Summary: The Importance Of Leadership

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Why is leadership so important in society?
When reflecting on what leadership really means and who represents it, many prominent figures may arise. For example, Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of Great Britain curing World War II, was an astounding speaker who used his inspiring speeches to lead his people against Nazi Germany with this famous line: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat” (BBC, 2006). During the same period, another leader was able to successfully lead an entire nation to execute over 11 million people because of his own personal beliefs of these people, Jews. Although his actions are among the most heinous ever seen in history, Adolf Hitler was arguably one of the most influential leaders in history.
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364). Those who possess this ability, known as a leader, have the power to influence the thoughts, behaviors, and attitudes of those around. This influence over others creates conformity within a group of people, known as social power (p. 351). Power, influence, and conformity are the three main elements that influence leadership. Raven and French identified the five different types of power that leaders possess, which are reward, coercive, legitimate, referent, and expert (p. 359).
Leaders use these different types of power to create different results. Depending on who the target audience is, the type of power used may differ. Leaders also have difference influential techniques that coincide with the powers used to coerce and conform the audience. With coercive power, they may use commands and rewards, whereas, with expert power, they may use “well-reasoned technical arguments or inspirational appeals . . . with the goal of creating private acceptance and leading their followers to achieve” (p. 364). As previously mentioned, conformity plays a huge role in how effective one’s leadership capabilities are. Conformity is “the change in beliefs, opinions, and behaviors as a result of our perceptions about what other people believe or do” (p. 328). DISCUSS
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This extensive list includes several personality traits, such as charisma, assertiveness, confidence, integrity, courage, intelligence, discipline, and self-sufficiency. Physical traits, such as attractiveness and poise are associated with the effectiveness of a leader.
Conger and Kanungo characterize a charismatic leader as “one who possesses superhuman qualities and accept unconditionally the leader’s mission and directive for action” (1987, p. 637). Charisma gives an effective leader the ability to portray their vision to his or her subordinates by explaining the purpose and meaning of their efforts. House analyzed various leaders and found that those that possessed charisma had high self-confidence, confidence in their subordinates, and a clear vision of what they wanted to accomplish (1977). Charismatic leaders are usually very persuasive and eloquent with their choice of words. This is important because, by using their words, they can promote change in attitude and behavior in their subordinates. These leaders “use their referent power to motivate, uplift, and inspire others” (Saylor, 2014, p. 365). In return, the followers can complete more than they believed

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