Building Power and Social Influence Throughout her career, Meg Whitman has been able to gain both personal and positional power. Her primary sources of personal power are effort and legitimacy and her primary sources of positional powers are visibility and relevance. A great example of Meg Whitman exhibiting the effort and visibility sources was during eBay’s crash in June 1999. An unexpected crash of the eBay site caused for nearly 22 hours negatively impacting millions of people worldwide. Meg Whitman did what no CEO would do.
The President and CEO of eBay went into the trenches with her staff of fearless and dedicated individuals and from Thursday until that following Monday, they all camped out on cots for short naps and breaks...And their
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378). Leaders in all organizations will constantly face conflicts in their jobs, whether they are people-based conflicts or issue-based conflicts. What makes a great and competent leader is one that has the ability to resolve tough conflicts properly. One example that shows Meg Whitman, a candidate, dealing with a conflict during California’s Governor’s race in 2010. The conflict was between her and a Hispanic woman who was Meg Whitman’s housekeeper. The woman claimed that she was mistreated and was let go once she asked for citizenship help. It painted Meg Whitman in a bad light for the political race. Whitman attempted an accommodating response wanting “to cast the story in a positive way - careful not to demonize the housekeeper while calling her an extended member of the family” (Young, 2010). It was not enough, so when the people of California voted, Meg Whitman did not make it. I believe I would have responded the same way as Meg Whitman. This situation was playing out into the public and any sense of covering up the truth, would not have helped Meg …show more content…
In this situation, she clearly empowered her team to make the decision without her presence. Her stand is very clear that in order for people to perform, leaders need to let them perform without constraints. She clearly had trust in her team, which is an important factor of empowerment. According to the text, “Empowerment means providing freedom for people to do successfully what they want to do, rather than getting them to do what you want them to do” (Whetten & Cameron, 2014, p. 443). Often in the Army, I empower my subordinates in order to give them a sense of purpose. This has resulted in great outcomes as they feel that they are part of the team and have an important role to play in the success of the
was fair because overall she dealt with the situation in a very poor manner. I do believe that the response
Throughout 2016, many different people will claim they can lead America to greatness again just as they do each election year. This directs attention towards leadership, and most Americans simply trust that these potential candidates display leadership characteristics. Unfortunately, politicians don’t always exemplify leadership, and many Americans experience poor leaders daily such as dreadful bosses. Because of these commonplace experiences, leadership may not appear as a direct character trait. Adaptable communication, the ability to inspire, a clear passion, and professional attitudes all characterize a true leader.
One may wonder exactly what it is that qualities a strong leader possesses. A strong leader is determined, and strong willed. They must be of good judgment, and without bias. They cannot easily be persuaded, and they are firm, yet at the same time, a good lead must also empathize with his subordinates, and have the best interest at heart for said subordinates, at all times. However, with that being said, a good leader cannot be afraid to discipline his subordinates when necessary. Unmistakably, being a leader is a very difficult feat – one which not everyone can accomplish. A leader must be an authority, a friend and a counsellor, all at once. They must be responsible, and always take into account the disadvantages of a situation. Not everyone is suitable to be a leader, whereas, just about anybody can be a good role model.
A well- rounded leader can be flexible in any situation given to him or her. I personally feel that I possess leadership characteristics well. I do not only possess leadership qualities for myself, but also to set an example for others. By doing this I might aid them in expressing their leadership qualities, no matter their field of interest. As I help others, they might see it in themselves to aid others in finding their leadership qualities.
Sinek tells us about owner of a manufacturing company, Bob Chapman. His company was hit by the 2008 recession, losing more than 30% of their purchase orders in one night. They were ten million dollars in debt. Chapman stayed true to the model of servant leadership, he refused to lay off any of his workers. Instead, Chapman announced that he would not be cutting jobs, Bob announced that he would rather everyone suffer a little, than to have one person suffer a lot; and inducted a furlough program. All employees of the organization, CEO to floor workers were required to take a four-week unpaid vacation. Chapman trusted that the servant leadership style would work and maximized his benefits. The employees maximized their benefits and turned the organization around (PSU, 2014). They recovered more than double of their lost revenue (PSU, 2014).
Marilyn Monroe is an icon that is idolized by many and had a great impact on pop culture. She didn’t have the best childhood and had a lot of up and downs in her life. Marilyn Monroe was born in California in 1926. She was named Norma Jeane Mortenson after a popular actress at the time. Her mother Gladys Baker was mentally ill, so she had to put Monroe in foster care. She lived in a foster home until she was seven years old. She had two other siblings from her mother’s first marriage. She never met them because her mom’s first husband took them to live with him in Kentucky.
Sears Holdings is a company in transition. Now, faced with adversity and the threat of bankruptcy looming its leadership has come under scrutiny. “Great leaders not only have drive; they want to lead. Also important is a high need for power, a preference to be in leadership rather than follower positions. A high power need induces people to attempt to influence others, and sustains interest and satisfaction in the process of leadership. When the power need is exercised in moral and socially constructive ways, rather than to the detriment of others, leaders inspire more trust, respect, and commitment to their vision (Bateman, pp 399, 2007).”
They act in their own self-interest in a way that benefits the organization. They have a goal that they need to achieve so they will do what it takes to get everyone on board to achieve that goal. Good leaders are what make a successful team. Other factors that added to the success of the team would be the other players who played different roles in reducing the frequent tension on the team. Being a highly competitive sports team with young males who have high testosterone, tension reducing is very important. The team had a mix of friendly helpers, tough battlers, and logical
Leadership can be defined in many ways, but one thing all leaders have in common is determination to get a task done. Although leaders may carry out this action in many different ways they all do what needs to be done in order to reach their goal. Florence Nightingale was willing to gather a group of women and pick up and leave her home to tend to the wounded soldiers of the Crimean War.
Problem solving is another characteristics of effective leaders. You have to be able to care of situations when they arise.
When faced with roadblocks or difficult decisions as a leader, I know that I must remain confident and retain all the qualities outlined earlier as well as countless others. Only then will I be able to effectively take action and make change in my leadership role.
Walt Whitman’s writings sing the praises of the United States and his political views on the Democratic Party. Throughout his life, Whitman had many experiences in the United States’ government. He put these experiences into writing to inform political officials and those persons voting in the election what fighting a war was like. He felt government was the key to fix all of society’s problems. “The chief reason for the
When we work together in a team, or in a broader sense as a society, the leader takes on the most important role. It is the leader that helps prioritize activities and direct people’s thought process in the right direction. They are the ones who have the ability to bring the group together as a whole. Because of this, not anyone can be a leader. Only people with certain qualities and abilities are able to fill this role. So what makes a good leader? There is a defined path and specific characteristics that makes someone a good leader.
It causes them to think, plan and make decisions according to the team. In the past teamwork culture has taken a backseat. However with changing times, organizations understood the importance of nurturing and promoting the culture of teamwork (p.1). In order to promote teamwork, management leaders need to clearly communicate to everyone that the expectation of exceptional work is not just an individual level but at a team level and collaboration is expected out of every team (p.2). Teams that are demonstrating teamwork should be recognized. According to Conway (n.d) “ set expectations that bonuses, rewards, or compensation will vary depending on the collaborative practices adopted and followed by each team along with the individual achievements and contribution as a team member (p.2). Management should also share the outstanding achievements with other teams and organizations, so that people feel encouraged to participate and nature the team work culture
Finally, leaders are able to keep everything in perspective. They invest themselves fully but also are able to keep their priorities in order. As a child I never understood anything that my mother did or said but now that I am an adult I realize that my mother had a valid reason for everything she did. My entire childhood my mother has molded me to become a great leader and all the lessons that my mother has taught me I can spread the knowledge to my children. Successful leaders keep it all in perspective because they are able to separate the important from the urgent, and devote their time