their teams to embrace their individual leadership qualities . They foster a team of highly motivated and innovative leaders intent on achieving a shared vision. 

Leaders must manage their employees, keeping them on track to achieve goals and providing structure for work. But in addition to managerial duties, they're also charged with visionary thinking, creating work that feels purposeful and meaningful, and inspiring long-term commitment in each of their team members. 

There’s always room to become a better leader, and the specific steps you take may vary by experience level, personal attributes, and goals. But no matter where you are on your leadership journey , you can follow these three steps to become a better leader.

Step 1: Listen and learn

Leadership is about social skills, not power and control. The most effective leaders take time to listen and learn about their team members and the unique qualities of leadership they each have. 

Create opportunities for your team members to capitalize on their strengths and maximize their efficiency. Ask for feedback and inquire about employee ideas. The more team members feel personally valued, the more you’ll embolden them to work with passion toward goals they believe in and care about. 

Step 2: Create shared goals for the team

Leaders know where they want to go and take time to learn about team members’ personal goals and visions. This can help ensure everyone feels valued and encompassed in the company’s larger mission. 

Explore your team members’ core values and incorporate them into larger, team- and company-wide goals. You’ll help your team members find more meaning and fulfillment in their work, motivating them to work beyond assigned tasks towards innovation.

Step 3: Always seek opportunities to improve

Leaders are growth-minded and take every opportunity to better themselves and their teams. 

Who is a leader you look up to? What is a leadership role you can see yourself in, and who is currently in that role? Get to know those leaders better, and consider asking one of them to mentor you. 

You may also find opportunities for improvement from your colleagues and team members. Provide opportunities for open conversation and feedback across all levels of your organization. 

When providing feedback to others, pair transparent communication with additional resources for team members to sharpen their skills and maximize their strengths. This will enable them to bring their best to every situation, and provide more creative feedback.

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Final thoughts on the question, “What is a leader?”

Regardless of recognition or position in a company, leaders mark themselves by their abilities to envision, motivate, strategize, and support their teams toward achievement.

They are more than managers — they are innovative and inspire others to join them on their mission toward a greater vision. And they know there’s always room to improve their leadership skills, ideas, and output, so they rely on mutual support with their team members.

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Elizabeth Perry, ACC

Elizabeth Perry is a Coach Community Manager at BetterUp. She uses strategic engagement strategies to cultivate a learning community across a global network of Coaches through in-person and virtual experiences, technology-enabled platforms, and strategic coaching industry partnerships. With over 3 years of coaching experience and a certification in transformative leadership and life coaching from Sofia University, Elizabeth leverages transpersonal psychology expertise to help coaches and clients gain awareness of their behavioral and thought patterns, discover their purpose and passions, and elevate their potential. She is a lifelong student of psychology, personal growth, and human potential as well as an ICF-certified ACC transpersonal life and leadership Coach.

Learn what participative leadership is and how to practice it

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Essay: What is leadership?

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What is leadership?

Introduction :

Leadership, what is leadership? It certainly plays a very important part in our live, everywhere we go, we would eventually to lead or lead by some other people. The definitions of the leadership role vary widely. Some definitions of leadership are based on leader characteristics, some on leader behaviours, still others on outcomes or end results. The general agreement exists that “someone is needed to serve as the agent for guiding and encouraging people to work together.1”. So is leadership really just about influencing the behaviour of others? It is a very difficult question, as leadership has often been described as the art, skill or process of influencing people to work towards the achievement of group, Leadership as a concept is a widely researched concept in an organizational context. From an organizational viewpoint, leadership is vital because it has a very powerful influence on individual and group behaviour.

Leadership is both a process and a property. As a process, leadership involves the use of non coercive influence. As a property, leadership is the set of characteristics attributed to someone who is perceived to use influence successfully. Leadership and Management: Leadership and management are related but not the same. Organizations need both management and leadership if they are to be effective. While leadership is necessary to create and direct change and to help the organization get through tough times, management is necessary to achieve coordination and systematic results. It can also be constrained by the internal system of influence like political influence and environmental contingencies faced by the organization.

The self selection process of persons would tend to work along with organizational selection to limit the range of abilities and behaviors in a given organizational role. It has been frequently presumed that leadership style or behavior is an independent variable that can be produced with proper selection and training. The leader is embedded in a social system, which constrains behavior. Pressures to conform to the expectations of peers, subordinates, and superiors are all relevant in determining actual behavior.

While management without leadership controls all the resources required to maintain the status quo and to ensure that things happen as per established plans, and here we can take the example of the referee who manages a game but does not provide leadership. The referees part is therefore of controlling the resources only to make sure that the rules of the game are followed and that status quo remains in order. On the other hand, leadership combined with management sets a new direction and manages the resources to achieve goals. We can take the example of a newly elected Prime Minister or President who sets sup new directions for a group that manages .

It could be said that there are two extremes to the leadership continuum – on one end would be the harsh and brutal aristocrat while on the other end is a caring, considerate and supportive leader. While there are some leaders who can be identified with just one of these, some manage to adapt themselves based on the situation. However, the success or failure of any of these approaches to leadership depends to a large extent on the organization setting being dealt with. Certain leaders in certain settings can make the difference between enormous success and overwhelming failure. On the other hand, the excessive emphasis on the lower performing employees may have de-motivated the high performing group, and hence led to a deterioration of their performance. Suggested changes in Savita’s behavior She should not try to go overboard with the employee oriented approach and should be moderate in her approach. If she changes her approach slowly but steadily, the employees would be more receptive to her efforts and perceive it as a genuine effort to take their ideas and suggestions into account. The participatory approach towards the lower performing employees would help them to raise.

The role of the first-line manager is ‘to get things done through other people’ but the only way to lead people to carry out a task is to give them the desire to do it, by influencing, by persuading them to reach common goals, by motivating them! A manager or supervisor who possesses those abilities is a leader. Leadership and motivation are two skills essential in any organisation but are not the easiest! Many reaches have been undertaken about those topics and several theories have been developed. MOTIVATION a.Definition The concept of motivation is usually used in organisational contexts. -Motivation is the set of processes that stimulate, guide and sustain human behaviour towards accomplishing some goals. people in particular direction, whereas management describes how the organization can get there. In practice, however, the most effective managers are also leaders. c. The roles of the leader It is obvious that the most important thing in every organization is the profit, which is essential for the survival of the organization, but also the aim goal of every employer (to make as many benefits as possible, to make money!) Profit is the common goal of all the members within the organization, consciously or intentionally. In order to achieve this common goal, every organization needs managers, leaders and of course employees.

Contrary to popular thinking, the term “leadership” is comparetively recent addition to the English language. In fact the word did not come into common usage until the late 19th Century. Although the words “lead” and “leader” have a much longer history, they usually referred only to authority figures. The birth and evolution of the idea of “leadership” focuses on a much more complex concept that reaches beyond the single leader. In fact, contemporary definitions most often reject the idea that leadership revolves around the leader’s ability, behaviors, styles or charisma. Today, scholars discuss the basic nature of leadership in terms of the “interaction” among the people involved in the process: both leaders and followers.

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Essay on leadership: meaning, nature and importance of leadership.

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Essay on Leadership: Meaning, Nature and Importance of Leadership!

“Leadership is the quality of behavior of individuals whereby they guide people or their activities in organising efforts” — Chester I. Barnard

“Leadership is the ability of a superior to induce subordinates to work with confidence and I zeal” — Koontz and ‘Donnell

“Leadership is the process by which an executive imaginatively directs, guides and influences the work of others in attaining specified goals.” — Theo Haimann

Leadership may be defined as a position of power held by an individual in a group, which provides him with an opportunity to exercise interpersonal influence on the group members for miobilising and directing their efforts towards certain goals. The leader is at the centre of group’s power structure, keeps the group together, infuses life into it, moves it towards its goals and maintains its momentum.

He may emerge in a group by virtue of his personality characteristics and qualities or by virtue of common consent by group members. In the latter case, the leader derives his power from the group members. He continues in the leadership position at the pleasure of group members collectively. Leadership position exists in most group settings irrespective of the size of the group.

For example, a leader of national or international standing commands widespread influence over a large number of people while the influence of the leader of a small work group in an organisation is very limited. Both are leaders in their own right and fulfill our definition of leadership.

Leadership is an influential process. The leader is in a position to shape, regulate, control and change the attitudes, behaviour and performance of his group members. The latter are supposed to comply with the former’s desires and directives and partially suspend their own judgment and discretion. There exists a particular relationship between the leader and his group members which is characterised by interpersonal and social interaction.

In a group, the leader and his followers play the roles expected of them and thereby seek to justify their respective positions. Some leaders may be able to play their role effectively whereby they succeed in getting the willing cooperation and commitment of their followers, beyond the normal call of duty.

In any group situation, the leader has a few bases of power by virtue of which he is in a position to influence the behaviour of group members. They are:

(i) Knowledge, information and experience

(ii) Resources for dispensing favours, rewards and penalties

(iii) Formal authority

(iv) Charisma

(v) Distinct personality characteristics like for example, will to dominate, ability to establish rapport, skill to communicate, identity with and understanding of people, decisiveness and soon.

Skillful use of these power bases by a leader is likely to bring success to him; and success in some cases adds to the power of the leader. A successful leader gains more credibility in the eyes of people; they often tend to ignore other deficiencies in him; they resolve to adhere to him and allow themselves to be further exposed to his influence attempts.

In this way some leaders entrench themselves in their positions. Some even misuse their power and often get away with it. Power carries with it an equal amount of responsibility. Leaders who relate their power with responsibility in a consistent manner are more successful in their influence than otherwise.

Importance of Leadership:

The following points highlight the importance of leadership:

(i) Effective direction:

An organisation comes into existence with certain objectives. To attain the objectives, the activities of the organisation must be directed. Direction of the activities is effected through leadership. In short, effective leadership directs the activities of an organisation towards the attainment of the specified organisational goals.

(ii) Source of motivation:

Leadership is the motivating power to group efforts. Effective leadership motivates the subordinates for higher productivity.

(iii) Confidence:

Leadership creates confidence in-the subordinates by giving proper guidance and advice.

(iv) High morale:

Good leadership increases the morale of the employees which, in turn, contributes to higher productivity.

(v) Development of team spirit:

Effective leadership promotes team-spirit and team­work which is quite essential for the success of any organisation.

(vi) Encouraging initiative:

A progressive, forward and democratic minded leader, always encourages initiative on the part of the followers.

(vii) Overcoming resistance to change:

A leader overcomes resistance, if any on the part of followers to organisational changes; through explaining to them the utility of such changes to both—the enterprise and the employees.

Related Articles:

• Leadership: Meaning and Patterns | Society
• Successful Leadership VS Effective Leadership (With Diagram)

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• Aerosol from e-cigarettes can also contain harmful and potentially harmful substances. These include cancer-causing chemicals and tiny particles that can be inhaled deep into lungs. 1
• E-cigarettes should not be used by youth, young adults, or people who are pregnant. E-cigarettes may have the potential to benefit adults who smoke and are not pregnant if used as a complete substitute for all smoked tobacco products. 2 3 4
• Scientists still have a lot to learn about the short- and long-term health effects of using e-cigarettes.

Most e-cigarettes, or vapes, contain nicotine, which has known adverse health effects. 1

• Nicotine is highly addictive. 1
• Nicotine is toxic to developing fetuses and is a health danger for pregnant people. 1
• Acute nicotine exposure can be toxic. Children and adults have been poisoned by swallowing, breathing, or absorbing vaping liquid through their skin or eyes. More than 80% of calls to U.S. poison control centers for e-cigarettes are for children less than 5 years old. 5

Nicotine poses unique dangers to youth because their brains are still developing.

• Nicotine can harm brain development which continues until about age 25. 1
• Youth can start showing signs of nicotine addiction quickly, sometimes before the start of regular or daily use. 1
• Using nicotine during adolescence can harm the parts of the brain that control attention, learning, mood, and impulse control. 1
• Adolescents who use nicotine may be at increased risk for future addiction to other drugs. 1 6
• Youth who vape may also be more likely to smoke cigarettes in the future. 7 8 9 10 11 12

Other potential harms of e-cigarettes

E-cigarette aerosol can contain substances that can be harmful or potentially harmful to the body. These include: 1

• Nicotine, a highly addictive chemical that can harm adolescent brain development
• Cancer-causing chemicals
• Heavy metals such as nickel, tin, and lead
• Tiny particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs
• Volatile organic compounds
• Flavorings such as diacetyl, a chemical linked to a serious lung disease. Some flavorings used in e-cigarettes may be safe to eat but not to inhale because the lungs process substances differently than the gut.

E-cigarette aerosol generally contains fewer harmful chemicals than the deadly mix of 7,000 chemicals in smoke from cigarettes. 7 13 14 However, this does not make e-cigarettes safe. Scientists are still learning about the immediate and long-term health effects of using e-cigarettes.

Dual use refers to the use of both e-cigarettes and regular cigarettes. Dual use is not an effective way to safeguard health. It may result in greater exposure to toxins and worse respiratory health outcomes than using either product alone. 2 3 4 15

Some people who use e-cigarettes have experienced seizures. Most reports to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA ) have involved youth or young adults. 16 17

E-cigarettes can cause unintended injuries. Defective e-cigarette batteries have caused fires and explosions, some of which have resulted in serious injuries. Most explosions happened when the batteries were being charged.

Anyone can report health or safety issues with tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, through the FDA Safety Reporting Portal .

Health effects of vaping for pregnant people

The use of any tobacco product, including e-cigarettes, is not safe during pregnancy. 1 14 Scientists are still learning about the health effects of vaping on pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes. Here's what we know now:

• Most e-cigarettes, or vapes, contain nicotine—the addictive substance in cigarettes, cigars, and other tobacco products. 18
• Nicotine is a health danger for pregnant people and is toxic to developing fetuses. 1 14
• Nicotine can damage a fetus's developing brain and lungs. 13
• E-cigarette use during pregnancy has been associated with low birth weight and pre-term birth. 19 20

Nicotine addiction and withdrawal

Nicotine is the main addictive substance in tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. With repeated use, a person's brain gets used to having nicotine. This can make them think they need nicotine just to feel okay. This is part of nicotine addiction.

Signs of nicotine addiction include craving nicotine, being unable to stop using it, and developing a tolerance (needing to use more to feel the same). Nicotine addiction can also affect relationships with family and friends and performance in school, at work, or other activities.

When someone addicted to nicotine stops using it, their body and brain have to adjust. This can result in temporary symptoms of nicotine withdrawal which may include:

• Feeling irritable, jumpy, restless, or anxious
• Feeling sad or down
• Having trouble sleeping
• Having a hard time concentrating
• Feeling hungry
• Craving nicotine

Withdrawal symptoms fade over time as the brain gets used to not having nicotine.

Nicotine addiction and mental health

Nicotine addiction can harm mental health and be a source of stress. 21 22 23 24 More research is needed to understand the connection between vaping and mental health, but studies show people who quit smoking cigarettes experience: 25

• Lower levels of anxiety, depression, and stress
• Improved positive mood and quality of life

Mental health is a growing concern among youth. 26 27 Youth vaping and cigarette use are associated with mental health symptoms such as depression. 22 28

The most common reason middle and high school students give for currently using e-cigarettes is, "I am feeling anxious, stressed, or depressed." 29 Nicotine addiction or withdrawal can contribute to these feelings or make them worse. Youth may use tobacco products to relieve their symptoms, which can lead to a cycle of nicotine addiction.

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. E-Cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults: A Report of the Surgeon General . Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2016. Accessed Feb 14, 2024.
• Goniewicz ML, Smith DM, Edwards KC, et al. Comparison of nicotine and toxicant exposure in users of electronic cigarettes and combustible cigarettes . JAMA Netw Open. 2018;1(8):e185937.
• Reddy KP, Schwamm E, Kalkhoran S, et al. Respiratory symptom incidence among people using electronic cigarettes, combustible tobacco, or both . Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2021;204(2):231–234.
• Smith DM, Christensen C, van Bemmel D, et al. Exposure to nicotine and toxicants among dual users of tobacco cigarettes and e-cigarettes: Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study, 2013-2014 . Nicotine Tob Res. 2021;23(5):790–797.
• Tashakkori NA, Rostron BL, Christensen CH, Cullen KA. Notes from the field: e-cigarette–associated cases reported to poison centers — United States, April 1, 2022–March 31, 2023 . MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2023;72:694–695.
• Yuan M, Cross SJ, Loughlin SE, Leslie FM. Nicotine and the adolescent brain . J Physiol. 2015;593(16):3397–3412.
• National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Public Health Consequences of E-Cigarettes . The National Academies Press; 2018.
• Barrington-Trimis JL, Kong G, Leventhal AM, et al. E-cigarette use and subsequent smoking frequency among adolescents . Pediatrics. 2018;142(6):e20180486.
• Barrington-Trimis JL, Urman R, Berhane K, et al. E-cigarettes and future cigarette use . Pediatrics. 2016;138(1):e20160379.
• Bunnell RE, Agaku IT, Arrazola RA, et al. Intentions to smoke cigarettes among never-smoking US middle and high school electronic cigarette users: National Youth Tobacco Survey, 2011-2013 . Nicotine Tob Res. 2015;17(2):228–235.
• Soneji S, Barrington-Trimis JL, Wills TA, et al. Association between initial use of e-cigarettes and subsequent cigarette smoking among adolescents and young adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis . JAMA Pediatr. 2017;171(8):788–797.
• Sun R, Méndez D, Warner KE. Association of electronic cigarette use by U.S. adolescents with subsequent persistent cigarette smoking . JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(3):e234885.
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease . Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2010. Accessed Feb 13, 2024.
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: 50 Years of Progress. A Report of the Surgeon General . Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2014. Accessed Feb 12, 2024.
• Mukerjee R, Hirschtick JL, LZ Arciniega, et al. ENDS, cigarettes, and respiratory illness: longitudinal associations among U.S. youth . AJPM. Published online Dec 2023.
• Faulcon LM, Rudy S, Limpert J, Wang B, Murphy I. Adverse experience reports of seizures in youth and young adult electronic nicotine delivery systems users . J Adolesc Health . 2020;66(1):15–17.
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration. E-cigarette: Safety Communication - Related to Seizures Reported Following E-cigarette Use, Particularly in Youth and Young Adults . U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2019. Accessed Feb 14, 2024.
• Marynak KL, Gammon DG, Rogers T, et al. Sales of nicotine-containing electronic cigarette products: United States, 2015 . Am J Public Health . 2017;107(5):702-705.
• Regan AK, Bombard JM, O'Hegarty MM, Smith RA, Tong VT. Adverse birth outcomes associated with prepregnancy and prenatal electronic cigarette use . Obstet Gynecol. 2021;138(1):85–94.
• Regan AK, Pereira G. Patterns of combustible and electronic cigarette use during pregnancy and associated pregnancy outcomes . Sci Rep. 2021;11(1):13508.
• Kutlu MG, Parikh V, Gould TJ. Nicotine addiction and psychiatric disorders . Int Rev Neurobiol. 2015;124:171–208.
• Obisesan OH, Mirbolouk M, Osei AD, et al. Association between e-cigarette use and depression in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2016-2017 . JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(12):e1916800.
• Prochaska JJ, Das S, Young-Wolff KC. Smoking, mental illness, and public health . Annu Rev Public Health. 2017;38:165–185.
• Wootton RE, Richmond RC, Stuijfzand BG, et al. Evidence for causal effects of lifetime smoking on risk for depression and schizophrenia: a Mendelian randomisation study . Psychol Med. 2020;50(14):2435–2443.
• Taylor G, McNeill A, Girling A, Farley A, Lindson-Hawley N, Aveyard P. Change in mental health after smoking cessation: systematic review and meta-analysis . BMJ. 2014;348:g1151.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.   Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report: 2011–2021 . U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2023. Accessed Dec 15, 2023.
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Protecting Youth Mental Health: The U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory . Office of the Surgeon General; 2021. Accessed Jan 5, 2024.
• Lechner WV, Janssen T, Kahler CW, Audrain-McGovern J, Leventhal AM. Bi-directional associations of electronic and combustible cigarette use onset patterns with depressive symptoms in adolescents . Prev Med. 2017;96:73–78.
• Gentzke AS, Wang TW, Cornelius M, et al. Tobacco product use and associated factors among middle and high school students—National Youth Tobacco Survey, United States, 2021 . MMWR Surveill Summ. 2022;71(No. SS-5):1–29.

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Prominent Jesuit: The Society of Jesus is in ‘profound decline’

By Walter Sánchez Silva

ACI Prensa Staff, May 24, 2024 / 10:31 am

Father Julio Fernández Techera, a Jesuit priest and rector of the Catholic University of Uruguay, has written a widely circulated, critical essay about the Society of Jesus warning that the order, founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1534, is in “deep decline.”

The essay by the 57-year-old priest is titled “Ad Usum Nostrorum III” (“For Our Use III”) addressed to his Jesuit brothers. The document, which originally circulated within the Society of Jesus, was recently published by the Spanish journalist Francisco José Fernández de la Cigoña on his blog on Infovaticana .

This is the third document in a series that Fernández began in 2022 when he wrote his initial essay (“Ad Usum Nostrorum”), noting that for a long time he has felt dissatisfied with the situation in the Society of Jesus while making it clear that he is not going through a vocational crisis nor is he thinking about leaving.

He published the second essay a year later, in April 2023. In that text he expressed his appreciation for the many responses he received, also from young Jesuits, and even from some who didn’t agree with him but thanked him for the opportunity to debate and propose a revision of the order.

The third essay by Fernández is dated April 22. The new text has the subtitle “Some Considerations about the ‘De Statu Societatis 2023’ (‘On the State of the Society 2023’),” in reference to the general report produced by the superior general of the Society of Jesus, in this case the Venezuelan priest Arturo Sosa , in collaboration with the procurators (who assess the state of the order), who met in May of last year in Loyola, Spain.

Recent sex abuse scandals 

“The society is experiencing very worrying situations that seem not to have been addressed in the Congregation of Procurators and that do not appear clearly and are not taken up in the ‘De Statu’ report. To give some examples, in December of 2022 we learned about what an Italian Jesuit called the ‘Rupnik Tsunami,’” Fernández noted in his essay.

Marko Rupnik is a priest who was expelled from the Society of Jesus in 2023 — accused since 2018 of having committed serious sexual, spiritual, and psychological abuse against at least 20 women in the Loyola Community that he co-founded in Slovenia — and who continues to appear as a Jesuit and Vatican consultant in the 2024 Pontifical Yearbook.

Fernández then referred to the “scandal” of sexual abuse against minors “ committed by some Jesuits in Bolivia , and the alleged cover-up by several provincials who were accused by the prosecutor’s office of that country. We have had to find out about everything through the press and we have not received a single statement or letter from the General Curia explaining what happened or to ask for prayers for the province of Bolivia.”

The main Jesuit accused in this case is the late Alfonso Pedrajas, known as “Padre Pica,” who kept a diary about the sexual abuse he committed against more than 80 minors in Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador.

A shrinking society

Fernández pointed out in his most recent essay that “other urgent issues that were not dealt with clearly and forcefully are: the drop in the number of admissions to the society, which in the West worsens year by year, as well as the high number of members leaving the order.”

“Recently a friend told me that 72 novices entered his province in the last 10 years. In the same period, the number of Jesuits who left the society in his province were 71,” he said, adding that “in 2023, 314 novices entered the entire society, and 319 died.”

The priest also noted that there are currently 13,995 Jesuits and lamented that “in a few years the society will have disappeared from several European countries and will become insignificant in others in Europe, America, and Oceania.” The only growth is in Africa. In 2013 , there were more than 17,200 Jesuits, which means that in just over 10 years, the Society of Jesus has decreased by more than 3,000 members.

For the Uruguayan priest, “the problem is not only that many die and few enter, but also that we do not know how to retain many of those who enter.”

“The reason why we do not have vocations is not because of the secularized society, the changing times, and a thousand other excuses. The reason is that these conditions of our time have cowed us, they overwhelm us, and we do not know how to respond to today’s challenges with the drive and creativity of yesterday,” he pointed out.

Jesuits currently more akin to a ‘progressive NGO’

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According to Fernández, the vision of the general report on the Society of Jesus “could perfectly be the view of the world of a secular think tank, with ties to a left-wing political party or a progressive NGO [nongovernmental organization].”

“One does not find in that [evaluation] any of the supernatural or transcendent outlook that would be expected from a religious, apostolic, and priestly order,” he lamented.

“There are many signs in the current life of Jesuit ministries, in the documents that are published and the guidelines that are given, that give the impression that we are in an NGO and not in a religious order,” Fernandez pointed out.

In ‘deep decline’ 

As Fernández sees it, the Society of Jesus “is in deep decline. It doesn’t know it, or it doesn’t want to know it, which is the same thing. It wants to believe that this is the situation of all the other realities of the Church that surround it and that therefore it is what it should be.”

In his opinion, the society’s leadership “fears that if it speaks clearly to the entire order, its members will suffer and become discouraged. The leaders “prefer to maintain the fiction that things are going well rather than risk recognizing the religious and apostolic decline of the society.”

Regarding the Jesuits’ 2023 general report, Fernández pointed out that “in this entire long document of more than 24,000 words, the word ‘priest’ never appears and only twice ‘priesthood,’ although only to make a reference distinguishing between priesthood in the society and the diocesan priesthood.”

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“I think our attitude is suicidal: We want vocations for the priesthood in the society, but we don’t want to talk about being priests,” he pointed out.

Toward the end of the essay, Fernández recalls that the Jesuits “have a wonderful and necessary charism for the Church, a religious, apostolic, and priestly charism. We have to recover it and live it with passion, boldness, and generosity.”

“To achieve this it is necessary to speak more freely, express clearly what we experience and think and stop being politically correct.”

In conclusion, Fernández expresses his prayer that God “would grant us in this time a living hope to believe that if we put ourselves in his hands and are faithful, we can still rise again and once again be a great service to his Church.”

ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, contacted the General Curia of the Jesuits in Rome to request its impressions of Fernandez’s essay. As of publication of this article, no response has been received. 

History of apostolic visits

In a piece published in March 2022, the late Cardinal George Pell, under the pseudonym Demos , suggested conducting an apostolic visit or investigation into the Society of Jesus. 

The early 1980s was the last time the Jesuits were investigated. At that time, Pope John Paul II personally intervened in the governance of the society, removing Father Pedro Arrupe from his position as superior general.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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Officials change course amid outrage over bail terms for Indian teen accused in fatal drunk driving accident

By Arshad R. Zargar

May 22, 2024 / 1:37 PM EDT / CBS News

New Delhi — Indian justice officials have changed course amid outrage over the bail terms set for a teenager accused of killing two people while driving a Porsche at high speed while drunk and without a license. The 17-year-old son of a wealthy businessman had been ordered to write a 300-word essay and work with the local traffic police for 15 days to be granted bail — a decision that was made within 15 hours of his arrest.

He is accused of killing two young people while speeding in his luxury car on Sunday in the western Indian city of Pune.

The lenient bail conditions initially imposed by the local Juvenile Justice Board shocked many people, including officials, across India. The local police approached the board with an appeal to cancel his bail and seeking permission to treat the boy, who is just four months shy of his 18th birthday, as an adult, arguing that his alleged crime was heinous in nature.

In 2015, India changed its laws to allow minors between 16 and 18 years of age to be tried as adults if they're accused of crimes deemed heinous. The change was prompted by the notorious 2012  Delhi rape case , in which one of the convicts was a minor. Many activists argued that if he was old enough to commit a brutal rape, he should not be treated as a minor.

On Wednesday night, after three days of outrage over the initial decision, the Juvenile Justice Board canceled the teen's bail and sent him to a juvenile detention center until June 5. It said a decision on whether he could be tried as an adult, which would see him face a more serious potential sentence, would be taken after further investigation.

Late Sunday night, police say the teen, after drinking with friends at two local bars in Pune, left in his Porsche Taycan, speeding through narrow roads and allegedly hitting a motorcycle, sending the two victims — a male and female, both 24-year-old software engineers — flying into the air and killing them.

The parents of both victims have urged authorities to ensure a strict punishment for the teen.

The suspect was first charged with causing death by negligence, but that was changed to a more serious charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. On Wednesday he was also charged with drunk driving offenses.

Police have arrested the suspect's father and accused him of allowing his son to drive despite being underage, according to Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar. The legal age for driving in India is 18. Owners of the two bars where the minor was served alcohol have also been arrested and their premises seized.

"We have adopted the most stringent possible approach, and we shall do whatever is at our command to ensure that the two young lives that were lost get justice, and the accused gets duly punished," Kumar said.

Maharashtra state's Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had described the original decision of the Juvenile Justice Board as "lenient" and "shocking," and called the public outrage a reasonable reaction.

Road accidents claimed more than 168,000 lives in India in 2022. More than 1,500 of those people died in accidents caused by drunk driving, according to Indian government data.

Under Indian law, a person convicted of drunk driving can face a maximum punishment of six months in prison and a fine of about $120 for a first offense. If, however, the drunk driving leads to the death of another person, the offender can face two to seven years in prison.

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World leaders seek unity on AI at virtual summit co-hosted by South Korea, U.K.

The Associated Press

A screen shows an announcement of the AI Seoul Summit in Seoul, South Korea, on Tuesday. Ahn Young-joon/AP hide caption

A screen shows an announcement of the AI Seoul Summit in Seoul, South Korea, on Tuesday.

SEOUL, South Korea — World leaders are expected to adopt a new agreement on artificial intelligence when they gather virtually Tuesday to discuss AI's potential risks but also ways to promote its benefits and innovation.

The AI Seoul Summit is a follow-up to November's inaugural AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park in the United Kingdom, where participating countries agreed to work together to contain the potentially "catastrophic" risks posed by galloping advances in AI.

The two-day meeting — co-hosted by the South Korean and U.K. governments — also comes as major tech companies like Meta, OpenAI and Google roll out the latest versions of their AI models.

On Tuesday evening, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak are to meet other world leaders, industry leaders and heads of international organizations for a virtual conference. The online summit will be followed by an in-person meeting of digital ministers, experts and others on Wednesday, according to organizers.

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"It is just six months since world leaders met at Bletchley, but even in this short space of time, the landscape of AI has changed dramatically," Yoon and Sunak said in a joint article published in South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo newspaper and the U.K.'s online inews site on Monday. "The pace of change will only continue to accelerate, so our work must accelerate too."

While the U.K. meeting centered on AI safety issues, the agenda for this week's gathering was expanded to also include "innovation and inclusivity," Wang Yun-jong, a deputy director of national security in South Korea, told reporters Monday.

Wang said participants will subsequently "discuss not only the risks posed by AI but also its positive aspects and how it can contribute to humanity in a balanced manner."

The AI agreement will include the outcomes of discussions on safety, innovation and inclusivity. according to Park Sang-wook, senior presidential adviser for science and technology for President Yoon.

The leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy democracies — the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Britain – were invited to the virtual summit, along with leaders of Australia and Singapore and representatives from the U.N., the EU, OpenAI, Google, Meta, Amazon and Samsung, according to South Korea's presidential office.

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China doesn't plan to participate in the virtual summit though it will send a representative to Wednesday's in-person meeting, the South Korean presidential office said. China took part in the U.K. summit.

In their article, Yoon and Sunak said they plan to ask companies to do more to show how they assess and respond to risks within their organizations.

"We know that, as with any new technology, AI brings new risks, including deliberate misuse from those who mean to do us harm," they said. "However, with new models being released almost every week, we are still learning where these risks may emerge, and the best ways to manage them proportionately."

The Seoul meeting has been billed as a mini virtual summit, serving as an interim meeting until a full-fledged in-person edition that France has pledged to hold.

Governments around the world have been scrambling to formulate regulations for AI even as the technology makes rapid advances and is poised to transform many aspects of daily life, from education and the workplace to copyrights and privacy. There are concerns that advances in AI could take away jobs, trick people and spread disinformation.

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Developers of the most powerful AI systems are also banding together to set their own shared approach to setting AI safety standards. Facebook parent company Meta Platforms and Amazon announced Monday they're joining the Frontier Model Forum, a group founded last year by Anthropic, Google, Microsoft and OpenAI.

In March, the U.N. General Assembly approved its first resolution on the safe use of AI systems. Earlier in May, the U.S. and China held their first high-level talks on artificial intelligence in Geneva to discuss how to address the risks of the fast-evolving technology and set shared standards to manage it.

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Roses. Butter-poached lobster. Obama cameo. Takeaways from the White House state dinner

WASHINGTON – Gussied up in gowns and sharp suits, guests stepped onto the red carpet as their arrivals were announced at Washington's most lavish affair: a White House state dinner .

On Thursday night, President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden welcomed Kenyan President William Ruto and his wife, Rachel, to the glamorous event filled with pomp and circumstance. State dinners are often viewed as a tool of soft diplomacy used to court leaders of countries with whom a strong partnership is sought.

"We share a strong respect for the history that connects us together," said Biden as he toasted his guests. He then quoted former President Jimmy Carter, who in 1980 hosted President Daniel Arap Moi of Kenya, saying: "Neighbors do not share a border but share beliefs."

Biden announced Thursday that he would work with Congress to designate Kenya as a major “non-NATO Ally” as the U.S. looks to deepen 60 years of official U.S.-Kenya partnership. The designation is granted by the U.S. to countries with close and strategic working relationships with the U.S. military and defense civilians.

Ruto’s trip is the first state visit by a Kenyan president to the United States in two decades and the first by an African leader since 2008. The last African leader to address Congress was Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who spoke in the House chamber in 2006.

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Thursday's state dinner had about 500 attendees and was the sixth hosted by Biden.

Throughout the evening, guests enjoyed musical selections by the Howard Gospel Choir, award-winning country music artist Brad Paisley, and "The President’s Own" the United States Marine Band Chamber Orchestra and the Army and Air Force Strings.

What was the décor like at the state dinner?

American red roses and vibrant fuchsia and purple African orchids were featured throughout in a nod to "unity and friendship" between the United States and Kenya. Glowing candles displayed along the walls of the pavilion made for a cozy ambiance while a suspended centerpiece with 15,000 pieces of layered reflective metallic strips sparkled with gold and silver hues.

The invitees, who ran the gamut from business leaders to movie stars to a couple of former presidents, were ushered into a glass pavilion with over 1,000 glowing candles, where they dined on chilled heirloom tomato soup, fruitwood-smoked beef short ribs, and butter poached-lobster.

The décor for the evening reflects the first lady's love of candlelight which she favors to make guests feel as if they're at home, even when they're part of a large group, said Bryan Rafanelli, the event planner for the evening.

"As guests leave their path illuminated by our one moon," said Biden, during a preview of the décor earlier. "I hope they will be filled with the same warmth that I felt on my visits to Kenya.”

What was on the state dinner menu?

The three-course meal, developed by White House Executive Chef  Cris  Comerford and White House Executive Pastry Chef Susie Morrison, started with a chilled heirloom tomato soup, followed by short ribs and butter-poached lobster with a side of baby kale and sweet corn puree. For dessert, guests were treated to a white chocolate basket with banana ganache and raspberries, peaches, and candied lime zest.

Who were some of the famous guests at the state dinner?

Former President Barack Obama, whose father was Kenyan, made a cameo appearance at the event. His name had not been circulated earlier in the list of attendees. The former president stopped by but did not stay for dinner.

Among other guests at the soiree were former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and actor Sean Penn. There were members of Congress and administration as well as business leaders such as Albert Bourla, the CEO of Pfizer.

Gifts for the Kenyan president and wife

As the official gift, the president and first lady presented the Rutos with a set of rocking chairs produced by a family-owned company in Troutman, North Carolina. The wooden rocking chairs have a cane seat, steam-bent back posts, and personalized inscriptions commemorating the state visit on the armrests.  

Biden also gifted Ruto with the first edition of the book "The Trumpet of Conscience" by Martin Luther King Jr. in a custom leather clamshell case with a hand-tooled inscription commemorating the state visit. The first lady presented Rachel Ruto with a custom pearl and Arizona peridot gemstone necklace that was crafted by a jeweler in Philadelphia.

Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House correspondent for USA TODAY.   You can follow her on X, formerly Twitter, @SwapnaVenugopal