CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Leader and Leadership
3.0 Leadership Traits
4.0 Leadership approaches
5.0 “Outstanding examples of business leadership in Asia”.
6.0 Conclusion

1.0 Introduction

This Leadership Assignment will give us clear picture about leadership

and the importance of leadership in companies. We will discuss in detail
about few outstanding business leaders in Asia and their leadership
style.

All the research material used in this assignment has been sourced from
accredited authors and some researcher findings. The National Library
(Singapore) and associated academic journal and some e-journal
websites were referenced to make this assignment. Please see the
reference at the end of this essay for further details.

2.0 Leader and Leadership

Leader and Leadership have been part of our history and we have seen
many examples and heard many stories about such leaders. Jesus
Christ is the perfect example of a great leader in The BIBLE. When we
were in school we read about Charismatic leaders like Alexander the
Great; Augustus-the first Roman emperor; Charlemagne the Great;
William the Conqueror, Genghis Kahn-Emperor of all Mongols, Napoleon
Bonaparte, Knights and Kings who lead their armies to victories in
battlefields. They were normal people who inspired others for a common
cause and who are remembered even today for their courage to take
decisions, for their ability to influence people. They are remembered for
how they motivated everyone around them and how they created
followers. In recent times we have read about leaders like Hitler,
Mahatma Gandhi, Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, Mother
Theresa, Dalai Lama etc.

In sports we have great leaders of their game who influence other

athletes around them and who play for their countries and who lead
their teams to victory. Sports stars like Lance Armstrong, Ricky Ponting,
Steve Waugh, Michael Schumacher, David Beckham, Tiger Woods etc.
They create such fan following that big commercial giants hire them to
market their products, and these players become an iconic figures. They
are admired for their innate ability and knowledge that they posses
about the game and for their leadership ability.

Leadership and leaders are everywhere and in every field. Even in our
houses. Our mother and father can be great leaders to each one of us.
Let’s see leaders and leadership from the business perspective.

Fortune magazine’s analysis of 10 most admired companies in the world

was summed up by Thomas Stewart as ‘The truth is that no one factor
makes a company admirable, but if you were forced to pick the one that
makes the most difference, you’d pick leadership’.(Mar 1998,p.72)

Leadership defined-
According to Brian O'Nail, "Leadership is influencing people to get things
done to a standard and quality above their norm. And doing it willingly.”
Leadership is the ability to influence people toward the attainment of
organizational goals. There are three aspects of Leadership – people,
influence and goals. Leadership occurs among people, it involves people
being influenced and this influence is used to achieve the goals of the
organizations. In general, Leadership is a process by which a person
influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization
in a way that makes it more unified and coherent. Leadership involves
creating a change and not maintaining a status quo.

Leader VS Manager

Leader
1. SOUL
2. Visionary
3. Passionate
4. Creative
5. Flexible
6. Inspiring
7. Innovative
8. Courageous
9. Imaginative
10. Experimental
11. Initiates changes
12. Personal power

Manager
1. MIND
2. Rational
3. Consulting
4. Persistent
5. Problem Solving
6. Tough-minded
7. Analytical
8. Structured
9. Deliberate
10. Authoritative
11. Stabilizing
12. Position Power

(Source; Genevieve Capowski, “Anatomy of a Leader: Where are the

Leaders of Tomorrow?” Management Review 1994,12.)

3.0 Leadership Traits –

Leadership’s success is highly dependent on the personal traits of the

leaders.

Some traits are god gifted and leaders are born with it, while other
traits can be learned over time. Like knowledge and communication can
be learnt in schools/universities or by experience. Few traits of
successful leaders are self-confidence, alertness, energy, decisiveness,
knowledge, communication, personality, popularity, integrity, goal
driven, ethical conduct, honesty, humble.
4.0 Leadership Approaches:-

Transactional Leaders – He/she is a leader who clarifies the roles and

responsibilities of his subordinates, clarifies their task requirements,
initiates structures for them, provides rewards to his subordinates, and
displays/shows consideration for his subordinates. They believe in
organization norms and values.

Charismatic Leaders – He/she is a type of leader who has the ability to

motivate their subordinates to do more than what is normally expected.
They excite, stimulate and drive employees to work harder. Charismatic
leaders include Hitler, Martin Luther king jr etc.

Transformational Leaders- He/she is a type of leader who is a

charismatic leader but has the special ability to bring about innovation
and changes in the organization. They have the ability to change the
organizations mission, structure, operation, rules etc.

Interactive Leaders- He/she is a type of leader who is concerned about

consensus building, and wants everyone to participate in the decision
making, and is very caring for their subordinates. They like interacting
with subordinates before decision making and they like free flow of
ideas between the subordinates.

Servant Leaders- He/she is a leader who works to fulfil the subordinate’s

needs and requirements, who works to fulfil their subordinate’s goals
and as well as achieve the organizational goals. They provide their
subordinates with whatever they need to serve the customer.

Autocratic Leaders- He/she is a type of leader who wants to centralize

power and authority with themselves. They make the decisions for their
subordinates and their followers have to follow it. They rely on carrot
and stick approach to reward and punish their subordinates. They are
the kind of leaders who do not delegate authority.

Democratic Leaders- He/she is a type of leader who delegates authority

to their subordinates; they encourage participation of employees in
decision making process. They consult with others to solve problems
and they empower their subordinates if necessary.

5.0 Outstanding Business leaders in Asia:-

Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani (1932-2002):-

Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani (1932- 2002) was an exceptional human being

and an outstanding leader. He was man far ahead of his times; he had a
great entrepreneurial spirit. He dared to dream on a scale unimaginable
before, in Indian industry. His life and achievements prove that, backed
by confidence, courage and conviction, man can achieve the impossible.
His life journey is reminiscent of the rags to riches story. From a humble
beginning, he went on to create an enviable business empire within a
span of just 25 years. Reliance Group is a living testimony to his will
power, single-minded dedication and an unrelenting commitment to his
goals.

Under Dhirubhai Ambani’s visionary leadership, the Reliance Group

emerged as the largest business conglomerate in India, and carved out
a distinct place for itself in the global corporate giants. The Group's
track record of consistent growth is unparalleled in Indian industry and
perhaps internationally too.
Today, the Group's turnover represents nearly 3 percent of India's GDP.
Shri Dhirubhai Ambani was not just firmly rooted in traditional Indian
values, but was also a modern man. This was reflected in his passion for
mega-sized projects, the most advanced technology and the highest
level of productivity.

“Dhirubhai Ambani is remembered for shaping India's equity culture,

attracting millions of retail investors in a market which were dominated
by financial institutions in the 1980’s. He revolutionised capital markets
in India. From nothing, he generated billions of rupees in wealth for
those who invested in his companies. With innovative instruments like
the convertible debenture, Reliance quickly became a favourite of the
stock market in the 1980s.” – Indian Heroes

His corporate philosophy was short, simple - "Think big. Think

differently. Think fast. Think ahead. Aim for the best". He inspired the
Reliance team to do better than the best - not only in India but in the
world. Prestigious awards and titles were awarded to him by national
and international organisations. He was acclaimed as the top
businessman of the twentieth century and lauded for his dynamic,
pioneering and innovative genius.

Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani a brief History:

He was born on 28th December 1932 at Chorwad, in Gujrat, India. He

was born into a poor family and his father was a teacher in a school. He
is said to have started his entrepreneurial career by selling "pakora
(Indian fast food snack)" to pilgrims in Mount Girnar over the weekends.

When he was 16 years old, he moved to Aden, Yemen. He worked as a

dispatch clerk with A. Besse & Co. Two years later A. Besse & Co.
became the distributors for Shell products and Dhirubhai was promoted
to manage the company’s oil-filling station at the port of Aden.

Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani returned to India in 1958 and started the Reliance
Commercial Corporation with a capital of Rs. 15,000.00. The primary
business of Reliance Commercial Corporation was to import polyester
yarn and export spices. This company is now Reliance Industries Limited
and is India's largest private sector company on fortune 500 list with a
turnover of US $28 billion and profit of US $2.033 billion for the fiscal
year ending in March 2006. Reliance Industries Limited has a wide range
of products from petroleum products, petrochemicals, to garments
(under the brand name of Vimal).

Leadership Lessons from Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani:-

Leadership as an Art -

Mr. Dhirubhai never took leadership lessons in school or college, nor did
he learn any leadership skills. He was not an MBA. He developed his
own style. Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani never followed the textbook style of
management. Instead, he evolved a unique style, which combined the
American style of entrepreneurship, with the Japanese focus on the
latest technology. And to this, he added the innate shrewdness of a
Gujarati businessman. He learnt leadership from practice and hands on
experience, as well inter-personal exploration and development.

He was a Charismatic and Transformational Leader:-

His approach to business was very different. His moves made people
write new theory in the Indian stock exchange. He came up with the
innovative idea of converting the debentures of the company into equity
shares. By doing this he converted all his liabilities. The share prices of
his company went up and investors made money through him.

‘He is the person who influenced 1000’s of people to invest in the share
market , his seed has grown up to 3 million people, Reliance is the
company having the highest number of share holders in the world.’ –
Source BBC NEWS. He was able to convince people of rural Gujarat that
being shareholders of his company will only bring returns to their
investment. Reliance Industries holds the distinction that- it is the only
Public Limited Company whose several Annual General Meetings were
held in stadiums.--Source BBC News.
He believed in new technology, innovative products, and new ways to
manage people and get things done.

Few lessons from his leadership style are:-

Roll up your sleeves and help (Team player):-

According to Ambani he and his team share the same DNA. Reliance,
during the time of Vimal's (Reliance Textile- was known as the brand
Vimal) initial days had organized a fashion show at the Convention Hall,
at Ashoka Hotel in New Delhi. Every seat in the hall was occupied, and
there were an equal number of impatient guests outside the hall,
waiting to be seated. The management was trying hard to handle the
confusion, chaos and protests, when to everyone’s amazement and
relief; Dhirubhai Ambani went to the door trying to pacify the guests.
Dhirubhai at that time was already a name to reckon with and a VIP
himself, but that did not stop him from rolling up his sleeves and diving
in to rescue a situation that had gone out of control.

Most leaders in his place would have gone home in their expensive cars
and would have delegated this task to their managers. Not Dhirubhai
Ambani. When things went wrong, he was the first person to sense that
the circumstances would have been beyond his team's control, and not
being a slip on their part. He trusted his team’s capabilities. His first
instinct was always to join his men in putting out the fire and not
crucifying them for it.

Be a safety net for your team (He empowered his managers):-

There was a time when Reliance agency Mudra was the target of some
vicious propaganda by few managers in the top management, when on
an almost daily basis business ethics were put on trial. The managers,
who followed business ethics, never raised this subject during any of
their meetings with Dhirubhai because they were hesitant to raise this
issue.

But one day, he gently asked one of the managers if he needed any
help in combating it. That did it. That was all the help that the manager
needed in combating corruption. Overwhelmed by his concern and
compassion and the knowledge that he knew and cared for what they
were going through, and that he was there for them and for the right
cause, worked wonders for their confidence. Managers went back fully
armed to face whatever came their way. By letting them know that he
was always aware of it and that he was on right side through it all, this
gave them courage, they never thought, they had.

Be a silent benefactor (He was humble, caring, generous and kind):-

This was one of his remarkable traits. When Dhirubhai Ambani helped
someone, he never uttered a word about it to anyone else. There are
many employees and managers who have come across his kindness and
generosity, yet he never went around broadcasting it.

He never used charity as a platform to gain publicity. Sometimes, he

would donate money without even letting the recipient know who the
donor was. Such was the extent of his generosity.

Dream with open eyes (His visions were real):-

He is a living proof that whoever dreams big and has the courage to
fulfil it, than nothing is impossible. Whenever people working under him
or with him tried to point out that a task seemed too big to be
accomplished, he would say: ‘No is no answer!’ He not only dreamt big,
he taught us to do so too.

Whenever things seemed difficult, he used to say "It's difficult but not
impossible!"
He dreamt big, but he was able to distinguish between perception and
reality and his favourite phrase "dream with your eyes open" proves
that.

He would never let preset norms, laws or policies govern his vision. He
worked hard, night and day familiarizing himself with every element
that constituted his dreams. He studied every thorn that came his way
and between his visions, and made sure it was eradicated. This is how,
as he puts it, even though he dreamed, none of his dreams turned into
nightmares. And he achieved one dream after another.

His arm around the shoulder (His motivation technique):-

This is Dhirubhai Ambani’s very own signature style. Whenever he had

time to speak to employee of the company in person, or if it was a
conversation for a short walk till up to his car, he would instantly put his
arm around the person’s shoulder and proceed to discuss the issues at
hand as they walked. With this simple gesture, he managed to achieve
many things. He would put the person at ease instantaneously. He will
make them feel equal, someone who was loved and important enough
to be close to him. And employees would walk away from that meeting
feeling good about themselves and the work that they were doing, and
highly motivated.

He was always encouraging people to share their thoughts and ideas.

Yes, this was one of the things that was uniquely Dhirubhai — his warm
arm around the shoulder of the employees did much more than words in
letting every employee know that he belonged to the company, that he
had trust in him.

Always stay ahead of times (Foresight):-

Mr. Ambani was not an economist. He was born poor, was from a
conservative society of India. But his ideas were modern. At a time in
1970’s and 80’s other industrialist in India would invest in capacities
only after a careful study of market, he had the vision, courage and risk
to invest in gigantic plants and manufacturing units that would supply
more than the required demand. The initial capacity of Reliance textile
plant was 10,000 tonnes of Polyester Fibre way back in 1980, while the
market in India for it was only about 6,000 tonnes. He had the ability
and the foresight to judge the scenarios. The result was that the market
blossomed to absorb supply, the consumer gained due to reduced prices
and they demanded more. Soon Dhirubhai started exporting Polyester
yarn to the U.S. He had an uncanny knack of knowing exactly how the
market is going to behave and stayed ahead of times.

Believe in being the best, success and money will follow (He believed in
Quality):-

This was his belief and Dhirubhai lived by it. For instance, when he was
setting up Reliance Textile he briefed the marketing head clearly:
‘Produce the best textile advertising in the country’. He did not breathe
a word about profits, nor about cost of such advertising. Great
advertising was his goal. He did not dream of making profits as the end
result of advertising. His instruction and goal were simple, produce the
best advertisement the country has ever seen. So work toward a goal
and don’t worry about the by product or the end-result. Success in
attaining that goal will eventually bring in cash. If we work towards
creating a name for our self and earning a good reputation, then
money/profit will be the end result. People will pay our product or
service if it is good.

Risk Taker (He was decisive, courageous and non conformist):-

He was known for his risk taking ability. Normally, in management we

say ‘Never put all the eggs in one basket’. However, he had so much
belief in his ability and decisions that he invested his entire earning to
purchase huge stock of Polyester Yarn when he started his new
business. Everyone around him advised him that it was wrong decision
to invest so much money in Polyester; however he was stubborn and
knew what he was doing. This decision made him a billionaire today.
Great leaders take risk and they believe in their ability.

6.0 Conclusion:-

Mr. Dhirubhai never took leadership lessons in school or college, nor did
he learn any leadership skills. He developed his own style. Mr. Dhirubhai
Ambani never followed the textbook style of management. Instead, he
evolved a unique style, which combined the American style of
entrepreneurship, with the Japanese focus on the latest technology. And
to this, he added the innate shrewdness of a Gujarati businessman. He
learnt leadership from practice and hands on experience, as well inter-
personal exploration and development. His leadership was an Art and he
practiced this art with perfection.

People have written books on his management style and he is looked

upon as a GURU of Management in India. He created his own style of
leadership and management, which other follow even today; this clearly
establishes the relationship between Leaders and followers. He was a
transformational leader and influenced everyone who worked with him.
He has provided many budding entrepreneurs hope and inspiration. We
have learned from Mr. Dhirubhai that if we have a goal and the will
power to achieve it, then nothing is impossible.

Reference:-

Internet:-
Dhirubhai Ambani : Indian Legends @ muraleedharan.com
Dhirubhai Ambani - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Great lessons from Dhirubhai Ambani [Archive] -
ManagementParadise.com : Your Gateway to Online MBA Degree .
Management Students Forum for MBA,BMS, MMS, BMM, BBA, students
and aspirants.
Dhirubhai Ambani – Real Story from Rags to Riches | Stock Market
India | Stock Market News | Stock Recommendations - paisacontrol.com

Books:-
The Leadership Experience – Richard L. Daft

Author: Sumit

06-07-2008, 09:47 PM #2 (permalink)

praveen
Quote:
Status: Administrator Leadership
Join Date: Feb 2008 Research Essay
Posts: 376 Leadership as Art
Science or
Religion

Introduction:

If you go into
history and see why
leaders have
succeeded, it’s
because they have
been able to
identify a goal that
appears almost
impossible. They
have been able to
get their followers
to accept that the
seemingly
impossible goal is
achievable; they
have been able to
give them the
confidence to
achieve this goal.
That is the
inspirational role of
leadership Leaders
have succeeded
when they
set themselves up
as examples and
get people to
replicate what they
have done
as role models.
Everybody would
accept this as a
leadership
definition.
Outstanding leaders
are those who set
audacious
objectives and get
people to own and
achieve them. Take
the example of
Narayana
Murthy:he has
shown that you can
be a global player.
Or a Dhirubhai
Ambani, who
thought world-
scale.
Three essentials
emerge: setting a
goal which seems
impossible or needs
a fundamental leap;
second is to
communicate to
people and inspire
them that the task
is not so daunting;
and the third is to
be a living example
of what can be done
so that followers
can refer to the
leader’s life and his
actions and see the
way to behave in
given
circumstances.

Personal definition
of leadership:

A Leader is some
one who emerges
out of a crowd,
because of qualities
like confidents and
knowledge and
leads a group or a
team wherein the
team tends to
accept him because
of sense of bonding
and trust.

Scope of the
Research:

In this research
essay, I have tried
to explain my
perception of
leadership by taking
analyzing the life
and leadership style
and different phases
of the career of Mr.
Dhirubhai Ambani
who was a very big
industrialist and
founder of one of
India's biggest
flagship business. I
have made an
analysis of his
leadership style and
accordingly I have
taken my stand on
leadership.

Leadership as Art

What is art?

Art is a skill of
performing the job
easily or
comfortable with a
sense of perfection
showing class.
A person who can
act is an actor; he
has developed this
skill because of his
traits or learning
from the
environment

Leadership as Art
because many
leadership skills and
qualities cannot be
learned from a text
book. Leadership
takes practice and
hands-on
experience, as well
as intense personal
exploration of
effective human
communication and
development.

Leadership as a
Science

To be a leader you
need to know the in
and out our subject
the learning comes
from knowledge and
systematic
approach, it also
includes procurers
and system
So leadership in
certain filed or
industries like
research and
development need
science as form of
leadership, the
interesting thing is
every thing needs
research and
development so
science is required.

Leadership as a
Religion

Religion is created
by the values
followed by some
people, example
Buddha had his
values which he
spread his values
which become the
religion because
people felt this is
correct an followed,
so it has such an
impact that even
with out knowing
people follow. This
is more oriented
towards faith and
belief

I would like to
explain the concept
of leadership as art
with an example of
a leader
Mr.Dhirubhai
Ambani.

Mr.Dhirubhai
Ambani was born in
28 December 1932
in the state of
Gujarat, Indian
business tycoon and
founder of Reliance
Industries Limited.
History of
Mr.Dhirubhai
Ambani:

He worked as a
dispatch clerk with
A. Besse & Co two
years later A. Besse
& Co. became the
distributors for Shell
products and
Dhirubhai was
promoted to
manage the
company’s oil-filling
station at the port
of Aden.

Mr.Dhirubhai
Ambani returned to
India and started
the Reliance
Commercial
Corporation with a
capital of Rs.
15,000.00. The
primary business of
Reliance
Commercial
Corporation was to
import polyester
yarn and export
spices.
The business was
setup in partnership
with Mr.
Champaklal
Damani, his second
cousin, who used to
be with him in
Aden, Yemen.

Reliance Industries
ltd.

Dhirubhai Ambani
has built the biggest
private sector
enterprise in India
the company’s
turnover equals to
3% of India’s GDP.

India's largest
private sector
enterprise, with
businesses in the
energy and
materials value
chain. Group's
annual revenues are
in excess of USD 22
billion. The flagship
company, Reliance
Industries Limited,
is a Fortune Global
500 company and is
the largest private
sector company in
India
Source: Reliance
Industries Limited.
(RIL)

Mr.Dhirubhai
Ambani leadership
as Art

Dhirubhai Ambani
influenced is friends
and relatives to join
him in his future
success. He did one
thing that is dream
big, he bet on his
little money he had
and on his
confidence. His
sayings “Only when
you can dream it,
you can do it.”

Risk was the name

of the game he
played he put all his
earnings in one
single deal. For
purchase of
polyester yarn this
shows his skill
which I call it as
Art.

“No leadership or
management book
says put all your
eggs in one basket”
he started his
carrier in this was.

So leaders must
learn to trust their
interior voices, the
artist's voice,
especially the small
quiet voice that
visits in moments of
silence and solitude.
The voice is not
always logical. Art
teacher Robert
Henri wrote:

Dhirubhai never
followed the
textbook style of
management.
Instead, he evolved
a unique style,
which combined the
American style of
entrepreneurship,
with the Japanese
focus on the latest
technology. And to
this, he added the
innate shrewdness
of a Gujarati
businessman.

Source: AG
Krishnamurthy.
Source: Dipayan
Mazumdar and
Associates.

His approach to
business was very
different his moves
made people write
new theory in the
Indian stock
exchange. He went
on the way he
though is best for
him

He is the person
who influences
1000’s of people to
invest in the share
market today his
seed has grown up
to 3 million people
Reliance is the
company having the
highest number of
share holders in the
world.
Source BBC News

Dhirubhai Ambani is
credited with
starting the equity
cult in India. More
than 58,000
investors from
various parts of
India subscribed to
Reliance's IPO in
1977. Dhirubhai
was able to
convince people of
rural Gujarat that
being shareholders
of his company will
only bring returns
to their investment.
Reliance Industries
holds the distinction
that it is the only
Public Limited
Company whose
several Annual
General Meetings
were held in
stadiums. In 1986,
The Annual General
Meeting of Reliance
Industries was held
in Cross Maidan,
Mumbai and was
attended by more
than 35,000
shareholders and
the Reliance family.
Dhirubhai managed
to convince a large
number of first-time
retail investors to
participate in the
unfolding Reliance
story and put their
hard-earned money
in the Reliance
Textile IPO,
promising them, in
exchange for their
trust, substantial
returns on their
investments.

He not only faced

problems in starting
business he faced
biggest threat of
closures of the
empire he built in
one stage According
to me no man
would have
survived the
pressure this great
legend survived and
succeed
, In this shock he
was paralyzed but
recovered in 2
months
During this process
he did all that he
could such as crisis
management
damage control
reestablishing
motivating people
what ever is
necessary
THEORIES

I have to tried to
establish a
connection between
Ambani's leadership
styles with some of
the leadership
theories. I
personally feel that
Mr.Ambani applied
The Contingency
theory he did not
know surely what
contingency theory
is because he was
not a graduate. He
learn't from the
realities of life and
grew step by step.
The best example
would be that he
bribed who liked
money i.e., the
government
employees he gave
pride and power to
who like power the
politicians.
"We cannot change
our Rulers, but we
can change the way
they Rule us."
Mr.Dhirubhai
Ambani.

Ambani and the X &

Y Theory

He handed
competition in best
possible way He
had faced the
biggest challenge
from the bigger
business firms than
him those days.

Communication
skills:
It is an effective
echo of Dhirubhai
famed ability to
communicate his
message in short,
clear sentences

He was a good
speaker he delivers
things that he has
in the mind in short
but correctly
Because of his
communication skill
he could
communicate to the
share holders their
lied his success
He always believed
in motivation
He has understood
the motivation law
by himself example:
Reliance company
shares were over
subscribed to such
an extent that it
created history in
those days

His share bonus and

dividend motivated
more and more
people invest and
only this saved him
during crisis

He has used the

contingency theory
in every step of life.

Paper position

In my example it
clearly shows that
their has been no
process or system
In Mr.Dhirubhai
Ambani approach
he went to an
extent of creating a
system, were these
systems are highly
successful, my point
is that for great
leaders they do not
have to go through
system or process
they create their
own system which
suits them best, the
way they create
system is called art.

In my contest
leaders create their
own system, which
other follow so here
clearly leaders and
followers are
relationship has
been established

Evidence for my
context is
Mr.Dhirubhai
Ambani created new
system in share
market such as
creation of
convertible bonds
which did not exit
then today it is the
most used
strategies now.

Mr.Mukesh Ambani
first son of
Mr.Dhirubhai
Ambani In an
interview when he
was questioned
about his father’s
success he said that
even the managers.
It was all a feudal
style of
management. If we
had accepted that
style, we would not
have grown. It was
simply not a
scalable model. Of
course, the easiest
thing would have
been to follow it.
But we had a
disruptive style of
management. So
we said, 'we don't
want people
carrying their
wisdom in
notebooks as if it is
some kind of
secretive operation.'

"Dhirubhai will go
one day. But
Reliance's
employees and
shareholders will
keep it afloat.
Reliance is now a
concept in which
the Ambanis have
become irrelevant."

Conclusion:
Art as a leadership
is more relevant in
this context of my
example

“The though in us to
solve the problem
or create a
opportunity is,
know as Art”

Every system is
created by some
one that some one
is the leader. And
the type of the
leadership this
person possesses is
Art.
I feel instead of
learning a lot of
things and failing to
implement, it better
to learn from
mistakes and
implement. You
might be exposed
to every struggle in
life but only when u
feel or experience it
u will know its
importance.

Experience in books
and hearing can
guide you but
cannot make you
win you need you
do it, experience it
for wining.

Leadership books or
written on
experience of
 others, but art is
creating experience.
"Growth has no
limit at Reliance. I
keep revising my
vision. Only when
you dream it you
can do it."
Mr.Dhirubhai
Ambani.

"Dhirubhai will go
one day. But
Reliance's
employees and
shareholders will
keep it afloat.
Reliance is now a
concept in which
the Ambanis have
become irrelevant."

References
Source: AG
Krishnamurthy.
Source: Dipayan
Mazumdar and
Associates.
Art and religion by
von ogen vot.
Colocation |
Broadband Wireless
| Dedicated Servers
| DocSTAR | DSL |
Web Hosting | Web
Design &
Development -
Infinity Internet
Welcome to
rediff.com Dhirubhai
Ambani in
memoriam
Reliance Industries
Limited. (RIL)
Reliance ADA
GROUP.

06-07-2008, 09:48 PM #3 (permalink)

praveen
"Leadership is one of the most observed and least understood
Status: Administrator phenomena on earth. Leadership is nothing more than a romantic
Join Date: Feb 2008 myth, perhaps based on the false hope that someone will come along
Posts: 376 and solve our problems by sheer force of will."

DEFINATION OF LEADERSHIP: Leadership is an influence

relationship among leaders and followers who intend real changes
and outcomes that reflect their shared purposes. Leadership involves
influence, it occurs among people, those people intentionally desire
significant changes, and the changes reflect purposes shared by
leaders and followers. Influence means that the relationship among
people is not passive; however, also inherent in this definition is the
concept that influence is multidirectional and non-coercive.
Leadership is reciprocal. Leadership involves creating change, not
maintaining the status quo. Leadership is influencing others to come
together around a common vision. Thus, leadership involves the
influence of people to bring about change toward a desirable future.
Leadership occurs among people; it is not something done to people.
Since leadership involves people, there must be followers. An
individual performer who achieves excellence as a scientist, musician,
athlete, or woodcarver may be a leader in her field of expertise, but
is not a leader as it is by definition unless followers are involved.
Followers are an important part of the leadership process, and
leaders are sometimes followers. Good leaders know how to follow,
and they set an example for others. The issue of intention or will
means that people – leader and followers – are actively involved in
the pursuit of change toward a desired future. Each person takes
personal responsibility to achieve the desired future. Leadership is
shared among leaders and followers with everyone fully engaged and
accepting higher levels of responsibility. There are opportunities for
leadership all around us that involve influence and change toward a
desired goal or outcome. Without leadership, our families and
communities, as well as our organizations, would fall apart.
Leadership is an everyday way of acting and thinking that has little to
do with title or formal position in an organization.

EVOLVING THEORIES OF LEADERSHIP

The various leadership theories can be categorized into six basis
approaches. Many of these ideas are still applicable to leadership
studies today.
Great Man Theories: This is the granddaddy of leadership concepts.
The earliest studies of leadership adopted the belief that leaders
(who were always thought of as male) were born with certain hero
leadership traits and natural abilities of power and influence. In
organizations, social movements, religions, governments, and the
military, leadership was conceptualized as a single "GREAT MAN" who
put everything together and influenced others to follow along based
on the strength of inherited traits, qualities, and abilities.
Trait Theories: Studies of these "larger-than-life" leaders spurred
research into the various traits that defined a leader. Beginning in the
1920s, researches looked to see if leaders had particular trait or
characteristics, such as intelligence, height, or energy that
distinguished them from non leaders and contributed to success. It
was thought that if traits could be identified, leaders could be
predicted, or perhaps even trained. Although research failed to
produce a list of traits that would always guarantee leadership
success, the interest in leadership characteristics has continued to
present day.
Behavior Theories: The failure to identify a universal set of leadership
traits led researchers in the early 1950s to begin looking at what a
leader does, rather than who he or she is. One line of research
focused on what leaders actually do on the job, which relates to the
content of managerial activities, roles, and responsibilities. These
studies were soon expanded to try to determine how effective leaders
differ in their behavior from ineffective ones. Researchers looked at
how a leader behaved toward followers-such as whether they were
autocratic or democratic in their approach and how this correlated
with leadership effectiveness or ineffectiveness.
Contingency Theory: Researchers next began to consider the
contextual and situational variables that influence what leadership
behaviors will be effective. The idea behind contingency theories is
that leaders can analyze their situation and tailor their behavior to
improve leadership effectiveness. Major situational variables are the
characteristics of followers, characteristics of the work environment
and follower tasks, and the external environment. Contingency
theories, sometimes called situational theories, emphasize that
leadership cannot be understood in a vacuum separate from various
elements of the group or organizational situation.
Influence Theories: These theories examine influence processes
between leaders and followers. One primary topic of study is
charismatic leadership which refers to leadership influence based not
on position or formal authority but, on the qualities and charismatic
personality of the leader. Theories of charismatic leadership attempt
to identify how charismatic leaders behave, how they differ from
other people, and the conditions that typically give rise to charismatic
leadership. A related area of study is vision. Leaders influence people
to change by providing an inspiring vision of the future.
Relational Theories: Since the late 1970s, many ideas of leadership
have focused on the relational aspect, that is, how leaders and
followers interact and influence one another. Rather than being seen
as something a leader does to follower, leadership is viewed as a
relational process that meaningfully engages all participants and
enables each person to contribute to achieving the vision.
Interpersonal relationships are seen as the most important facet of
leadership effectiveness. One major relational theory is referred to as
transformational leadership. Transformational leadership develops
followers into leaders and brings about significant change by
elevating leaders and followers to higher levels of motivation and
morality. The theory of servant leadership means that the leader is
first and foremost a person who serves others, rather than directs or
controls others. The servant leader puts others needs and interests
above his or her own. Personal qualities that leaders need to build
effective relationships, such as emotional intelligence, a leader's
mind, integrity and high moral standards, and personal courage. In
addition, leaders build relationships through motivation and
empowerment, leadership communication, team leadership, and
embracing diversity.

EMERGING LEADERSHIP THEORIES

Elements of each of the approaches are still applicable to leadership
today. However, with the transition to a new paradigm discussed
earlier new ideas are emerging. Te understanding of the world as
"turbulent, ever-changing, risky, and always challenging" is being
translated into new concepts of what it means to be a leader. In this
view, facilitating change is the key aspect of being a leader. Leading
change has always been an essential part of leadership, but many of
the earlier theories paid little attention to change behavior. With the
unpredictable environment of the early 21 st century, attention has
turned to how leaders create changes within followers and the
organization that respond to and keep pace with change in the
environment. To adapt to a chaotic world, leaders strive to create
learning organizations, in which each person is intimately involved in
identifying and solving problems so the organization can grow and
change to meet new challenges. Rather than directing and controlling
others, leaders work with others to create a shared vision and shape
the cultural values needed to attain it. Rather than relying on
hierarchical control, leaders build whole organizations as
communities of shared purpose and direction.
LEADERSHIP TODAY A SCIENCE, AN ART OR A RELIGION

As the concept of leadership has evolved through many perspectives

and continues to change. Today's reality is that the old ways no
longer work, but the new ways are just emerging. Everywhere we
hear the cry for Good Leadership. The main question for us is does a
LEADERSHIP is a science, an art or a religion?
Some says it is an art because many leadership skills and qualities
cannot be learned from a text book. Leadership takes practice and
hands-on experience, as well as intense personal exploration and
development.
Some says it is a science because a growing body of knowledge and
objective facts describes the leadership skills to attain organizational
goals.

Why it is a religion? Every civilized community is now vitally

interested in the arts. In any great modern city the numbers of
persons and the numbers of hours devoted to some of the artistic
production are very far excesses of the numbers of persons or hours
consciously devoted to religion.
"Nor soul helps flesh more now, than flesh helps soul"
Our view of human nature and of the bodily life is very different from
that of the Reformation theology.

Leadership :Art, science or Religion, A different perspective

There are only two things that can say with any degree of certainty
about leaders. First, know what they care about. Second, they are
interested in having care about the same things. Exactly how they
know what they care about, and how they work to interest in the
same things, is the leader's art form. Like any art form, there are
wide variations in technique and interpretation.
Leaders make their dreams, and the dreams of others, come true.
This is the art of leadership. A leader's dream is most often called a
vision. As artists, leaders swim in their own emotional and spiritual
undercurrents. Visions emanate from the undercurrents. Creating a
vision is not a purely rational exercise. It is an act of both inspiration
and aspiration. As inspiration, the act is "in spirit." The inspiration of
a visionary emanates from a mysterious source. As aspiration,
creating a vision expresses a desire to move "toward spirit." The
aspiration is the dream, the attempt to create a superior reality to
what currently exists.
Creating a vision is an artist's act of deciding both what is to be
created and why it is to be created, whether the thing is a pot, a
book, a poem, or a product, process, company, or manufacturing
plant.
So leaders must learn to trust their interior voices, the artist's voice,
especially the small quiet voice that visits in moments of silence and
solitude. The voice is not always logical. Art teacher Robert Henri
wrote:
"There are moments in our lives, there are moments in a day, when
we seem to see beyond the usual -- become clairvoyant. We reach
then into reality. Such are the moments of our greatest happiness.
Such are the moments of our greatest wisdom. It is in the nature of
all people to have these experiences; but in our time and under the
conditions of our lives, it is only a rare few who are able to continue
in the experience and find expression for it."
It would seem that humanity permanently values truth, goodness,
and beauty. These values are essential to religion. But there is a cleft
between the popular religion of our day and all these three. There are
many persons engaged in healing the breach between religion and
science; equally many concerned with a new ethical seriousness in
religion; few seem to be aware of the cleft between religion and art.
The values that we are reappraising, the formulae that breaking
down, what are they? In the main they are the work of the
Reformation age. We have been living religiously and morally and
politically by the premises and forms of thoughts established by the
Reformation. This does not mean that these principles have been
accepted by all or that they are now to be entirely displaced. It does
mean that Reformation assumptions have quite generally wrought
themselves into all departments of human life, that their logic is fairly
complete, and that it is now time to estimate their success and
failure.
The new premises, sanctions, and standards, where are they? They
are largely the effects of nineteenth century science and mechanics,
both negative and positive. We do not know exactly what they are,
nor shall we until they are half consciously established in practice.
They relate to changed conceptions of individualism and freedom,
authority, property, education, human nature, liberty, art. These and
other interests are to be differently conceived than in the period
under Reformation dominance.
Science is not alone the sufficient cause of these transformations. It
is rather the efficient cause, the force that will break much remaining
mediaevalism, confirms the central Reformation Protest and then
displace both protestant and catholic sanctions, preparing the way for
the positive work of new forces in philosophy, popular morality, art,
and religion. The Reformation age is being effectively closed by the
work of nineteenth century science, its close marked by the upheaval
of war. But the new age will not be predominantly scientific. Science
has displayed, negatively, what it cannot do for human life as well as
what it can do. Approved scientific method will go forward to be one
of the major instrumentalities of the new good.
But art will be another major instrumentality. Both will be agents in
forming the new age after the desires of life itself, that human
experience of universal life which we call religion and which alone is
the sufficient cause of human good. A new age is never an entire
break with the past. It carries forward from the immediate past much
that does not logically belong with the new forms. It carries forward
from the more remote past much that is still more out of harmony
with the new forms. And it restores some things from the distant past
more useful and valued in the new age than they were in the
immediately previous one.
Feelings and forces are swept out of notice, even for long periods,
which later come back freshly to benefit and balance human life. One
of these feelings for beauty, one of these forces is the force of
artistry. In a general way, the great lack of Protestantism is not
intellectual nor moral but artistic, not ethical but cultural. In the
pioneer and commercial stages of America life this lack has not been
so noticeable or unfortunate.
For the most part those who have recognized the severance of art
from religion are chiefly persons who have felt the ungodliness of art
rather than the ugliness of religious forms. With the growth of cities
and city planning, the rapid improvement in the popular arts,
including architecture and the advancing brilliance of civilized life the
church must keep pace. The art of worship is the all comprehending
art. No other art can satisfy the demand of human nature for all-
inclusive experience. Nor can be the conditions favorable to that
experience be ever freshly reproduced without the aid of all the arts.
If architects are to build successful church buildings they must know
more about the requirements of the worship to be conducted in those
buildings. If the artist in worship is to be successful, he must know
how to set forth his message architecturally as well as liturgically.
Lets us take some models and example of leadership in Indian and
the whole world context. I would choose Mahatma Gandhi, Jawahar
Lal Nehru, Nelson Mandela and Hitler. Lets analyse their style of
leadership one by one and conclude whether their leadership was
science or art or religion.
Mahatma Gandhi - He was a simple person .When he was in South
Africa, he saw the misery of people and turned towards the active
politics. After returning to India, he fought for the Indians. His
leadership was based on Truth, Non-violence, and theory of Passive
resistance. These are all unique. People would believe him because
they found him to be true. He was knowing the art of implementation
of his leadership that he did through different theories.
Jawahar Lal Nehru – He was a political leader of the Indian National
Congress, a pivotal figure in the Indian Independence Movement and
the First Prime Minister of Independent India. He was also key figure
in International politics in the post-war period, and was one of the
founding figures of the non-alignment . Popularly referred to as
Panditji (Scholar), Nehru was also a writer, scholar and amateur
historian. In the 1920s, Nehru was elected president of the All India
Trade Unions Congress. He had become the most prominent youth
leaders, and both demanded outright political independence of India.
In 1927 he became a member of the League against Imperialism
created in Brussels. Nehru won the hearts of many young Indians.
Nelson Mandela -
LEADERSHIP AS THE NEW REALITY FOR TODAY'S ORGANIZATION
OLD Paradigm NEW Paradigm
Stability Change and crisis management
Control Empowerment
Competition Collaboration
Uniformity Diversity
Self-centered Higher purpose
Hero Humble
From stability to change and crisis management : In the past, many
leaders assumed that if they could just keep things running on a
steady, even keel, the organization would be successful. Yet today's
world is in constant motion, and nothing seems certain anymore. If
leaders still had an illusion of stability at the dawn of the twenty-first
century, it is surely shattered now.
From Control to Empowerment : Leaders in powerful positions once
thought workers should be told what to do, how to do it, when to do
it, and who to do it with. They believed strict control was needed for
the organization to function efficiently and effectively. Rigid
organizational hierarchies, structured jobs and work processes, and
detailed, inviolate procedures let everyone know that those at the top
had power and those at the bottom had none.
Today, the old assumptions about the distribution of power are no
loner valid. An emphasis on control and rigidity serves to squelch
motivation and morale rather than produce desired results. Today's
leaders share power rather than hoard it and find ways to increase an
organization's brain by getting everyone in the organization involved
and committed.
One reason for this is that the financial basis of today's economy is
rapidly becoming information rather than the tangible assets of land,
buildings and machines.
From Competition to Collaboration : The moves to empowerment also
ties directly into new ways of working that emphasize collaboration
over competition and conflict. Although some companies still
encourage internal competition and aggressiveness, most of today's
organizations are stressing teamwork and cooperation. Self directed
teams and others forms of horizontal collaboration are breaking down
 boundaries between departments and helping to spread knowledge
and information throughout the organization. Compromise and
sharing are recognized as signs of strength, not weakness.
From Uniformity to Diversity Many of today's organizations were built
on assumptions of uniformity, separation, and specialization. People
who think alike, act alike, and have similar job skills are grouped into
a departments, such as accounting or manufacturing, separate from
other departments. Homogenous groups find it easy to get along,
communicate, and understand one another. The uniform thinking
that arises, however, can be a disaster in a world becoming more
multinational and diverse.
From Self-Centered To Higher Purpose: The Ethical turmoil of the
early twenty-first century has prompted a determined and conscious
shift in leader mind-set from a self-centered focus to emphasis on a
higher purpose. Public confidence in business leaders in particular is
at an all-time low, but politics, sports, and nonprofit organizations
have also been affected.
From Hero to Humble: A related shift is the move from the celebrity "
leader-as-hero" to the hard-working behind-the scenes leader who
quietly builds a strong enduring company by supporting and
developing others rather than touting his own abilities and
successes.

CONCLUSION: I have come to the belief that leadership is an art. As

with any art, leadership can not be understood by logical argument
or technical instruction. Certainly, there are technical abilities a
person must master in order to be an effective leader, but mastery of
public speaking or conducting a meeting does not make a person a
leader. For example, a person who knows all about brushes, paints
and canv

06-07-2008, 09:48 PM #4 (permalink)

praveen
Quote:
Status: Administrator LEADERSHIP RESEARCH ESSAY
Join Date: Feb 2008 LEADERSHIP AS ART, SCIENCE OR RELIGION
Posts: 376

1. INTRODUCTION
The concept of 'Leadership' is very complex and deep as it is a
process that involves the interaction and communication between
individuals. What makes leadership complex is the simple fact that no
two individuals are the same. There is no definitive pattern or place
for leadership to occur. When ever there is more than one individual,
the scope and tendency of leadership automatically arises. Every
great leader was once a helpless baby. If we look at history there
have been different kinds of leaders like Jesus Christ and Gautama
Buddha to Alexander, Hitler and even terrorists of today. All these
leaders have had different objectives and purposes; some of their
objectives may sometimes pose as a question mark in many of our
minds. But what is common in all these leaders and what ultimately
matters is that they were able to influence millions of people in their
times and though they are history, they are still talked about and
followed even today, which just shows us to what extent of
leadership qualities they possessed.
No two leaders are the same. But, a common factor that can be seen
in all leaders is that every leader has the capacity and ability to
express thoughts and ideas into action unlike thinkers. Leaders are
also very different from managers as leadership is always based on a
long term perspective of trust of the followers. An important quality
that is the possible explanation of the existence of any good leader is
the ability to absorb, guide, inspire or motivate people to a common
platform of thought or idea. Leadership can either be forced on the
followers or can wholeheartedly happen. In today’s world there is
always a larger scope and longer sustainability for leadership that is
followed wholeheartedly rather than being forced upon.

1.1 Leadership inside Oneself

Every individual at some point of a time plays the role of the leader
knowingly or unknowingly. All of us have leadership qualities within
us but only a few of us know how exactly to use them. There are
some of us who stimulate a sense of inspiration or motivation while
doing something but that catalysing factor sometimes does’t remain
for a long time. There are others who lack that initial spark but after
sometime will lead the whole team towards the attainment of the
goal. Some individuals remain moderate the whole time by not taking
much initiative. Whereas some have that constant leading or guiding
quality. This stimulates others to follow.

1.2 My Definition of Leadership

Leadership is the quality of being able to express, transform or relate
ones feelings, thoughts or ideas to other individuals and
simultaneously giving guidance, inspiration and motivation to reach a
common platform of thought or idea and ultimately creating a sense
of mutual trust.

2. SCOPE OF RESEARCH
Leadership is such a vast subject that it is applicable in almost every
field of thought. I am writing this essay in order to show my position
and perspective of whether leadership is an art, science or religion.
Being a management student I have given evidences and
characteristics of leadership based on a management perspective. I
have referred three different books. One of the authors is a former
supersonic test pilot – Danny Cox whose book's name is “Leadership
when the heat’s on”. I chose this book in order to get a leadership
view from a different perspective. The second book is “Leadership
Styles” by Tony Kippenberger which is a small compact book with a
lot of relevant information on characteristics of leaders. The third
book is “The Art of a Strategist” by William.A.Cohen. Apart from
these three books, I have tried to establish a connection of my
research evidence and position with a few theories mentioned in our
prescribed leadership text – The Leadership Experience by
Richard.L.Daft. I have taken into consideration most of the common
leadership approaches and behaviours of leaders and based on those
factors I have taken my position of leadership.

3. Leadership as an Art, Science or Religion

It is indeed very difficult and challenging to classify leadership as an
art, science or religion. As every individual is unique, each person will
have various reasons to follow, be inspired and motivated by his or
her own set of leaders.

4.1 Leadership from an Art perspective

The word art means a superior skill that you can learn by practice
and observation. Leadership from the art perspective is the way of
emphasising that leaders are not born but bred. Every individual has
leadership qualities. It is only through the exploring of one self that
the extent of ones leadership quality be known. It is only through
practice and mistakes that a person realizes ones mistakes and has
an opportunity to correct them. Each situation is different from the
other and each individual is different from the other and that is why
we need leaders to guide us.

4.2 Leadership from a Science perspective

Science as subject requires a lot of hard evidence. True scientists
don't consider something a fact unless it can be replicated forever
without exception. Leadership as a science is largely based on a
systematic pattern of findings, analysis of behaviours and models. It
is something that can be taught and basically has a systematic
approach. From the scientific perspective, to a great extent every
person can analyse people based on their behaviour and practically
apply various theories, models and approaches. In this complex and
fast developing world, examining leadership from such a perspective
sometimes does make sense.

4.3 Leadership from a Religious perspective

Examining leadership from a religious point of view takes us to a
totally different level. The essence of any great leader's quality is the
ability to win trust from the followers. The higher the trust, the
greater command the leader will have over his followers. The amount
of commitment that a religious person has towards religion is usually
enormous. This theory or concept can be applied to almost anything.
Certain people are committed to business or work religiously. This
means the level of commitment is as high or similar to that of a true
follower of a religion. If a leader is able to extract or obtain such kind
of commitment from his followers, be it work or business, it is
something great and miracles can happen and certain leaders are
capable of this.

5. THEORY AND MODEL REVIEWS

Since Leadership is an evolving and relatively old subject, there are
many theories and models. However, after reading most of them
from our text, I have taken into consideration three of them through
which I eventually have tried to relate with the evidence and taken a
stand.

5.1 The Trait Approach

There are certain personality traits like self-confidence, knowledge,
honesty, integrity, inter-personal skills and other factors that a leader
should possess. I feel that this theory is very relevant in regard to
my research as most of the leaders of today are leaders because of
their consistent qualities or traits that most ordinary people don’t
have.

5.2 Fiedler's Contingency Model

The peculiarity of this model is that it gives importance for
relationship building and achievement of tasks. Both relationship
building and task achievement are important and the extent of
importance to be given to each of these factors during a contingency
can be determined by only an effective leader.

5.3 Path-Goal Theory

I found this theory to be of great relevance because it gives a lot of
importance for motivation which is the underlying factor for any
leader to sustain his level of leadership or the people following. Good
motivation leads to higher satisfaction and performance.
5.4 A Brief Examination of a few Leaders
Adolf Hitler is one of the leaders that is most talked about till today.
Whenever we speak of him the first thing that comes into our minds
is his face and peculiar moustache. The German word 'hittler' means
one who lives in a hut or a shepherd. Ironically, he was rejected
twice by the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna (1907 – 1908) due to
"unfitness for painting". A compelling reason for Hitler’s tough style
was because of the very hard and sad childhood. He had so many
followers for his cause. He appealed to the economic needs of the
lower and middle classes, while sounding resonant chords of
nationalism and anti-communism. What makes him so amazing is the
fact that he rose from a poor background and went on to create a big
revolution in the history of the world.

George.W.Bush – The whole world definitely has an opinion of the

43rd and current President of the USA and his approach. He has had
the advantage of getting into politics because of his father being a
former president. But there was an added level of expectation and
performance from him because his father was a former president. He
proved himself by being re-elected. The people who follow him are
either those who are in his line of thought or some of them who are
forced to and those who don’t follow him and are totally against his
way of thought. Everyone has their own personal opinion of George
Bush's stand on the recent war and countering terrorism. He may be
right or wrong, but what I appreciate is his firm stand on his decision
despite opposition from his own country.

Osama Bin Laden – What might be wrong to some of us need not to

be to the others. Every person has his own perception and is only
natural. Osama is also someone who created a revolution. In spite of
the things he does, he appears to be a mild and soft spoken person
in television. Osama might have his very own reasons for the things
he does. I feel he is someone who is definitely very committed and
focussed in what he believes, because the means of how he
accomplishes his objectives no longer matters to him. His level of
involvement is so high that bad things do not sound as something
bad to him.

6. EVIDENCE – FUCTIONING AND CHARACTERISTICS OF MOST

LEADERS
From the books that I have read, I have taken into consideration the
common methods of functioning and characteristics of most leaders.
These factors have helped me take my position.
Goals and Objectives
By definition, a goal is an objective. A vision is a way of seeing
something to be achieved in the future. Making a vision a reality will
require the successful attainment of many goals.
Edgar Schein, emeritus professor at the Sloan School of Management
has divided the life cycle of every organization into four stages and
the maturity of a leader's role and importance in each stage.
l Creating is the initial stage of breathing life and energy into the new
enterprise and the people working in it. The leadership process is
about making mistakes and having the vision and confidence to learn
from them.
l Building is the process of the organization and each individual
coming together to meet each others needs. The entrepreneur’s
beliefs, values and assumptions are transferred to the people working
in the organization.
l Maintaining is often the most difficult phase. Bringing about a
change in any environment is challenging. But maintaining or
keeping up the change is even more challenging. As successful
organizations grow they attract competition.
l Evolving is where the leader acts as a change agent. What was once
the strength of an organization can later become a weakness. In
order for a change to be effective, people have to unlearn things and
practices which is often not that easy.

Four Tricks of Trade

Robert Goffee and Gareth Jones identified the 4 tricks of trade used
by most leaders in an award winning article in the Harvard Business
Review of 1990 called “Why should any one be led by you?” I
honestly feel that these 4 factors have been part of most great
leaders.
l Revealing Weakness (es). Although not every person is a leader,
most people know what it takes to be a leader and who a real leader
is. So it is better not to pretend to be perfect or a leader. We all have
strengths and weaknesses and exposing a weakness or two can play
a big part in establishing a trust. Through this leaders can emphasize
their approachability and humanity. For instance, Richard Branson of
Virgin always looks slightly ill-at-ease and fumbles when interviewed
in public. It is part of his appeal. The only thing to be careful is that
the weakness should not reveal a fatal flaw.
l Being Different. Any good leader will definitely be a good listener.
And a good listener will always understand and acknowledge others.
The greater the difference a leader shows in his approach of
leadership style, the longer his followers will remember him. The way
a leader dresses and speaks makes a big difference. The leader need
not be perfect but should be natural. Most of us haven’t seen Bill
Gates. Yet when most of us speak of him, we easily picture his image
and character as if we personally know him.
l Using instincts and intuitions. Good leaders use their instinct and
intuition to know how and when to reveal a weakness or highlight a
difference – weakness draws people closer and difference creates
distance. Sensing is much more than simply double-guessing. It
involves listening, feeling and learning from experience.
l Being empathetic but tough. Effective leaders walk in another's
shoes to create genuine empathy: the ability to understand
experience from the other person’s perspective. By being empathetic
a leader can understand what exactly an employee wants and guide
him accordingly.

The Fundamental Principle – Commitment

“It is not enough to be busy......the question is: What are we busy
about?” - Henry David Thoreau.
Commitment is the essence of every true leader. Full commitment
with the right strategies will definitely be a success. Before becoming
the president of the USA, Abraham Lincoln had failed in almost
everything he had tried, including working as a lawyer, independent
businessman and government employee. Yet he became the
president because oh his honest, smart, upright and courageous
character. But what most of us do not know is that he had
approached all those challenges in a half-hearted way.

Keeping Things Simple

“The simplest moves are the best.” - Napoleon Bonaparte. The more
clear the objectives and plans are, the easier it is to implement and
the less that can go wrong along the way. The more elements that
make up each action, the greater the likelihood that one or more will
fail. In any area of competition, success goes to the leaders who find
simple solutions to complex problems.

The Problem with Problems

There is a lot of difference between an effective leader and ineffective
manager. The difference lies in the way a person reacts or responds
to the problem. The ineffective manager reacts to the problem
whereas an effective leader responds creatively to problems and
learns from them.

Respect Starts with Leaders

People actually don’t care much about how smart or talented a leader
is. What they care most about is the leader’s attitude towards them.
Respect is a two-way feeling that cannot be got forcefully. Genuine
regard for others will always be accepted.

Assigning Responsibility and Providing Opportunity

Just as an individual will be motivated by the accomplishment or
recognition of something, he or she will respond with enthusiasm to
the assignment of responsibility. However, the responsibility should
be assigned based on the individual's ability and competence.
Similarly, opportunity always acts as a big factor of hope and
inspiration. Both responsibility and opportunity gives scope for
creativity and innovation.

Develop Others as Leaders

One leader cannot lead alone. Leaders develop others on an
individual basis. Jack Welch, GE's mentor and Fortune magazine's
“Manager of the Decade” for the 1990s, spends 50 percent of his
time hiring, coaching, and developing others to be more effective
leaders.

Leadership is Modelling
The ultimate threat to our future is stagnation. We don’t grow old;
we become old by not growing. The managerial moment of truth
comes when a leader realizes that, as the leader, he or she is the
trigger for change in and for the organization.

7. PAPER POSITION - LEADERSHIP IS AN ART

Good leaders often win over the hearts and minds of the team
member almost unknowingly. During my search for evidence there
were times when I felt that leadership is a combination of Art,
Science and Religion. However, later on I was able to bring the thin
line of difference.

In this research paper I have mentioned the leadership patterns of

three leaders and now I would like to express my view of their
leadership styles. I personally feel that Hitler had an artistic style of
leadership but his followers followed him religiously. George Bush has
an artistic style of leadership and his followers also see him like that.
Osama Bin Laden has a combination of artistic and religious
leadership and his followers follow him religiously.

Regarding the three theories I have mentioned, I definitely feel that

only leaders with artistic kind of leadership are capable of focussing
on factors like motivation and relationship building. Having the basic
traits like self-confidence, knowledge, honesty, integrity, inter-
personal skills are necessary for initiating and sustaining leadership
skills in the long run.

We have to accept the fact that every individual has leadership

potential. There are so many leadership and motivational books.
Almost every management student studies the subject of
“Leadership” in the management curriculum. But how many of us
really become leaders or at least apply these concepts in our day to
day lives is really very few and that possibly explains why not
everyone is a leader. Not all leaders are born with leadership
qualities and not all leaders have studied leadership. What I
personally feel is that when we study leadership, it is more of
leadership as a science perspective but when we apply it in real life
effectively and depending on the situation it becomes or transforms
to a state of art. Another important factor that I feel is that
leadership as science can be applied only to a pure manager and not
to a person who is a leader in every possible way.

Leadership from a religion perspective is really admirable. Leaders

like Hitler had an artistic approach of leadership but his followers
followed him religiously. If that kind of dedication is given by
employees, miracles can happen. The flipside of this kind of
leadership is that there is a chance that followers will follow the
leader blindly which may lead to a diversion. Because of the
follower's high confidence in their leader, the follower might not
necessarily think twice when asked to do something by a leader. I
strongly feel that only really great leaders are capable of achieving
such kind of confidence from the followers which is rarely possible in
today’s world that we live in.

8. CONCLUSION
Therefore, based on the evidences I have collected, and comparisons
of various leaders and leadership theories and models, I strongly feel
that good and effective leaders are those leaders whose leadership
qualities are truly a classic case of Art.
References
Cox, Danny (1934), Hoover, John (1952) Leadership When the Heat's
On. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, c2002.

Kippenberger, Tony. Leadership Styles. Oxford: Capstone Publishing,

2002.

Cohen, William A (1937) The Art of a Strategist. New York: AMACOM,

c2004.

Daft, Richard L; Lane, Patricia G. The Leadership Experience. Mason,

Ohio: Thomson/South-Western, cc2005.

Adolf Hitler. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Adolf Hitler - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
George W. Bush. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
George W. Bush - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Osama bin Laden. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Osama bin Laden - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Art. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Art - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Science. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Science - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Religion. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Religion - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia