Leader and leadership

Smt. Nandita Mohanty

Chairperson, Women Sub-Committee

AIPEU, Group-C, Bhubaneswar 

The importance of leader is well illustrated by sage Valmiki in Ramayana- 

“Like herd of cattle without a keeper

Like an army without a General

Like a night without moon

Like a group of cows without a bull

Such would be the country

Where there is no king”. 

       A leader is indispensible in an organization. Leadership is not the mere use of people and their potential for achieving the goal of an organization. His ultimate goal is to raise the ethical aspiration and human behaviour of people. The leader not only commits his followers to achieve the goal but also inculcate required resources, guides and motivates the followers to reach the goal. The leadership process is similar in effects to that of the secret chemical that turns the insect pupa into a butterfly with all beauties. Leader turns the potential of people into reality. 

      According to Lee Hun-Jo, CEO, LG Electronics” you have to transform human beings. If you can’t change your people, you can’t change your organization. And if you can’t do that you can’t reach your goal”. Good leader can transform people into the desired shape by his experience and expertise. 

     In recent times authentic leadership is added to the phenomenon to create an effective leader. Authentic leader understands him-self well. He knows what he believes in and values his principles. He acts on his beliefs openly and candidly. His followers take him as the most ethical person.  The primary quality produced by authentic leadership is ‘integrity’. Authentic leader shares information, encourage open communication and stick to his ideals. As a result of which people have faith on him.  

         Transformational and charismatic leaders are known to have moral virtue and ethical component and they foster it when they try to change the attitude and behaviour of the followers. But unethical leaders use their charisma to enhance power over followers, directed towards self serving ends.  Ethical leaders use it in a socially constructive way to serve others. Leaders who treat their followers with fairness, especially by providing honest, frequent and accurate information come out to be more effective. 

        Trust is the primary attribute associated with leadership, breaking of which can have serious adverse effects on group performance. The prime task for a leader is working with people, finding their problems and solving them. A leader feeds on the trust of people to gain access to knowledge and think innovatively to solve the problem. So trust and leadership go hand in hand in any organization, each of which is necessary for the other to thrive. 

          In short a leader brings out the best in every individual and encourages team spirit. A leader can only be successful in his endeavours when his team support, follow and love him. A righteous leader can lead the organization to the pinnacle of success and greatness.

 

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