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ABRAHAM LINCOLN: A Transformational Leader
Throughout history, there have been leaders who are considered as admirable due to positive influences over other individuals. For example, in my opinion, Abraham Lincoln was able to influence the masses of people because he chose to think and behave differently from other leaders before him. When a person is considered as a leader, there are several responsibilities and qualities that will attract others to follow after the teachings that are demonstrated. Leadership can be described as the process for “guiding individuals, groups, and entire organizations in establishing goals and sustaining action to support goals (Shockley-Zalabak, 2015, p. 220). Additionally, each leader will usually have a distinctive
With this particular style, leaders are known to have a hands off approach when guiding others, and usually they do not provide the support that may be needed. Furthermore, Laissez-fair leaders allow individuals to make their own decisions without much interference or feedback. In addition to a Laissez-fair leader, there is also the transformational method of leadership. A Transformational leader can be described as a person who “persuades their subordinates to take on the organizational revolution as their own” (Rana, Malik, & Hussain, 2007, p. 163). In addition, transformational leaders also formulate challenging purposes in order to pave the way for others. For example, although Abraham Lincoln was the president of the United States, he volunteered in the Blackhawk War, which proves how caring and selfless he was. He was able to sympathize and relate to others, although it may have been considered as politically incorrect. The last leadership style that has been discussed is known as transactional. With the transactional method of guiding others, there is a “reciprocal exchange” (Rana, Malik, & Hussain, 2007, p. 164) that exists between a leader and subordinates. Focusing on the desired outcome is the main objective with transactional leaders as opposed to focusing to the individuals
Authentic leadership “emphasizes a leader imprinting their personality of honesty and integrity in an organization” (Hegarty & Cusack, 2016, p. 68). This is a leader who focuses on building relationships through honesty and input from others. After authentic leadership, there are others who prefer to use the servant leadership theory. Abraham Lincoln is an example of a servant leader. During the timeframe of his presidency, he contributed to preserving the Union and also freeing the slaves, which shows his willingness to commit for the greater good of people (The people’s forum, 2016). The servant theory “explores how a leader enables followers to be more effective by showing concern for their well-being” (Hegarty & Cusack, 2016, p. 68) which is what Abraham Lincoln stood for. After the servant leadership theory, there is what is known as leader-member exchange (LMX). The leader-member exchange theory “suggest leaders have limited time and resources and share both their personal and positional resources differently with their employees” (Shockley-Zalabak, 2015, p.153). Additionally, the LMX theory focuses on the leader and the subordinates independently and typically the interaction differs with each
Every Leader is defined by his or her qualities and characteristics. These can determine how effective a leader has become. This statement has been true throughout the history of mankind. However, there are only a handful of specific qualities that can truly determine if someone is an effective leader.
Throughout history there have been many great leaders. Many leaders who have changed the shape of America and also soldiers of today’s Army. One leader that comes to mind and has shaped me into the leader I am today is Abraham Lincoln. When I look at Abraham Lincoln and what he has done, I think of what Army Leadership manual ADRP 6-22 defines what a leader should be and how leadership is based off of attributes and competencies.
He taught us to believe in yourself, which inspired many of us today. He showed great perseverance, which taught us that you should stand up for what you think is right. He always walked forward, gave inspiring speeches and great quotes. Abraham Lincoln did not only change many lives but he also inspired them.
Have you ever had a leader that inspired you to develop your own leadership traits? “A leader is someone who demonstrates what’s possible” (Mark Yarnell, 2015). There are numerous leadership styles. Each of the numerous leadership styles can be beneficial if utilized in an appropriate means. I have chosen three leaders and their unique leadership styles to discuss in this paper. The unique styles that will be discussed are situational leadership, transformational leadership, and laissez-faire leadership. I will also discuss each leader’s approaches, their fundamental leadership principles, and how each leader used their style within their profession.
Throughout time it has been said that Abraham Lincoln is one our country’s most recognizable leaders. Until the 1990’s no one had written a book incorporating his leadership skills into every day leadership concepts. Donald T. Phillips was surprised by this realization and made it his mission to write a book about the leadership skills Lincoln possessed while also relating it to the modern leadership theories we use in life and in business, today.
One of our greatest presidents of all times, Abraham Lincoln, was and is still known as a great leader. He led the United States through a turbulent time-period, and is still known today for his excellent, self-taught leadership skills. Lincoln’s skills included all of those written about in the chapter including intelligence, conscientiousness, integrity, openness to experience, empathy, self-esteem and charisma.
Leaders do not just appear out of thin air and automatically start making great things happen in the world. A leader must learn from prior leaders or role models that they are surrounded by that they look up to. Not everyone can be a leader, only some people have the correct characteristics it takes to lead others in the right direction. Those who do great things, for example volunteering at a homeless shelter, are not leaders. Many people mistake a “great person” as being a leader, which is completely incorrect (Kouzes and Posner, p. 3). While playing an active role in your community is a positive thing it does not make someone a leader of that community. All leaders have a group of people they have inspiration too and that is a good way of determining who your personal leaders are. My mother, brother, and grandfather are my leaders because I have always looked up to them and tried to mimic some of the great things that I have seen them do. My mother has always been an independent women with goals and an action plan to accomplish those set goals. Stephen, my elder brother, is outgoing and tends to have a leveled head when it comes to evaluating stressful situations. My grandfather is the most caring person I know and he is amazing at keeping situations under control in order to please everyone. These are all the qualities I want to combine into my own leadership style. I know I am not a efficient leader of these actions yet, but I plan on growing into this as I more on into my career, fulfill my set goals, and adjust to the curve-balls that life throws at me.
In order for a leader to be a leader he/she must begin with the assumption that you are the one who matters most. As a leader you have to possess that level of confidence in yourself that you are capable of leading yourself “before you can lead others”. And when you develop this belief then you are better able of affirmative influence “on others”.
The Leader-Member Exchange Theory, or LMX, is a two-way relationship between management/supervisors and their employees/subordinates. The theory assumes that leaders use different management styles, leadership styles, and behaviors with each individual subordinate or group of subordinates. The exchange between supervisors and subordinates will be inconsistent between each individual member of the group. A supervisor may be very kind and supportive to one employee/group and be very critical and unresponsive to another employee/group. Due to this type of interaction, the LMX theory suggests that leaders classify subordinates into two groups, the in-group members and the out-group members (Gibson, Ivancevich, Donnelly, & Konopaske, 2012, p. 334).
Discuss the role of leadership and how it can impact organizational performance. The role of leadership is the most important part of an organization. Leadership is having the ability to influence people to trust, believe and follow the vision. There are several different types of leadership styles such as transactional, leader- member exchange, and authentic to name a few. Transactional leadership appeal to an employee’s self-interest which involves motivation in some way to get the employee to do what is needed. This leader mostly deals with employees achieving a goal, then being rewarded for accomplishments. “Leader-member exchange suggests that leaders develop different relationships with each of their subordinates through a series of work-related transactions.” (Hellriegel and Slocum, 2011, p.323) This leadership is a type of bonding between leader and employee or obligation to each other. Authentic leadership deals with a person’s knowledge of self, their beliefs, values, and acting on a clear faith system through honesty and communication with employees. This leadership is more personal than the others because it pulls from an individuals’ personal belief value system.
Attention to common goals gives leadership an ethical overtone because it stresses the need for leaders to work with followers to achieve selected goals. Alexander Hamilton was a transformational leader, in that he influenced his followers to accomplish more than what was typically expected of them. Transformational leadership is a process in where follower are changed or transformed by the actions of the leader. It is concerned with emptions, values, ethics, standards, and long-term goals. It includes assessing followers’ motives, satisfying their needs, and treating them as full human
Transactional leaders, focus on the proper exchange of resources. The transactional leader gives followers something they want in exchange for something the leader wants. Transactional leadership is considered more commonplace than is transformational leadership (Judge & Piccollo, 2007). A transactional leader is one with difficult standards or benchmarks who is often uninterested in other people’s opinions. It is an effective style to achieve operational goals and outcomes. Quite beneficial for creating business opportunities that thrives in an era of global competition (Stone, 2013). Bezos is task oriented, he micromanages his staff and is not often interested in others opinions; his leadership style incorporates many traits of a transactional
In conclusion, transactional and transformational leadership can be merged or used individually depending on various circumstances. However, they are partially correlated. In order to make the best use and get the desirable results out of these principles, leaders should attain a deep understanding of each theory as they are dissimilar in conducting. Moreover, an appropriate balance should be considered if leaders aim to integrate them together. In my point of view, either stand alone or combination usage would benefit to any organizations if the application of leaders was taken in proper situations.
This method implies that leaders and follower have combine motives that can be beneficial to both parties. When theses task are assigned, there is a designed reward or punishment for the followers. This method of leadership can also be associated with managing in a sense. Transactional leadership in a sense is like management in that it does not look to inspire or promote change, it is in fact more about ensuring a particular process, and procedure meets the desired results.
Use the last President, Barack Obama for example, personally, I believe that he was a very admirable leader because of his undeniable urge to help all people in America, whether black or white, rich or poor, he wanted to create a better place for all citizens of the United