There are certain things in life that are in born. It includes aspects like leadership, which is so essential in a society. Without leadership, organization is hard to maintain. Therefore, sufficient, effective and flexible leaders are vital towards maintaining order in the society or workplace. In order to achieve such traits, the leaders we have should undergo training to help them equipped and have more knowledge in solving different trouble some situations that may exist.
Considering the world people live in this 21 century, it is agreeable that leaders need to be flexible and optimistic at all times (O’Toole, 1996, p.28). A flexible leader always knows how to find answers to challenging situations, whereas an optimistic leader never loses hope. He always hopeful of the future outcomes and if the present strategy put in place does not work an alternative is always there. When comparing the leaders of the old times and those of the current generation, there is a big difference seen. Most leaders of the old days were confident in what they did. They never hesitated when it came to standing firm on the decisions they made. In addition, these leaders were considerate on the welfare of the common people, but the current leaders are blinded with greed.
The United States of America (U.S.A.) has been hit by huge economic depression, where the market change has affected the world greatly (O’Toole, 1996, p.28). As a country that was once cherished and envied by other countries, its poor economy has put U.S.A. to a level of being described as second-class nation. Sources show that the Leaders are not doing enough to uplift the economy of U.S.A. In the end, they are blamed for all atrocities that befall the nation on a daily basis. Leadership has become a paradox in the U.S.A and the most common challenge facing the leaders is management.
One of the key aspects to consider while choosing a leader is ability to manage all kinds of challenging situations. This includes the problems that are currently in place or those that are foreseen to impound the society. For example, most organizations in the U.S.A. are poorly managed a situation that has enhanced long-term joblessness among the people of U.S.A. the leaders think more of themselves instead of considering the future and welfare of other people. At some given point, these current leaders are less optimistic that they cannot predict bad economic periods that may attack a country. They are less focused that they cannot tell how long the depression will take and how fast to rebuild a country to move forward (O’Toole, 1996, p.29).
To this extent, it is agreeable that leaders in the U.S.A. have no leadership optimism in their traits. To verify this argument, the leadership styles that that these leaders use are often less effective. For example, most organizations have leaders who are either practice delegative decision-making styles or authoritative methods of carrying out decisions. An authoritative leader never considers opinions of his subordinates or employees. He always thinks that his ways are always right. On the other hand, other leaders take the advantage of giving certain employees the authority to make a decision even if he is not aware of the issue. Such a leader is termed as lazy and irresponsible.
All leaders should make it a point to work hand in hand with his employees irrespective of their status. Consulting other people do not mean one is dumb. Instead, it helps in bringing in more ideas on table that may be useful in solving a problem. Avoiding consultation only proves that the leader in question is fearful. Franklin Roosevelt, one of the renowned former presidents of America once said that the key responsibility of a leader is to keep hope alive at all times. Leaders are entitled to instill hope and confidence to their team and not appealing their worst fears when what they need is confidence (O’Toole, 1996, p.30). He also said that an economic depression should not be an excuse for a business to fail. As all businesses, face the same situation at one point in the business phase (O’Toole, 1996, p.30). Therefore, all leaders should work towards one aim, becoming winners at all times.
In order to become brilliant leaders who may eventually be emulated by others, certain elements should be adopted. For example, communication is vital to decision making. Two heads are better than one, a saying that really makes sense in the business world. Through communication, the leader can get opinions of other people and use it as an advice on how to solve some challenging issues. Another important element is change. Most leaders are resistant to change thinking that it may lead to their overthrow. On the contrary, change is essential in organizations as a risk factor in trying out new ideas that may be benefactions in the end. Change not only involves, reshuffling of ideas but may include reshuffle of leaders. This usually happens for the sake of administering an all round development in the organization.
In conclusion, a leader who has a vision and acts on it confidently will meet the goals of an organization even if the situations are unbearable. Flexibility also helps a leader to learn new concepts that can be applied to solve a situation and if considered then the organization will be in better hands.
Reference
O’Toole, J. (1996). Leading change: The argument for values based leadership. New York, NY: Jossey Bass Inc.
