Question

Leaders have to communicate their vision, strategies and expectations to their followers. Leadership is a complex process which directly impacts on the performance of an organisation. With the use of examples, discuss the key elements of leadership.

Answer 1

I completely agree with the statement that leadership is a complex process and has direct impact on organisational performance. The key elements of leadership are discussed as follows:

· Vision: Vision is clearly articulated, compiled statement that describes future of the organizations. True leaders are believed to be visionary. It has been identified by many scholars that leaders that are visionary are the most successful ones.

o Example: Nelson Mandela, Henry Ford, and Ratan Tata.

o Rata Tata had a vision of creating substantial growth in international operations and he was capable of achieving it along with his team.

· Strategic Thinking: Another key element of leadership is identified as strategic thinking. Leaders set objectives and determine strategic path for achieving the set goals.

o Example: Tony Blair, Hillary Rodham Clinton are examples of strategic leaders.

o Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair had strategic thinking and he achieved his set objectives with strategically process.

· Delegation: This is the ability of leaders to assign right tasks to right people. Often a time leaders are perfectionists and bear the load but leaders that can assign task or are capable of delegating work to right people are successful.

o Example: Keith Miller, Donald Trump

o Donald Trump the present President of USA is believed to be a leader who masters in delegation. He manages his leadership with this key element.

· Communication: One of the most important key elements of leadership is communication. This element is utilized as the most powerful tool in leadership. It has a significant importance in success and failure of the leader.

o Example: N. R. Narayana Murthy

o He is the co-founder of Infosys. He along with his other leadership skills poses this effective communication skill. He was able to communicate his vision and mission clearly and thus proved to be tremendously successful leader.

· Other key elements of leadership include:

o Time and energy management,

o Focus and allocation,

o Participatory and collaborative management,

o Relationship building etc.