Integrity of Character and Personality
Discuss About The Emotional Intelligence And Leadership Development.
In the ever changing business world an effective leader needs to have a combination of various skills like emotional intelligence, “ethical decision-making ability”, a strong personality among others which are likely to help him or her to perform in a much better manner in the multi-dimensional business organizations of the present times. A leader is an individual is required to lead a particular group of individuals or persons towards the achievement of the goal or the objective set by them (Briggs, Morrison and Coleman 2012). Therefore, in this particular context the concept of leadership can be defined as the ability or the capability of the individual to lead other individuals or persons towards the achievement of the objectives set by them (Briggs, Morrison and Coleman 2012). It is significant to note that the concept of leadership has emerged as one of the most ones in the present day world and it is generally seen that the various business organization are increasingly taking the help of this particular concept to “not only achieve the aims as well as the objectives set by them but also to bring about the overall growth and the development of their concerned business organization” (Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee 2013). This essay will try to explore the various qualities which are the key attributes of an effective leader.
The primary character attribute which a leader needs to have is the integrity of character as well as personality (Lopez-Zafra, Garcia-Retamero and Martos 2012). In the opinion of many scholars a leader needs to be unbiased as well as needs to display certain integrity of character in order to lead the other individuals belonging to his group in the most effective manner (Lopez-Zafra, Garcia-Retamero and Martos 2012). Furthermore, a good leader should not give preference to one individual belonging to the group to which he or she is related over other individual (Lopez-Zafra, Garcia-Retamero and Martos 2012). Moreover, a leader should be able to point out to an individual at what point of time he or she is going wrong and the other way round (Chhokar, Brodbeck and House 2013). In addition to this, the leader also need to stand by the correct decisions which he or she has made and not give way or divulge under mounting pressure from higher authorities of the organization (Chhokar, Brodbeck and House 2013). Howard Schultz is one of the most famous leaders of the present times who was much criticized for some of the decisions as well as the stand points taken by him (Starbucks Coffee Company. 2018). Howard Schultz is more famous as the ex-CEO of the business organization Starbucks and in the opinion of many he was one of the primary reasons for the impressive success attained by the company Starbucks in the late part of the 20th century as well as the early part of the 21st century (Starbucks Coffee Company. 2018). In addition to being famous as the ex-CEO of the business organization Starbucks he is also known for the integrity of his personality as well as character (Starbucks Coffee Company. 2018). It is significant he has been much criticized for the standpoints which he took and also for the various decisions made by him. management, he ensured that he was being unbiased towards all the employees of the company Starbucks and as a matter of fact he used to call all the employees related to the organization by the term “shareholders” instead of employees (Starbucks Coffee Company. 2018). Moreover, he himself in his semi autobiography admitted that he never gave one shareholder preference over the other shareholders of the business organization (Sadri 2012). Therefore, in a way it can be said that integrity of character of Schultz was one of the primary factors which helped him to effectively lead the organization towards the success that the organization is enjoying at the current moment (Sadri 2012).
Ethical Decision Making
The concept of “ethical decision making” has gained a considerable amount of importance in the recent times and it is a reflection of this particular fact that the various leaders in the present times are required to not only display this particular ability but also to make the effective use of this particular concept (Cavazotte, Moreno and Hickmann 2012). It is significant to note that in the present times the focus of the “various business organizations as well as the companies is not only to make the maximum amount of profit but also to contribute in a positive manner towards the cause of the planet and society” (Cavazotte, Moreno and Hickmann 2012). Thus, the various present day leaders are increasingly taking the help of this particular process to take the kind of decisions which is not only likely to help the concerned business organization but the society as well (Cavazotte, Moreno and Hickmann 2012). Furthermore, it is also seen that the various present day leaders area also taking the help of this process to create a positive brand image for the business organization to which they are related (Antonakis and Day 2017). Indra Nooyi, the CEO of the business organization Pepsi Co is famous in the business world for her “ethical decision making” abilities (Fairhurst and Connaughton 2014). She is famous for the reintegration of the business organization under consideration here and many people attribute her the success that the business organization under consideration here has been able to attain in the recent times (Fairhurst and Connaughton 2014). However, in the opinion of many people the most important decision which Nooyi took after becoming the CEO of the business organization under consideration here was to remove the unhealthy as well as the harmful items from the list of products offered by the business organization (Fairhurst and Connaughton 2014). It is significant to note that this particular decision was much criticized by the various people and even the members of the business organization as well (Antonakis and Day 2017). However, eventually it was seen that this particular decision of Nooyi which took into consideration the ethical aspect of the situation not helped to create a positive brand image for the business organization under consideration here but also helped the business organization to attain success (Antonakis and Day 2017).
Emotional intelligence is another factor which has attained a considerable amount of significance in the recent and therefore it is seen that the various leaders are increasingly using this particular concept for leading their teams in an effective manner (Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee 2013). The concept of emotional intelligence can be defined as “the capability of individuals to recognize their own emotions and those of others, discern between different feelings and label them appropriately, use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior, and manage and/or adjust emotions to adapt to environments or achieve one’s goal” (Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee 2013). One of the chief users of this particular attribute for the purpose of leadership is Richard Branson, the founder as well as the owner of the business organization “Virgin Group” (Briggs, Morrison and Coleman 2012). It is significant to note that the concept of emotional intelligence for the purpose of leadership gained prominence with the works of Goleman (Briggs, Morrison and Coleman 2012). In the opinion of many people, Richard Branson uses the attribute of emotional intelligence not only for the purpose of leading his employees in the most effective manner but also for establishing an emotional connect with them, which helps them to perform in a much better manner within the framework of the business organization under consideration here (Cavazotte, Moreno and Hickmann 2012). Therefore, it can be said that the effective leadership as well as the use of the concept of emotional intelligence has “not only helped the entrepreneur Richard Branson to succeed in the recent times but also to bring about the overall growth as well as the development of the business organization under consideration here” (Cavazotte, Moreno and Hickmann 2012).
Emotional Intelligence
In addition to the above mentioned character traits an effective leader also needs to have various other skills in order to lead his or her team in a much better manner. Some of other qualities which the leaders of the present times need to have are the ability to motivate others, effective communicating skills, team management skills, the ability to foster a team spirit among the various members of the team and others (Beck and Cowan 2014).
To conclude, leadership forms an important part not only the various business organizations but also of the other aspects of the lives of the individuals as well. There are certain attributes as well as character traits which an effective leader must possess. The above discussion indicates that the traits of emotional intelligence, “ethical decision making” ability and integrity of character are the most important character traits which the various leaders of the present times need to display. Therefore, it can be said that in addition to effective leadership skills the various business leaders of the present times also needs to display these attributes in a bid to not only achieve success as a leader but also to help the concerned business organization sustain themselves in the competitive business world.
References
Aaker, D.A. and Joachimsthaler, E., 2012. Brand leadership. Simon and Schuster.
Antonakis, J. and Day, D.V. eds., 2017. The nature of leadership. Sage publications.
Beck, D.E. and Cowan, C.C., 2014. Spiral dynamics: Mastering values, leadership and change. John Wiley & Sons.
Bolman, L.G. and Deal, Healthcare., 2017. Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership. John Wiley & Sons.
Briggs, A.R., Morrison, M. and Coleman, M., 2012. Research methods in educational leadership and management. Sage Publications.
Cavazotte, F., Moreno, V. and Hickmann, M., 2012. Effects of leader intelligence, personality and emotional intelligence on transformational leadership and managerial performance. The Leadership Quarterly, 23(3), pp.443-455.
Chhokar, J.S., Brodbeck, F.C. and House, R.J. eds., 2013. Culture and leadership across the world: The GLOBE book of in-depth studies of 25 societies. Routledge.
Fairhurst, G.T. and Connaughton, S.L., 2014. Leadership: A communicative perspective. Leadership, 10(1), pp.7-35.
Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R.E. and McKee, A., 2013. Primal leadership: Unleashing the power of emotional intelligence. Harvard Business Press.
Hargreaves, A. and Fink, D., 2012. Sustainable leadership(Vol. 6). John Wiley & Sons.
Lopez-Zafra, E., Garcia-Retamero, R. and Martos, M.P.B., 2012. The relationship between transformational leadership and emotional intelligence from a gendered approach. The Psychological Record, 62(1), pp.97-114.
Northouse, P.G., 2018. Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.
Pepsico.com. 2018. The Search for Hidden Figures. [online] Available at: https://www.pepsico.com/ [Accessed 17 May 2018].
Sadri, G., 2012. Emotional intelligence and leadership development. Public Personnel Management, 41(3), pp.535-548.
Starbucks Coffee Company. 2018. Starbucks. [online] Available at: https://www.starbucks.in/ [Accessed 17 May 2018].
Virgin. 2018. Virgin. [online] Available at: https://www.virgin.com/ [Accessed 17 May 2018].