leadership in the workplace essay

Leadership at the Workplace

Core leadership behaviors, leadership style, ethical problems.

Leadership is a very important skill that is not possessed by all; hardly very few people are blessed with this skill. Being a leader is not easy; it poses many challenges, and the person who overcomes these challenges make a successful leader.

A leader instills confidence and provides motivation to the employees, motivation is an extremely important factor, and motivation can easily transform an employee within no time, ones the transformation of the employee takes place, the goals of the company would become much easier to achieve.

This is why motivation is considered to be one of the most important factors, and all most all the companies look for new methods to motivate the employees and to bring out the best out of them. This paper will focus on the different leadership behaviors and the best leadership behavior which should be adopted to meet the company’s goals.

“Jon Howell, in an interview with Sun-News (17 March 2001: 7), states, “A leaders’ behavior must match the situation and the news of his or her followers.” And his summary is very appropriate here:

Leader effectiveness is determined by what people do, not by some inherent personal characteristic… I’m not saying personal characteristics don’t help; they certainly do. But leaders have to adapt their behavioral styles to fit the situations in which they find themselves” (p. 7).

Howell says the good news is most people can learn leader behaviors and learn to recognize situations in which certain behaviors are most important. Howell and Costley (2001) argue for the match of leader behavior, leader traits and characteristics, follower characteristics, and the situation at hand. And there are seven leader types, fit for various behavioral processes and situations in my read of their leader theory:

• Supportive Leaders (those considerate, people-oriented leaders).
• Directive Leaders (fit for repetitive or work spread between sites and for cultures such as Mexico that prefer status well defined.
• Participative leaders such as Dwight Eisenhower, who could tame the Primadonna generals and politicians of WWII, and by careful listening to many voices craft an alliance.
• Reward and punishment leaders (transactional).
• Charismatic (heroic) leaders
• Boundary spanning (network) leaders
• Leaders who build and forge social exchange (also networkers).

And now we have left the obsession with one best style of leadership. There is no universal style. There is, as I have suggested, a dimension of behaviors running between Transactional and Transformational. The behavior school to this point is fixated on the transactional. To find transformational, we must sail to the Isle of the Situation.” (Howell and Costley, 17 March 2009). The same principles of Howell and Costley are elucidated in the paper.

There are mainly five major behavior patterns, namely, supportive behavior, directive behavior, participative behavior, reward and punishment behavior, and charismatic behavior. Every behavior pattern has its own pros and cons.

But the behavior pattern which works out the best undoubtedly rewards and punishment behavior. In this, the terms and conditions are made very clear to the employees; any breach of these terms and conditions result in punishment; on the other hand, if the employee performs well, he/she is rewarded suitably for his/her work. This is probably the best behavior pattern, simply because everything is made crystal clear to the employees.

The harder the employee works, the more will be his/her chances of getting rewarded. This pattern also has some risks involved like if an employee is punished for some mistake, the employee may leave the organization or will keep underperforming for the organization but the biggest positive of this behavior pattern is that if an employee is rewarded that will surely boost the confidence of that employee and with more confidence the employee will be motivated to surpass the expectations of the leader ones more, and this whole process will go on.

Reward works as a stimulus and makes the employee work harder; the appreciation shown by the leader to the employee becomes a huge positive for the employee and gives the employee motivation of the highest order.

The main goal of any leadership behavior is to make sure that the company achieves its goals and reward and punishment behavior acts very effectively in making sure the same, this is exactly why this type of behavior is the most appropriate and suitable in all situations.

“Howell said, Dwight Eisenhower was a superb example of “participative leadership,” especially in his role as supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II.

Eisenhower treated the other Allied leaders with patience, gave each a chance to state his point of view fully and was able to convince his counterparts he approached problems objectively. As a result, he succeeded in uniting the other commanders — several of whom were flamboyant, egotistical men unused to sharing decisions — to reach a common goal.” (NMSU, 17 March 2009)

Eisenhower is a classic example of a leader; he handled everything with ease and made sure he reached his goals; this is how a leader should be. Patience is the key to leadership, had Eisenhower not shown patience; he would not have been as successful as he was.

Patience is the key for any leader, and without patience, it is highly improbable for a leader to be successful. The behavior pattern followed by Eisenhower was participative behavior, in this, the leader gets actively involved in the thick of things, the leader sets an example in front of the other people and provides motivation of the highest order.

Some leaders do not opt this type of leadership thinking that if they involve in themselves in the activities which will also have the employees, it will give an impression that they are weak, so to project themselves strong some leaders never choose participative leadership behavior, but Eisenhower never thought about the negatives of participative leadership and set an example in front of all the leaders of today.

There are ethical problems that the leaders face; these problems arise when the employees forget the ethics which should never be forgotten, ethics, in other words, are values that an employee is expected to stick too in any circumstance. In financial institutions, ethical problems arise because the employees may involve themselves in various scams and other undesirable activities, solely done for the purpose of money.

Such problems can be treated by having a code of ethics, one ethical standard should be followed by everyone, and there should not be double standards, meaning that the code of ethics should not treat employees of different position unequally, all the people working under the leader should be treated equally and the code of ethics should be followed.

All these things can be done by a leader if he/she consciously involves in reflection, in the sense that looking back at ethical issues and keenly finding a way out to deal with the same. It is highly important that the people stick to their morals in order to avoid any ethical problems, a leader can make sure that this happens by reflecting upon the ethical issues and also by talking to the employees.

Howell , JP, Costley , DL 2000. Understanding behaviors for effective leadership

NMSU Professors. In nmsu.edu.

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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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Workplace Leadership Essay

9 December 2023

last updated

Any workplace leadership essay has to focus on specific practices among different environments, covering success stories. Workplace leadership is essential in the workplace for a positive impact on the interaction among employees and relies on many aspects. As a fact, characteristics of good leaders are the correct articulation of issues, coordination of employees, and setting realistic goals. Hence, their actions have a positive impact on employees and the organization as a whole. Obviously, leaders rely on such traits as trust among employees and excellent performance. In contrast, bad leaders, instead, involve people in unethical behaviors and breaches of the company’s policies. Employees’ behaviors result in legal battles, poor performance, and low self-esteem among employees. Therefore, good leadership is important to a company’s success and employee’s development and performance.

Introduction

Leadership at the workplace is essential to bring a positive impact to the organization. First of all, organizations that have good leaders tend to become more successful, in contrast to those that lack effective leadership. Furthermore, good leaders can articulate issues correctly, coordinate employees, and set realistic goals. Though, there also exists bad leadership in organizations that might affect both the employees and the organization as a whole. Despite the fact that good leadership in the workplace is vital, many organizations still struggle to implement this skill, which leads to unethical and immoral behavior.

Traits in Workplace Leadership Essay

The fundamentals of good leadership are good communication, engaging team members, being resourceful, and setting realistic goals. As a fact, good communication involves crafting messages that can be understood by team members. Also, most leaders in this situation ask their employees whether they have questions (Lukens, 2014). Furthermore, it eliminates the toxic environment in the workplace. Successful leadership involves engaging with team members at all levels. Moreover, good leaders need to learn to improve their skills and knowledge continuously. That is because employees tend to look at them whenever they encounter problems. Hence, practicing all the above ensures the success of the organization and the development of employees.

Success Examples

As in any good academic work, you have to have specific examples of success stories in your workplace leadership essay. The case of Apple Company is an example of good leadership. As a result, Apple has been lauded for its different leadership styles. The company has entrenched good practices that have been able to transform the company for the better. For instance, Tim Cook promoted innovation in the workplace (Lashinsky, 2015). Every employee was demanded to innovate, which resulted in numerous changes in the workplace. As a result, his leadership style promoted the inclusion of all the staff.

Definition of Success

Apple leaders have a good vision that guided the company to achieve tremendous success. However, the creative vision challenged the employees to work efficiently to make the vision of the company. Noteworthy, Steve Jobs spent over 12 years cultivating good interrelationship skills with subordinate employees. In retrospect, the strategy contributed to the effectiveness of achieving the goals of the company. Daniels et al. (2014) argued that the most fundamental factor behind the success of the company was the ability of the leaders to handle difficult circumstances efficiently. For example, Steve Jobs was able to mobilize his team members to overcome the difficulty he experienced. Hence, they overcame the economic challenge. Thus, Apple emerged as the best phone company.

Bad Examples

Additionally, it is usually important to include fail narratives in your workplace leadership essay to highlight what problems people might face. Apart from good leadership, there are also cases of bad leadership in workplaces. Bad practices in the workplace can range from misconduct to violation of policies (Joseph, 2010). These practices usually have adverse effects on the employees and the organization as a whole. Poor leadership entails poor communication skills, not engaging employees, not setting realistic goals, and a lack of resourcefulness.

Connection Practice and Workplace Leadership

Finally, it is significant to connect theory to real-life situations, while, in a workplace leadership essay, it would require one to explain how to improve cooperation among teams. In every workplace, some policies bind employers legally. For example, the case of “Romero v. Farstad Shipping (Indian Pacific) Pty Ltd” was about sex discrimination. Ms. Romero, a Fastard Shipping employee, emailed the HR expressing the unfair treatment by the captain while on the ship (Tredwell, 2015). The company dealt with the letter the way they knew best since they did not think it was formal. MRomero also lodged a sex discrimination complaint and even the company’s breach of her contract. Therefore, it was legally binding to the company, and they were found to have breached the contract.

Conclusion on Workplace Leadership Essay

Therefore, it is essential to adopt good leadership skills in the workplace. Thus, the result of such an initiative will help in promoting a better working environment. Additionally, among the benefits that good leadership at the workplace enhances include: cooperation, trust, and increased performance of the organizational goals. However, poor leadership skills have opposite effects on employees and the organization, such as low self-esteem and bad performance. As a result, good leadership in the workplace brings positive effects to the organization and workers.

Hence, this workplace leadership essay is an example of a research paper, which is one of the most complex types of papers to learn. However, one has to acknowledge how to write specific passages of it, how to conduct research, and how to create an outstanding essay, after all. Therefore, this example might be a good guide on how to write research papers as well as how to write papers on workplace leadership essay topics. Also, another example is an essay about leadership or learn how to write an essay on time management in college .

Daniels, D., Hunter, A., McGhie, V., Horn, J. M., Van, J. M., & Van, V. T. (2014). Business communication. Retrieved from https://www.oxford.co.za/book/9780195995268-business-communication#.W5vA4KYzaUl

Joseph, C. (2010). Common workplace ethics violations. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/common-workplace-ethics-violations-2736.html

Lashinsky, A. (2015). Apple’s Tim Cook leads different. Retrieved from http://fortune.com/2015/03/26/tim-cook/

Lukens, M. (2014). Mastering the 4 fundamentals of effective leadership. Retrieved from https://www.fastcompany.com/3035627/mastering-the-4-fundamentals-of-effective-leadership

Tredwell, K. (2015). A dangerous policy: HR policy lands employer in breach of contract. Retrieved from https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=f1b6973d-ace8-4ec4-84b0-4ea321b7d98b

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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

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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?

Related articles.

Reimagining HR: Insights from people leaders

What is leadership: Moving beyond the C-Suite

CEO Excellence

• 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
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• Essay writing
• Writing tips

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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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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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A Professional Guide to Writing an Inspiring Leadership Essay

Quick Navigation

• 1. Leadership Essay – What it Means?
• 2. What Makes a Good Leadership Essay?
• 3. Topics You Can Explore for Writing Leadership Essays
• 4. How to Write a Leadership Essay – Pre-Writing Stage
• 5.1 Introduction
• 5.3 Conclusion
• 6. Leadership Essay Topic Ideas
• 7. Write an Essay That Inspires!

The power of leadership stems from its ability to make an impact on people, earn respect, and put words into action. As a result, students in schools and universities are often tasked with writing leadership essays to recognize the importance of leadership in both personal and professional realms. This assignment not only helps improve writing skills but also challenges critical thinking abilities by encouraging reflection on personal experiences or evaluating the leadership qualities and styles of prominent figures.

This leadership essay writing guide offers suggestions and tips for mastering the craft of leadership essay writing, including focusing on essay structure, clarity of arguments, and content quality. Additionally, this guide provides appealing essay ideas, topic choices, an outline example, and other resources to assist in crafting a thoughtful leadership essay. In case you have no time to write your essay, you can give us a nudge by saying ‘ write my essay ‘ and get well-researched authentic papers crafted by our accomplished writers on any topic.

Leadership Essay – What it Means?

A leadership essay is a type of academic or personal writing that focuses on analyzing, evaluating, or discussing the concept of leadership, its various styles and theories, and the qualities and characteristics of effective leaders. The purpose of a leadership essay may vary depending on the assignment or context, but it typically aims to provide insights into leadership, its importance in organizations and society, and its impact on personal and professional development. A leadership essay may also require the writer to reflect on their own experiences as a leader or evaluate the leadership qualities and style of a prominent leader.

To write a perfect essay on leadership, the writer must define and apply the main concepts of leadership to real-life situations. This involves researching the history of the term and the various leadership styles employed worldwide. The essay must also evaluate the researched information and its application to human behavior and attitudes. Personal strengths and weaknesses in communication and daily interactions with others should be assessed. This format is commonly required for entering a business administration major in college, with the goal being to understand personal traits as a leader and explain them in writing. Remember, the key to writing a good leadership essay is to write about something that will inspire your readers.

What Makes a Good Leadership Essay?

A good leadership essay should have a clear and concise thesis statement that outlines the main argument of the essay. It should also provide relevant and credible evidence to support the argument, such as real-life examples and data. The essay should be well-organized, with a logical structure that guides the reader through the argument.

In addition, a good leadership essay should demonstrate the writer’s critical thinking skills and ability to analyze and evaluate information. The essay should also showcase the writer’s writing skills, including their ability to use appropriate language, grammar, and style.

Finally, a good leadership essay should offer insights and perspectives that are unique and thought-provoking. It should encourage the reader to think more deeply about the concept of leadership and its significance in personal and professional contexts.

Topics You Can Explore for Writing Leadership Essays

A leadership essay can cover a wide range of topics related to leadership. Here are some examples of potential topics:

• Leadership styles and theories: Explore the different styles and theories of leadership, such as transformational, situational, autocratic, and democratic leadership, and discuss their strengths and weaknesses.
• Qualities of effective leaders: Discuss the key qualities and characteristics that make an effective leader, such as integrity, empathy, vision, communication, and decision-making abilities.
• Diversity and inclusion in leadership: Discuss the importance of diversity and inclusion in leadership, and analyze the impact that inclusive leadership can have on organizational culture, productivity, and innovation.
• Leadership and ethics: Analyze the relationship between leadership and ethics, and discuss the importance of ethical leadership in creating a positive impact on society.
• Women in leadership: Discuss the challenges that women face in leadership roles and analyze the impact that increasing gender diversity in leadership can have on organizations and society.
• Leadership and innovation: Analyze the role of leadership in promoting innovation and discuss the qualities that effective leaders possess to foster a culture of innovation.
• The role of leadership in change management: Discuss the importance of leadership in managing change within an organization, and analyze the strategies that leaders can use to effectively implement change.

These are just a few examples of potential topics for a leadership essay. Depending on your interests and experiences, you can choose a topic that resonates with you and allows you to showcase your knowledge and insights on leadership. Additionally, you can talk about your personal experience in your leadership essay. Here are some examples of how you can do that:

• Using personal experiences to illustrate your points: Here you can discuss how personal experiences can be used to illustrate key points in your essay. For example, if you are writing about the importance of effective communication in leadership, you can draw on a personal experience where you witnessed or demonstrated effective communication skills.
• Reflecting on what you have learned about leadership from your experiences: You can talk about the importance of reflecting on what you have learned about leadership from your personal experiences. For example, if you are writing about the qualities of an effective leader, you can reflect on how your own experiences have taught you the importance of those qualities.
• Tying personal experiences back to the broader topic and argument of your essay: In this section, you can discuss how to ensure that your personal experiences are tied back to the broader topic and argument of your essay. For example, if you are writing about the role of leadership in promoting diversity and inclusion, you can use personal experience to illustrate how a leader’s actions can impact diversity and inclusion in the workplace or society.

Whether you need a hand with writing a critical essay or a thematic essay, let us know and we will assist you.

How to Write a Leadership Essay – Pre-Writing Stage

The first step in composing a leadership essay is to understand what leadership means. Leadership can be defined as the ability to influence others toward a common goal. A leader is someone who inspires, motivates, and guides others toward achieving success.

Step 1: Define Good Leadership

Before beginning to write an essay online , take a moment to contemplate the defining characteristics of exceptional leadership. Consider the essential and impactful qualities of a great leader, such as the ability to inspire and motivate others, lead by example, and possess integrity, empathy, accountability, responsibility, humility, resilience, vision, influence, and optimism. If you are writing about yourself, reflect on your qualities as a leader. On the other hand, if you are writing about a prominent leader, conduct thorough research on the individual to gain insight into what makes them a great leader and why they are so effective in their role. Additionally, when writing about a successful leader, be sure to analyze the various leadership styles they employ.

Step 2: Select an Inspiring Topic

The key factor in creating a good leadership essay lies in selecting an appropriate topic. If you are writing a biography of a successful and prominent leader, it is crucial to focus on their leadership qualities and on what makes them an effective leader. The topic should align with the objectives of the essay and highlight your writing strengths. Conducting thorough research and reflecting on your leadership traits can help you identify a suitable topic.

To make your essay more compelling, you can compare and contrast different leadership styles, such as authoritarian and democratic approaches. It is essential to choose a topic that emphasizes the importance and relevance of your essay. The essay should also focus on practical strategies that can be applied in real-life situations to develop effective leadership skills. Providing examples of how your essay can be used to support future practice and study can also be beneficial.

Step 3: Researching Your Topic

Once you have chosen your topic, the next step is to research it thoroughly. This will help you to develop a deeper understanding of the subject and to identify key ideas and arguments that you can include in your essay.

• Determine your research question: Before conducting research, it’s essential to determine your research question. This will help to focus your research and ensure that you gather the information that is relevant to your essay topic. Your research question should be specific, clear, and concise.
• Use credible sources: You can research your topic by reading books, articles, and other relevant sources, as well as by conducting interviews with experts in the field.
• Consider multiple perspectives: When conducting research, consider multiple perspectives. This will help to provide a balanced view of your topic and ensure that you consider different opinions and viewpoints.
• Take notes: Take notes while conducting research. This will help to keep track of the information you gather and ensure that you don’t forget any critical points.
• Organize your research materials: It’s essential to organize your research materials to make it easier to access and use the information you gather. Some effective strategies for organizing research materials include creating an annotated bibliography or using a citation manager like Zotero or EndNote.
• Review and analyze your research: After gathering your research materials, review and analyze the information. Identify key themes, arguments, and evidence that support your essay’s main points.

Step 4: Create an Outline and Write the First Draft

Once you have gathered your research materials, it’s time to organize them in the form of an essay outline . To organize your thoughts and prepare for writing your leadership essay, it’s essential to create an outline. This involves summarizing and arranging all the information you’ve gathered into an organized structure that will guide your writing. The essay can follow a standard five-paragraph format or have additional body paragraphs as required. The outline should include the following sections:

• Introduction: Start with a hook to capture the reader’s interest and provide a clear thesis statement that highlights the main argument you’ll discuss in the essay.
• Body paragraphs: Include three to four paragraphs, each presenting a unique perspective that supports your argument. Use examples, evidence, statistics, anecdotes, and other supporting details to connect each paragraph to the thesis statement.
• Conclusion: Wrap it up by summarizing the key points discussed, reiterate the thesis statement, and with a strong statement that reinforces your opinion on what good leadership is and the importance of developing leadership skills.

Once you have organized your thoughts into an outline, you can begin writing your essay. In the next section, we have provided a thorough structure and an idea of how to write the introduction, body, and conclusion of a leadership essay.

Step 5: Editing and Proofreading

Once you have written your essay adhering to the outline, the next step is to edit and proofread it. This involves reviewing your essay for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors, as well as for clarity and coherence.

Crafting a Leadership Essay – Complete Structure

Introduction.

• The introduction of a leadership essay is critical as it sets the tone for the entire paper and establishes the reader’s expectations. To make it engaging and persuasive, a hook sentence is essential. The first two sentences of the introduction should demonstrate the quality of the content and captivate the reader’s attention. It’s crucial to personalize the text by connecting it to your knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Incorporating a story in the introduction can also pique the reader’s interest by providing a background that will be further explored in the body paragraphs of the essay.
• If you are wondering how to title an essay , keep in mind to choose a title that is both attention-grabbing and informative. You may include a hook phrase that accurately reflects the content and avoid clichés.
• The introduction of a leadership essay should provide background information on the topic and set the stage for the rest of the essay. One way to do this is by providing a brief history of leadership and its evolution over time. This can help the reader understand how leadership has changed and developed, and how it is viewed in different contexts and cultures.
• The thesis statement in a leadership essay introduction should clearly state the main point or argument that will be discussed in the essay. It should be concise and specific, providing a roadmap for the reader to understand what the essay will cover.
• Example of a hook statement in a leadership essay:

Quotation hook: As John C. Maxwell once said, “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”

Interesting Fact Hook: Did you know that Martin Luther King Jr. was only 26 years old when he led the Montgomery Bus Boycott and became one of the most iconic leaders of the civil rights movement?

Statistic Hook: According to a recent study, companies with a gender-diverse leadership team are 21% more likely to outperform their peers in profitability.

• Background information on leadership:

The study of leadership and its evolution can be traced back to the ancient philosopher Socrates, but it wasn’t until the 1930s that scientists began delving deeper into its development and impact.

• Thesis statement example for a leadership essay:

“Effective leadership requires a combination of personal qualities, such as integrity and empathy, and practical skills, such as communication and decision-making, to inspire and guide individuals towards a common goal.”

This thesis statement sets up the argument that leadership is a multifaceted concept that involves both personal and practical elements.

The body paragraphs of a leadership essay should contain the main arguments or points that support the thesis statement. Each paragraph should focus on a single idea and provide evidence, examples, facts, or statistics to support the argument. It is important to organize the body of the essay logically and clearly, such as through chronological order, cause and effect, or problem and solution.

Some possible topics for the body of a leadership essay could include discussing different leadership styles, examining the qualities of effective leaders, exploring the challenges of leadership, or analyzing a specific leader and their impact on their organization or society. Discuss respective topic sentences in individual paragraphs along with supporting statements and evidence and make sure to stick to the thesis statement.

The conclusion paragraph of a leadership essay should effectively summarize the main points of the essay and restate the thesis statement in a different way. It should also provide a final thought or message to the reader, leaving them with a lasting impression. The conclusion can also include a call to action, encouraging the reader to apply the leadership principles discussed in the essay to their own life or work. Additionally, it can suggest areas for further research or discussion on the topic of leadership. A well-written conclusion should leave the reader feeling satisfied and informed, with a clear understanding of the importance of good leadership.

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Leadership Essay Topic Ideas

Some various topics and sub-topics fall under the broad subject of leadership. If you are looking for some inspiration for your leadership essay, then here are some brilliant ideas that are worth exploring:

• Authentic Leadership: What it Means and Why it Matters
• A Comparative Analysis of Leadership Styles: Democratic vs. Authoritarian Leadership
• Servant Leadership: A Model for Effective Leadership in Modern Organizations
• The Importance of emotional intelligence in effective leadership
• The Impact of Leadership on organizational culture and employee satisfaction
• The challenges of ethical leadership in modern organizations
• The Role of Resilience in effective leadership
• The Impact of Diversity on Leadership and organizational success
• The relationship between leadership and innovation in the workplace.
• Overcoming Adversity: Lessons from Great Leaders Who Have Faced Challenges
• Examples of effective and ineffective leadership in the history
• The Role of Effective Communication in Leadership
• Exploring Transformational Leadership in the Workplace
• American Civil War Strategy and Leadership
• Contemporary Issues in Management: Gender and Leadership
• Impact of Gender Differences on Leadership Styles
• Authentic leadership: being true to yourself while leading others
• The Impact of Globalization on leadership practices
• Cross-cultural leadership: adapting to different cultural norms
•  A time when you displayed your leadership skills

Write an Essay That Inspires!

A well-crafted leadership essay should be inspirational and relatable. Writing such an essay requires a deep understanding of the subject matter and a careful selection of words and phrases that can effectively convey your ideas. At PenMyPaper, we understand the challenges of crafting a compelling leadership essay, and we are here to help. Our team of professional experts is dedicated to delivering high-quality essays that meet your specific requirements, exceed your expectations, and are delivered within your desired timeframe and budget.

• Annotated Bibliography
• Argumentative
• Book Reviews
• Case Studies
• Communication and Media
• Computer Technologies
• Consideration
• Environment
• Explanation
• Informative
• Personal Experience
• Research Proposals

Leadership in the Workplace

Leadership is a very important aspect in any group activity but in some occasions it can fail and jeopardize the smooth running of an institution or a group.  I have personally failed to meet my expectations in my roles as a leader of a group and have attributed this several factors such as shifting my focus due to unimportant issues, concentrating on other peoples work, lack of development on self. Another cause of my leadership failure was poor communication, which resulted from disorientation due to lack of focus, my followers could not possibly understand my intention. I also feared taking some risks and this made me to take some unreasonable actions. I had also developed a tendency  to do only what I had previously tried or has been proven to work and I failed to attempt new innovations which were not key to my initial success.

My credibility as a leader was also wanting and as we all know, when the integrity of a leader ceases the achievement of results becomes more important than the means used to achieve them. I had been manipulating my followers due to lose of empathy as I had lost empathy and in turn they felt used up or taken for granted. My self management was poor as a leader and it resulted in fatigue and stress and it was worsened by insensitive people surrounding me. The perception that leaders are superhuman and running on unlimited energy by others worsened it and I failed to take care of my physical, psychological spiritual and emotional needs. I had also moved away from my initial dream due to lack of fulfillment and fun in my work being due to lack of motivation and I lost fulfillment in leadership.

Let’s find out together!

The most likely reason for my failure was shifting my focus on what was initially important. Whatever jump started me to the top was lost and I was distracted by leadership trappings such as notoriety, praise and fame. I started thinking small due to my focus shift and lost my ability as leader to think big. I micromanaged, got consumed by unimportant things and lost contact with what is happening on the ground, my tendency to perfection (Cole, 2010) worsened this. My inner vision and character made me to be action oriented and I lost touch with development of myself.

My possible solutions to my shift in focus were to focus on several aspects of leadership. I maintained group cohesion by increasing team building activities which ensured the workers were motivated. I also improved their working conditions and ensured I rendered humble services to my followers. Details were organized such that events were scheduled and possible problems could be foreseen. I no longer feared competition from my followers after realizing that in order to achieve my goals work duties must be shared and that I can not do all the work on my own. I also became more imaginative in handling emergencies and on planning how to effectively guide my followers. I gave credit to my followers for what has been achieved because they took part and in return they worked hard .I increased my loyalty to avoid distrust in the team. I also exercised my authority as a leader without instilling fear among the followers.

My proposed solutions worked out well because I looked at myself honestly and after finding out my problems I took the necessary actions. This helped me to avoid any looming disaster and further leadership failure henceforth. It also helped me to sustain a leadership that is healthy and also fulfilling to myself and followers. I also involved my followers in the evaluation my leadership which provided a picture of my failures from an outsider's point of view.

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The disparity between success in the workplace and failure in the workplace highly depends on the effectiveness of leadership. Leadership determines whether the organization will make profits or losses or whether it will ultimately achieve or not achieve its laid down objectives. Effective leadership is more than just mere managing and supervising people, assigning tasks, setting decisions and financial administration. Leadership that will see to it that the organization achieves its core mandate and creation of a healthy working environment involves motivating, stimulating, instilling confidence, heartening, building constructive communication and building healthy working relationships.

A leader who wants to succeed in taking the organization to its aspired level must ensure that they believe in the power of teamwork and should develop skills aimed at building and enhancing teamwork. The leader should be flexible such that the leadership style suits different contexts and scenarios and different categories of individuals. Among the chief challenges facing a leader is solving problems within the work place. The problems ranges from financial, administration, resource allocation, people problem among others. Since a leader deals with individuals who are so much different, the leader is prone to encounter hard times dealing with various problems and this becomes the test of leadership. An open mind, integrity that entails trust and respect and a sound ethical system, and good communication skills will be so much important in moments of solving problems.

Leadership involves laying out objectives and combining financial, capital and human resources through the process of achieving the goals. A leader ought to set a performance plan. A performance plan is a tool that is used in the management process; it sets the arena for the individual or organization success. It entails setting expectations and goals so that the individuals will channel their energy and resources towards achieving the laid down objectives. Clear communication of performance standards, goals and objectives is paramount in the processes to ensure its success. At the same time each member of the team should know their job, overall responsibility and the required results and how they fit in the main organization's plan.

A performance plan assists in building partnership between various stakeholders, it sets the phases of success, identifies what workers and leaders ought to do to achieve the objectives and makes it easy to evaluate performance.  A clear specification of the desired results should be stipulated and the time frame of achieving the results, the results expected should directly contribute to the mandate of the organization. The plan also stipulates the measures that will be adopted in case the results are achieved or not achieved; standards and tools of evaluating performance ought to be put in place.

A performance plan is an important aspect of building team work; it details the process of combining all the efforts to achieve the organizations goals. In additional provides opportunities for continuing employee professional and personal development. A flawless performance plan helps workers develop responsible, dynamic, meaningful and participatory teamwork.

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

• Updated on  
• 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. 

This Blog Includes:

Essay on leadership in 100 words, essay on leadership in 200 words, essay on leadership in 300 words.

Also Read – Essay on Summer Vacation

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. 

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

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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Home — Essay Samples — Business — Accountability — The Required Managerial Skills: Flexibility Accountability and Leadership in the Workplace

The Required Managerial Skills: Flexibility Accountability and Leadership in The Workplace

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Leadership at Work and Its Implementation Essay

Leadership at work, the three leadership theories.

From the movie, “Change is good”, I have learned that change can influence my leaderships at work in the following three ways:

• Promoting employees’ morale – Effective leadership requires the involvement of all the people affected by an undertaking in the workplace so that they can share their opinions regarding the proposed event.
• Improving communication with the staff- To get enough support regarding a new idea in the workplace, designated leaders should put in place appropriate channels of communication and feedback so that individuals in various departments and positions have an opportunity to express themselves.
• Improving employees’ commitment to an idea- The association of a change process with rewards enhances people’s resolve to ensure the adoption and implementation of an idea in the workplace.

For example, the staff was more receptive to the idea of increased working hours after deliberations in which they proposed an hourly payment for extra hours. Furthermore, while the management had proposed the addition of two hours to the standard working schedule, the staff reached a consensus that they could work for more hours on an hourly system of payment.

Change can influence my personal life in the following two ways:

• Adopting a consultative approach in dealing with acquaintances – Consultation with family members and friends eliminates conflicts and disagreements, which have detrimental effects on relationships.
• Identifying and nurturing the strengths of my colleagues – Operating within an all-encompassing framework helps one to gain insights on the talent and traits of various people, which is a great aspect of promoting teamwork.

For example, being open and personal with the subordinate staff helped to address the frustrations associated with social comparison and the supposed expectations of other people regarding the junior staff.

The three leadership theories and their implementation are as follows:

• Path-goal theory- I will implement this leadership theory by frequently organizing meetings between the management and workers in various departments to get an overview of employees’ concerns, which would allow the adoption of both short-term and long-term measures to ensure a highly motivated workforce (Northouse, 2009). Spending time with employees in the operations and maintenance department will allow a proper assessment of their working conditions and correction of deficiencies to ensure an improvement in unit performance. The path-goal theory emphasizes the need for a leader to be active in creating an enabling environment for his followers.
• Leader-member exchange theory- I will implement this theory by adopting lateral and diagonal forms of communication to ensure that members of staff, irrespective of their position within the organization, can express their sentiments to departmental heads and the top management, and get feedback within a reasonable time. Organizing seminars for mentoring junior staff creates an environment for interaction in which employees reciprocate respect to their leaders and commit to the performance. The leader-member theory ensures the existence of an open channel through which leaders nurture talents and ideas.
• Situational theory- I will implement this theory by reaching an agreement with departmental heads and supervisors to allow an environment in which employees have room for innovation and creativity when performing their duties. Employees in the IT department requires a lot of free space and time to put their ideas into practice and adjusting to the routine is crucial to the realization of applications and programs fostered towards the efficient operation of an organization. The situational theory demands flexibility in the scope of leadership to ensure the optimization of diverse situations.

Northouse, P. G. (2009). Introduction to leadership: concepts and practice . Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

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Trump’s Backers Are Determined Not to Blow It This Time Around

By Thomas B. Edsall

Mr. Edsall contributes a weekly column from Washington, D.C., on politics, demographics and inequality.

In a rare display of unity, more than 100 conservative tax-exempt organizations have joined forces in support of Donald Trump and the MAGA agenda, forming a $2 billion-plus political machine.

Together, these organizations are constructing a detailed postelection agenda, lining up prospective appointees and backing Trump in his legal battles.

Most of the work performed by these nonprofit groups is conducted behind closed doors. Unlike traditional political organizations, these groups do not disclose their donors and must reveal only minimal information on expenditures. In many cases, even this minimal information will not be available until after the 2024 election.

Nonprofits like these are able to maintain a cloak of secrecy by positioning themselves as charitable organizations under section 501(c)(3 ) of the tax code or as social welfare organizations under section 501(c)(4 ).

Not only are these tax-exempt organizations attractive to large contributors who want to keep their roles secret; 501(c)(3) groups have an added benefit: Donors can deduct their gifts from their taxable incomes.

The benefits don’t end there. The minimal reporting requirements imposed on political nonprofits lend themselves to self-dealing, particularly the payment of high salaries and consulting fees, and the award of contracts to for-profit companies owned by executives of the charitable groups.

“The growth of these groups is largely flying under the radar,” Sean Westwood , a political scientist at Dartmouth, wrote by email in response to my inquiry. “This level of coordination is unprecedented.”

Theda Skocpol , a professor of government and sociology at Harvard, replying by email to my inquiry, wrote, “These are detailed plans to take full control of various federal departments and agencies from the very start and to use every power available to implement radical ethnonationalist regulations and action plans.”

This activity, Skocpol continued, amounts to a “full prep for an authoritarian takeover, buttressed by the control Trump and Trumpists now have over the G.O.P. and its apparatuses.”

In this drive by the right to shape policy, should Trump win, there are basically three power centers.

The first is made up of groups pieced together by Leonard Leo , a co-chairman of the Federalist Society, renowned for his role in the conservative takeover of the Supreme Court and of many key posts in the federal and state judiciaries.

If cash is the measure, Leo is the heavyweight champion. Two years ago, my Times colleagues Kenneth P. Vogel and Shane Goldmacher disclosed that a little-known Chicago billionaire, Barre Seid , who made his fortune manufacturing electronic equipment, turned $1.6 billion over to the Marble Freedom Trust , a tax-exempt organization created by Leo in 2021, helping to turn it into a powerhouse.

The second nexus of right-wing tax-exempt groups is the alliance clustered on Capitol Hill around the intersection of Third Street Southeast and Independence Avenue — offices and townhouses that fashion themselves as Patriots’ Row .

Former Trump campaign aides, lawyers and executive appointees, including Mark Meadows , Stephen Miller , Edward Corrigan and Cleta Mitchell , run these organizations. After Trump was defeated in 2020, the cash flow to these groups surged.

The third center is coordinated by the Heritage Foundation , which, under the leadership of Kevin D. Roberts , who assumed its presidency in 2021, has become a committed ally of the MAGA movement.

Heritage, in turn, has created Project 2025 in preparation for a potential Trump victory in November. In a statement of purpose, the project declared:

It is not enough for conservatives to win elections. If we are going to rescue the country from the grip of the radical left, we need both a governing agenda and the right people in place, ready to carry this agenda out on Day 1 of the next conservative administration.

There are more than 100 members of Project 2025, and they include not only most of the Patriots’ Row groups but also much of the Christian right and the anti-abortion movement.

In the view of Lawrence Rosenthal , the chairman and founder of the Berkeley Center for Right-Wing Studies, the convergence of so many conservative organizations leading up to the 2024 election marks a reconciliation, albeit partial, between the two major wings of the Republican Party: the more traditional market fundamentalists and the populist nationalists.

“In 2024,” Rosenthal wrote by email,

the free-market fundamentalists are making their peace on a more basic level than simply tax cuts. Their historic long-term goal — rolling back the federal government to pre-New Deal levels — corresponds to the nationalists’ goal of “deconstruction of the administrative state.” This is what the likes of the now thoroughly MAGA-fied Heritage Foundation is putting together. Recasting the administrative state as the “deep state,” a veritable launchpad for conspiracy-mongering innuendo, easily brings the populists along for the ride despite a “What’s the Matter With Kansas”-like abandonment of their own economic interests on the part of a sector of the population particularly dependent on the range of targets like Social Security and Medicare that the administrative-state deconstructors have in their sights. In return the populists are seeing avatars of Christian nationalism in unprecedented roles of political power — to wit, the current speaker of the House.

The populist-nationalist wing has an agenda that “goes beyond what the free-market fundamentalists have had in mind,” Rosenthal continued:

The model here is by now explicitly Orbanism in Hungary — what Viktor Orban personally dubbed “illiberal democracy.” By now, MAGA at all levels — CPAC, media, Congress, Trump himself — has explicitly embraced Orban. Illiberal regimes claim legitimacy through elections but systematically curtail civil liberties and checks and balances, structurally recasting political institutions so as to make their being voted out of office almost unrealizable.

The centerpiece of Leo’s empire of right-wing groups is the Marble Freedom Trust. The trust described its mission in a 2022 report to the I.R.S.: “To maintain and expand human freedom consistent with the values and ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.”

In 2016, according to an April 2023 I.R.S. complaint against Leo filed by the Campaign for Accountability , a liberal reform advocacy group, Leo created a consulting company, BH Group, and in 2020 acquired a major ownership interest in CRC Advisors . Both are for-profit entities based in Virginia.

The Campaign for Accountability’s complaint alleges that “Leo-affiliated nonprofits” paid BH Group and CRC Advisors a total of $50.3 million from 2016 to 2020. During this period, according to the complaint, Leo’s lifestyle changed:

In August 2018, he paid off the 30-year mortgage on the McLean, Va., home, most of which was still outstanding on the payoff date. Later that same year, Leonard Leo bought a $3.3 million summer home with 11 bedrooms in Mount Desert, an affluent seaside village on the coast of Maine, using, in part, a 20-year mortgage of $2,310,000. Leonard Leo paid off the entire balance of that mortgage just one year later in July 2019. In September 2021, Leonard Leo bought a second home in Mount Desert for $1.65 million.

The complaint was based partly on a March 2023 Politico story by Heidi Przybyla. She wrote that her “investigation, based on dozens of financial, property and public records dating from 2000 to 2021, found that Leo’s lifestyle took a lavish turn beginning in 2016,” citing Leo’s purchases of the Maine properties, along with “four new cars, private school tuition for his children, hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to Catholic causes and a wine locker at Morton’s Steakhouse.”

In October 2023, Przybyla disclosed (also in Politico ) that Leo was refusing to cooperate with an investigation by Brian Schwalb , the attorney general for the District of Columbia, “for potentially misusing nonprofit tax laws for personal enrichment.”

In a study covering more recent data , Accountable US , another liberal reform group, reported that from 2020, when Leo acquired a share of CRC Advisors, to 2022, seven “groups with immediate ties to Leo’s network have made payments totaling at least $69.77 million to CRC Advisors.”

Those figures were confirmed by Bloomberg’s Emily Birnbaum , who reported that “the sums paid to CRC Advisors by seven nonprofit groups have doubled since Leo came aboard as co-owner and chairman in 2020.”

Leo defended the payments, telling Bloomberg that criticism of the money flowing to CRC Advisors is “baseless” and that CRC performs high-quality work. “CRC Advisors employs nearly 100 best-in-class professionals that put its clients’ money to work,” he told Bloomberg.

In the drive to set the stage for a future Trump administration, the second conservative power center is dominated by the Conservative Partnership Institute , which coordinates its own pro-Trump network.

From 2018 to 2020, the Conservative Partnership was a minor player in Washington’s right-wing community. In that period, according to its 990 report to the I.R.S., its revenues totaled $16.9 million. In the next two years, donations shot up to $80.7 million.

Seven executives at the partnership in 2022 made in excess of $300,000 a year, topped by Meadows, Trump’s last White House chief of staff, whose annual compensation at the Conservative Partnership totaled $889,687 in 2022.

The Conservative Partnership and allied groups do not disclose donors, and none of the data on how much they raised and spent in 2023 and 2024 — or the identities of grant recipients — will be available before Nov. 5, 2024, Election Day.

The Conservative Partnership, like many of its sister groups, filed its 990 reports to the I.R.S. for 2020, 2021 and 2022 on Nov. 15 of each following year. If that pattern continues, its reports covering 2023 and 2024 will not be filed until Nov. 15 of the next year.

The partnership lists its address as 300 Independence Avenue Southeast in Washington, a three-story office building on Patriots’ Row that was originally the German-American Building Association.

Groups using the same mailing address include the Center for Renewing America (“God, country and community are at the heart of this agenda”), the Election Integrity Network (“Conservative leaders, organizations, public officials and citizens dedicated to securing the legality of every American vote”), Compass Legal Group , American Creative Network (“We will redefine the future of media-related conservative collaboration”), the American Accountability Foundation (“Exposing the truth behind the people and policies of the Biden administration that threaten the freedoms of the American people”), America First Legal (“Fighting back against lawless executive actions and the radical left”), Citizens for Renewing America and Citizens for Sanity (“To defeat ‘wokeism’ and anti-critical-thinking ideologies that have permeated every sector of our country”).

Since it was formed in 2020, Stephen Miller’s America First Legal foundation has been a case study in rapid growth. In its first year, it raised $6.4 million. In 2021 this rose to $44.4 million and to $50.8 million in 2022.

America First lawyers wrote two of the amicus briefs arguing to the Supreme Court that Trump should be restored to Colorado’s ballot . In one of the briefs , America First defended Trump’s actions and language on Jan. 6, 2021:

President Trump did not “engage in” insurrection. To engage in something is to take an active, personal role in it. Comparisons in modern language abound. When news emerges that nations have “engaged in military exercises,” one expects to read that “ships and planes” have been deployed, not tweets or press releases. Similarly, if someone has been described as “engaging in violence,” one expects that the person being spoken about has himself used force on another — not that he has issued some taunt about force undertaken by a third party. Engaging in a matter and remarking publicly about it are not the same, even with matters as weighty as wars or insurrections.

While the Heritage Foundation had relatively modest revenues of $95.1 million in 2022, according to its I.R.S. filing , its Project 2025 has become an anchor of the MAGA movement.

Trump has said he does not feel bound to accept all of the Project 2025 proposals, but the weight of institutional support from the right and Trump’s lack of interest in detailed planning suggest that those proposals may well shape much of the agenda in the event of a Trump victory.

The authors of Project 2025 want to avoid a repetition of 2017, when Trump took office with scant planning and little notion of who should be appointed to key positions.

Spencer Chretien , an associate director of Project 2025, put this concern delicately in a January 2023 essay published by The American Conservative , pointedly avoiding any criticism of Trump:

In November 2016, American conservatives stood on the verge of greatness. The election of Donald Trump to the presidency was a triumph that offered the best chance to reverse the left’s incessant march of progress for its own sake. Many of the best accomplishments, though, happened only in the last year of the Trump administration, after our political appointees had finally figured out the policies and process of different agencies, and after the right personnel were finally in place.

One function of the project is to put as much ideological muscle as possible behind Trump to ensure that if he wins the White House again, he does not wander afield.

From the vantage point of the right, that muscle is impressive, ranging from Oren Cass’s populist American Compass to Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America , from the tradition-minded American Conservative to the Independent Women’s Forum .

In the foreword to the project’s nearly 1,000-page description of its 2025 agenda, “ Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise ,” Roberts, the president of Heritage, wrote:

This book is the work of the entire conservative movement. As such, the authors express consensus recommendations already forged, especially along four broad fronts that will decide America’s future: 1. Restore the family as the centerpiece of American life and protect our children. 2. Dismantle the administrative state and return self-governance to the American people. 3. Defend our nation’s sovereignty, borders and bounty against global threats. 4. Secure our God-given individual rights to live freely — what our Constitution calls “the blessings of liberty.”

Perhaps the most impressive part of Project 2025 is the detailed and ideologically infused discussion of virtually every federal department and agency, all guided by the goal of instituting conservative policies.

Take the 53-page chapter, including 87 footnotes, focused on the Department of Health and Human Services, written by Roger Severino , the vice president for domestic policy at Heritage. The top priority of the department in January 2025, he wrote, must be “protecting life, conscience and bodily integrity.” The secretary “must ensure that all H.H.S. programs and activities are rooted in a deep respect for innocent human life from Day 1 until natural death: Abortion and euthanasia are not health care.”

Going deeper, Severino contended that the department must flatly reject “harmful identity politics that replaces biological sex with subjective notions of ‘gender identity’ and bases a person’s worth on his or her race, sex or other identities. This destructive dogma, under the guise of ‘equity,’ threatens American’s fundamental liberties as well as the health and well-being of children and adults alike.”

Severino did not stop there. In his view, the department must be in the business of “promoting stable and flourishing married families” because “in the overwhelming number of cases, fathers insulate children from physical and sexual abuse, financial difficulty or poverty, incarceration, teen pregnancy, poor educational outcomes, high school failure and a host of behavioral and psychological problems.”

Regarding the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in Severino’s analysis:

By statute or regulation, C.D.C. guidance must be prohibited from taking on a prescriptive character. For example, never again should C.D.C. officials be allowed to say in their official capacity that schoolchildren “should be” masked or vaccinated or prohibited from learning in a school building. Such decisions should be left to parents and medical providers.

At the start of the book, Paul Dans , the executive director of Project 2025, pointedly wrote that “it’s not 1980,” when Heritage produced the first “Mandate for Leadership” to guide the incoming administration of Ronald Reagan. Instead, Dans argued, the United States in 2024 is at an apocalyptic moment:

The game has changed. The long march of cultural Marxism through our institutions has come to pass. The federal government is a behemoth, weaponized against American citizens and conservative values, with freedom and liberty under siege as never before. The task at hand to reverse this tide and restore our republic to its original moorings is too great for any one conservative policy shop to spearhead. It requires the collective action of our movement. With the quickening approach of January 2025, we have one chance to get it right.

This time, the conservative movement plans to exercise maximum surveillance over an incoming Trump administration. In other words, there will be no kidding around.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here's our email: [email protected] .

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An earlier version of this article misspelled the surname of an associate director of Project 2025. He is Spencer Chretien, not Chretian.

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Thomas B. Edsall has been a contributor to the Times Opinion section since 2011. His column on strategic and demographic trends in American politics appears every Wednesday. He previously covered politics for The Washington Post. @ edsall

What is the difference between a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse?

It almost time! Millions of Americans across the country Monday are preparing to witness the once-in-a-lifetime total solar eclipse as it passes over portions of Mexico, the United States and Canada.

It's a sight to behold and people have now long been eagerly awaiting what will be their only chance until 2044 to witness totality, whereby the moon will completely block the sun's disc, ushering in uncharacteristic darkness.

That being said, many are curious on what makes the solar eclipse special and how is it different from a lunar eclipse.

The total solar eclipse is today: Get the latest forecast and everything you need to know

What is an eclipse?

An eclipse occurs when any celestial object like a moon or a planet passes between two other bodies, obscuring the view of objects like the sun, according to NASA .

What is a solar eclipse?

A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon comes in between the Earth and the sun, blocking its light from reaching our planet, leading to a period of darkness lasting several minutes. The resulting "totality," whereby observers can see the outermost layer of the sun's atmosphere, known as the corona, presents a spectacular sight for viewers and confuses animals – causing nocturnal creatures to stir and bird and insects to fall silent.

Partial eclipses, when some part of the sun remains visible, are the most common, making total eclipses a rare sight.

What is a lunar eclipse?

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon and the sun are on exact opposite sides of Earth. When this happens, Earth blocks the sunlight that normally reaches the moon. Instead of that sunlight hitting the moon’s surface, Earth's shadow falls on it.

Lunar eclipses are often also referred to the "blood moon" because when the Earth's shadow covers the moon, it often produces a red color. The coloration happens because a bit of reddish sunlight still reaches the moon's surface, even though it's in Earth's shadow.

Difference between lunar eclipse and solar eclipse

The major difference between the two eclipses is in the positioning of the sun, the moon and the Earth and the longevity of the phenomenon, according to NASA.

A lunar eclipse can last for a few hours, while a solar eclipse lasts only a few minutes. Solar eclipses also rarely occur, while lunar eclipses are comparatively more frequent. While at least two partial lunar eclipses happen every year, total lunar eclipses are still rare, says NASA.

Another major difference between the two is that for lunar eclipses, no special glasses or gizmos are needed to view the spectacle and one can directly stare at the moon. However, for solar eclipses, it is pertinent to wear proper viewing glasses and take the necessary safety precautions because the powerful rays of the sun can burn and damage your retinas.

Contributing: Eric Lagatta, Doyle Rice, USA TODAY