Leadership



Table of Contents

Introduction2

Discussion2

Leaders and Managers2

Leadership as an Art or Science3

Leadership and Followership3

Ulysses S. Grant: A National Leader4

Congress: A House Divided5

Blocks to Leadership in Congress5

Congress and the Budget Crisis6

Recent Hurdles Faced by the Congress and the President6

Emergence and Vision of New Leaders in Congress6

Recommendations for Improvements in Congress7

Attributes of a Great Leader7

Lessons about Leadership8

Conclusion8

References9

Leadership

Introduction

In the face of the Global Financial Crisis, the world needs leaders rather than mangers to lead us out of this turmoil. According to Daft, “leadership is an influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend real changes and outcomes that reflect their shared purposes”. We need real leaders to help us navigate the rapidly changing world.

Discussion

Leaders and Managers

In today's world there are few leaders and many mangers, whose purpose is the “attainment of goals in an efficient manner” (Daft, 2001). Until a few years ago, two of the top four soccer clubs in the British Premier League were Liverpool and Manchester United. Liverpool was then managed by Rafael Benitez and Manchester United is still managed by Sir Alex Ferguson. In short, Benitez was more of a manager then a leader and Sir Alex is vice versa. Benitez talked in terms of stats whereas Sir Alex goes beyond setting goals which helped him retain some of the best players in the world. Benitez was a stubborn manager who usually was unwilling to listen to criticism; he refused to change his defensive strategy of zonal marking even in the face of mounting pressure and inadequate results. Sir Alex, on the other hand, is willing to listen and gauge the potential of his players, he knows when his team is on the right path and when it needs rebuilding while still keeping the soccer team at the top of the league for more than two decades; in short, he has proved himself to be a shrewd tactician and leader while Benitez has been sacked.

Leadership as an Art or Science

Sir Alex asked Paul Scholes, a midfielder, to delay his retirement as he could not see any worthwhile player who could take on the responsibility of Scholes. He knows that it is not all stats and science, rather soccer depends on a player's instinct and a manager's ability to improvise; off the field it is all science and tactics but on the field it is an art and on-the-spot thinking.

Leadership and Followership

According to Kelley (1992), there are five types or styles of followership. The most common example of a conformist, who is an uncritical thinker but exhibits active behavior, is a soldier.

An example of a passive follower might be life-long Democrats or Republicans who always wait for their own parties regardless of the situation.

An effective follower might be some of the thousands of volunteers who came out for Obama in his re-election campaign. They might not agree with all of his policies but they still consider him to be the better option of the two contenders and are actively involved in their local Democratic campaigns.

An alienated follower might be disgruntled Republicans ...