what is an ideal leader essay

Published December 1, 2023
9 Minute Read

12 Characteristics of a Good Leader

What Are the Characteristics and Qualities of a Good Leader?

Leaders shape our teams, organizations, communities, and world.

We need good leaders to help guide us and make the essential decisions, big and small, that keep things moving forward.

Our society is usually quick to identify a bad leader, but how can you identify a good one? What would most people say are the qualities of a good leader?

What Good Leadership Looks Like

Based upon our decades of research and experience working with leaders at thousands of organizations around the world, we’ve found that the best leaders consistently possess certain fundamental qualities and skills. Here are 12 essential leadership traits.

12 Essential Leadership Qualities

Self-Awareness
Communication
Learning Agility
Collaboration

TIP: Download an action guide & summary of these essential characteristics of a good leader in PDF format to keep this list of leadership qualities at your fingertips as a reminder.

1. Self-Awareness

While this is a more inwardly focused trait, self-awareness and humility are paramount qualities of leadership. The better you understand yourself and recognize your own strengths and weaknesses, the more effective you can be as a leader. Do you know how other people view you and understand how you show up at work and at home? Take the time to learn about the 4 aspects of self-awareness and how to strengthen each component.

Treating people with respect on a daily basis is one of the most important things a leader can do. It helps ease tensions and conflict, fosters trust, and improves your effectiveness. Creating a culture of respect is about more than just the absence of disrespect. Respectfulness can be shown in many different ways, but it often starts with showing you truly value others’ perspectives and making an effort to build belonging in the workplace — both critical components of supporting equity, diversity, and inclusion.

3. Compassion

Compassion is one of the most powerful and important acts of leadership. It’s more than simply showing empathy or even listening and seeking to understand — as compassion requires leaders to act on what they learn. After someone shares a concern or speaks up about something, they won’t feel truly heard if their leader doesn’t then take some type of meaningful action on the information, our researchers have found. This is the core of compassionate leadership , and it helps to build trust, increase collaboration, and decrease turnover across organizations.

Motivating others and garnering commitment are essential parts of leadership. Purpose-driven leaders ensure they connect their team’s daily tasks and the values of individual team members to the overall direction of the organization. This can help employees find meaning in their work — which increases engagement, inspires trust, and drives priorities forward. You’ll want to communicate the vision in ways that help others understand it, remember it, and go on to share it themselves.

5. Communication

Effective leadership and effective communication are intertwined . The best leaders are skilled communicators who can communicate in a variety of ways, from transmitting information and storytelling to soliciting input and using active listening techniques . They can communicate well both orally and in writing, and with a wide range of people from different backgrounds, roles, levels, geographies, and more. The quality and effectiveness of communication among leaders at your organization will directly affect the success of your business strategy, too.

6. Learning Agility

Learning agility is the ability to know what to do when you don’t know what to do. If you’re a “quick study” or are able to excel in unfamiliar circumstances, you might already be learning agile. But anybody can foster and increase learning agility through intentional practice and effort. After all, great leaders are really great learners.

7. Collaboration

The most effective leaders can work with a variety of colleagues of different social identities , locations, roles, and experiences. As the world has become more complex and interconnected, good leaders find themselves spanning boundaries and learning to work across various types of divides and organizational silos. When leaders value and embrace collaboration, whether within their teams or cross-functionally, several benefits arise — including increased innovation, higher-performing teams, and a more engaged and empowered workforce.

8. Influence

For some people, “influence” may sound unseemly. But as a leader, you must be able to influence others to get the work done — you cannot do it all alone. Being able to persuade people through thoughtful use of appropriate influencing tactics is an important trait of inspiring, effective leaders. Influence is quite different from manipulation, and it needs to be done authentically and transparently. It requires high levels of emotional intelligence and trust.

9. Integrity

Integrity is an essential leadership trait for the individual and the organization. It’s especially important for top-level executives who are charting the organization’s course and making countless other significant decisions. Our research has found that leader integrity is a potential blind spot for organizations , so make sure you reinforce the importance of honesty and integrity to managers at all levels.

10. Courage

It can be hard to speak up at work, whether you want to voice a new idea, provide feedback to a direct report, or flag a concern for someone above you. That’s part of the reason courage is a key leadership trait — it takes courage to do what’s right! Leaders who promote high levels of psychological safety in the workplace enable their people to speak up freely and share candid concerns without fear of repercussions. This fosters a coaching culture that supports courage and truth-telling . Courage enables both team members and leaders to take bold actions that move things in the right direction.

11. Gratitude

Being thankful can lead to higher self-esteem, reduced depression and anxiety, and better sleep. Sincere gratitude can even make you a better leader. Yet few people regularly say “thank you” in work settings, even though most people say they’d be willing to work harder for an appreciative boss. The best leaders know how to show frequent gratitude in the workplace .

12. Resilience

Resilience is more than the ability to bounce back from obstacles and setbacks — it’s the ability to respond adaptively to challenges. Practicing resilient leadership means you’ll project a positive outlook that will help others maintain the emotional strength they need to commit to a shared vision, and the courage to move forward and overcome setbacks. A good leader focuses on resilience, both taking care of themselves and also prioritizing leading employee wellbeing , too — thereby enabling better performance for themselves and their teams.

Characteristics of a Good Leader download cover

Download a PDF action guide and summary of these characteristics of a good leader, so you always have a visual reminder available of these 12 qualities of good leadership.

Develop the Characteristics of a Good Leader in Yourself & Others

Our 3 core beliefs about leadership & leadership development.

At the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL)®, we’ve been researching the qualities of a good leader and the role of leadership for over 5 decades. Here are 3 of our core beliefs about good leaders and effective leadership.

Good leaders are made, not born.

First, we believe that leaders are made, not born. Put another way, leadership is a skill that can be developed . Good leaders are molded through experience, continued study, intentional effort, and adaptation. So you can strengthen any of these 12 characteristics of a good leader, if you’re open to growth, use your experiences to fuel development , and put in the time and effort toward self-improvement.

Similarly, organizations can help their people hone these top leadership qualities by providing ample opportunities for training, offering support for learning from challenges, and providing access to coaching and mentoring programs .

Leadership is a social process.

It’s also essential to recognize that leadership is less about one strong or charismatic individual, and more about a group of people working collectively to achieve results together . If you demonstrate several of the characteristics of a good leader, but fail to grasp this key point, chances are you won’t get very far on your own. You may be well-liked and respected, but it will be challenging to accomplish team or organizational goals. At CCL, we like to say that the outcomes of leadership are about creating direction, alignment, and commitment, or DAC , within a group.

Good leadership never stops.

Also, we believe that leadership isn’t a destination, it’s a journey — it’s something that you’ll have to work at regularly throughout your career, regardless of what level you reach in your organization or what industry you work in. Different teams, projects, and situations will provide different challenges and require different leadership qualities and competencies to succeed. So you will need to be able to continue to apply these leadership characteristics in different ways throughout your career. Just continually keep learning and growing, and you’ll be an agile learner with a long career .

We Can Help You Develop the Qualities of a Good Leader

Organizations can strengthen leadership qualities and foster deeper levels of engagement at work through providing a variety of on-the-job learning experiences, mentoring, and formal development opportunities. At CCL, we have many award-winning leadership solutions with clients around the world, and we’d be honored to work with you and your organization as well.

But individuals don’t have to wait to begin strengthening these leadership characteristics within themselves. If you decide you want to work proactively on developing your leadership qualities and skills, download our action guide & visual summary of this content. And get our tips on how to convince your boss to make an investment in you and your future. We’re here to support you every step of the way on your journey to becoming a better leader!

Ready to Take the Next Step?

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Keep these qualities of a good leader top of mind in the future: download a PDF summary of this article as an action guide and visual reminder of the leadership qualities to nurture in yourself, on your team, and at your organization in the future.

This article was written by our Leading Effectively staff, who analyze our decades of pioneering, expert research and experiences in the field to share content that will help leaders at every level. Subscribe to our emails to get the latest research-based leadership articles and insights sent straight to your inbox.

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What Makes A Good Leader: Essay Hints

Table of Contents

In this essay, you need to discuss the essential qualities needed for becoming an effective leader. In fact, different situations require different types of leadership styles, so it may be hard to choose the qualities that define good leaders admired by people from bad ones.

Besides, there are common misconceptions about their role. In this article, we will try to answer the question of “what makes a good leader essay” and give you some recommendations about the aspects you should focus on.

Essay structure and key points to cover

Wondering what the best way to approach an essay on leadership qualities is? Leadership essays can be written in the expository style and structured to include different subtopics:

Discussion of major leadership theories.
Personality traits defining great leaders.
Leadership styles and how they work.
Leadership principles and core values.
Examples of leaders in different spheres of society.
People you consider to be leaders in your life.
Leadership skills you have.

It’s important to demonstrate an original personal understanding of leadership concept and provide impressive illustrative examples taken from today’s real life or history. That’s the best thing to do when reviewing various leadership qualities.

What are the qualities of a good leader: essay ideas

When we take an in-depth look at history, we see countless leadership qualities that were adopted by both good and bad leaders. When writing what are the qualities of a good leader essay, you should focus on the characteristics and strengths of a leader, and how they help influence and motivate other people along with achieving own goals.

These are emotional and behavioral characteristics of well-known leaders that helped them succeed:

Vision – effective leaders have exciting ideas, they usually are forward-looking, and have excellent strategic planning skills.
Communication – communicating ideas clearly and concisely is essential to ensure teamwork towards the same goal.
Integrity – they are honest and can always tell the truth in any situation.
Confidence – they dare to take risks to achieve their goals and never give up.
Responsiveness – good leaders value their team, listen to people they lead, and quickly change their behavior to match different situations.
Determination – good leaders are passionate about what they do and can motivate people by demonstrating their own commitment.
Empathy is the most important skill which allows to create strong bonds of trust and build successful teams.

Tips on writing a winning essay on leadership

When working on what makes a good leader essay, students should follow certain basic steps.

Research relevant sources on the internet to get a better understanding of the concept, read a lot, and make notes of interesting ideas which can be used in your paper.
Brainstorm ideas to write about, formulate a strong thesis statement and create a detailed working outline. Organize information in a logical order.
Start writing a draft with an introduction. Engage readers with a hook – provocative question, anecdote, stunning fact, convincing statistics. Introduce a subject, providing relevant background information. End introductory paragraph with a specific thesis that sums up your ideas.
Devote separate body paragraphs to specific points supporting the main argument. Begin paragraphs with topic sentences, presenting key points, give detailed explanations, and provide additional evidence and examples. Include appropriate citations with proper referencing. Sum up and demonstrate how each paragraph contributes to the logical argument.
Create a convincing conclusion to wrap up the paper’s key points.
Revise the first draft , make improvements in content, logic, and sentence structure. Edit to improve word choice and clarity.
Proofread the final version – fix minor errors and typos. Create references list and check the formatting of the entire paper.

The use of a leadership essay sample

Still not sure that you can write a good leader essay that will impress your readers? Read biographies of famous people who played crucial roles in human history, created big successful businesses, managed large corporations to learn which qualities contributed to their success.

Besides, you may want to check out some good paper examples.

Find out how powerful papers on this topic are structured and what interesting points they cover. Use essay samples as templates or models to follow.

See this short sample paragraph which discusses one of the leadership qualities for inspiration.

Empathy, an ability to recognize other’s feelings and perspectives and understand other people’s needs is crucial in leadership. Being empathetic means you can step into another person’s world and this character trait is essential for success due to several reasons. It’s impossible to effectively lead people you don’t understand. You can effectively motivate and influence someone if you know their feelings. Empathy is one of the keys to successful leadership because it helps build relationships with people they lead and create an environment of open communication. Luckily, empathy is natural for humans and we can even learn to be more empathetic and demonstrate this ability to people around us.

No time to write your essay on leadership? We’ve got plenty of time here! Our writers strive to help you out. Click the button faster and get yourself a perfect essay with no struggle!

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Leadership Essay

27 August, 2020

12 minutes read

Author: Richard Pircher

As a college student, you must write essays on a regular basis since the latter is one of the most common types of home assignments. All this means is that in order to get good grades and be successful with writing the papers, you need to have a sound understanding of the structure. Additionally, what you should never neglect is the variety of essay types. Indeed, your essay will significantly differ from one type to another: description essay will most likely have a structure that is slightly different from an argumentative one.

What you may have already encountered in your academic life is the work on a leadership essay. Although it sounds pretty complicated and vague, it is mostly possible to master an essay on leadership. Below is a guide for you to get an insight into this particular essay type.

What is a good leadership essay?

A good leadership essay is the one in which the essay writer has fully covered the topic of leadership and understood its core ideas. More specifically, to end up with a flawless leadership essay, you will need to indicate what makes a person a good leader. For achieving the latter, you will most likely need to conduct research and trace how a particular person reaches his or her goals. In other words, the task is to discover which actions the person undertakes, what their followers say about him or her, and how the person organizes the work. So, a leadership essay implies providing real-life success examples and further revealing them.

Above all, a good leadership essay is the one that follows a precise, clear, comprehensive structure. Structuring your essay about leadership in the most coherent way leads to a win-win situation: you have fewer troubles and barriers to writing a brilliant essay, and your teacher is able to comprehend the essay easily. This guide is what you will need to refer to to get an insight into how the flawless structure for a leadership essay looks like and how it will let you take a benefit.

How to write a Leadership essay?

To write a leadership essay that stands out, you first need to brainstorm all the ideas that you have and come up with a topic for your essay. If you are struggling with this step, you may think of some of the most influential people, read about them, and find out what makes them unique. Or, you can pick any topic which is mentioned at the end of this article. After you have chosen an issue, it is time to structure your essay appropriately.

As you already know, an essay constitutes three essential sections: introduction, main body, and conclusion. Below is the more detailed description of each of the parts.

Introduction

Of course, your leadership essay introduction will always vary depending on the topic of the essay. However, you can always begin by stating your vision of leadership regardless of the topic. Additionally, to motivate the reader and instantly catch his or her attention, you may use a quote of a famous leader, or simply a quote which you find relevant to the topic. Be aware that you should avoid outlining the essence and the role of the leadership in your introduction; leave it for the body paragraphs.

What you may also do in your leadership essay is ask a question, which will most likely intrigue the leader. Or it will at least give your reader an overview of what you will dwell on in your essay.

Body Paragraphs

You will need to divide the main body into 3-5 paragraphs to make the structure more comprehensive. What you have to do at this point is give your reader a sound understanding of your ideas. Therefore, try to fit each idea in a single body paragraph so that you do not confuse your reader. Do not hesitate to indicate your examples to strengthen your arguments. For instance, you may explain a fact that makes a particular person you are writing about a real leader.

Also, always stick to your thesis statement and don’t forget that the body paragraphs should reveal the parts of your thesis statement.

As you may already know, you need to restate your opinion and briefly summarize all the points from the main body in conclusion. For instance, if you wrote your essay on qualities of an effective leader, state the most fundamental qualities and indicate why they matter the most. Besides, try not to copy what you have already written in the body – it is better to restate your opinion using different words. And, of course, beware adding any new and extra information; indicate only those points that you have already outlined in the text. Finally, keep in mind that it is always favorable to keep your concluding remarks short.

Leadership Essay Examples

Writing a leadership essay requires some research and time. In case you feel the necessity to go through an essay example, below is a leadership essay sample you can refer to.

Is leadership an inborn or an acquired feature?

Is everyone capable of becoming a leader, or is this ability innate? A lot of researchers have been struggling to answer this question. One assumption about leadership implies that the leader is the person who possesses particular characteristics. Another assumption claims that leaders are capable of acquiring specific features over their life span. As the evidence shows, leaders own many features that distinguish them among others and make more and more people become their followers. These might be cognitive abilities, psychological traits, professional qualities, and a lot more, and all of them will be either acquired or innate. Based on the importance of leadership qualities, such as commitment, stress resistance, and the ability to make quality decisions, it is reasonable to claim that leaders are made, not born.

One can deem commitment as one of the top fundamental qualities of the leader. In essence, such a feature indicates that a person is passionate about the common goal, strives to be a team player, and makes every effort to reach a shared goal. As the history shows, none of the successful companies was uncoordinated by an influential, committed leader: Apple, Amazon, Microsoft – all of these companies are examples of dominant teams led by a dedicated leader. A committed leader also inspires his or her team to achieve common goals and put more effort into the shared activity. Besides, commitment is unlikely to be an innate feature; it instead comes with experience. This is so, since commitment implies dedicating oneself to the shared task, and one can reach it only via learning and continuous self-improvement.

Stress resistance is another incredibly important feature that every good leader should possess. This is because only a stress-resistant leader has sufficient capabilities to overcome any complexity and not let the anxiety and stress prevent him or her from making proper decisions. Besides, such a leader will most likely have a positive influence on the team, as long as leading by example will motivate the team members to attain the same emotional stability. What is so far familiar about stress resistance as an effective leader’s feature is that it can be either innate or attained. However, although some researchers admit that emotional stability is something one is born with, it is not entirely true; many people still put a great effort into self-improvement, changing the attitude to unfortunate situations, and so on. Therefore, being resistant to stress can be mostly attributed to a personality.

An ability to make high-quality decisions most likely determines the chances for an enterprise’s success. In particular, such quality is incredibly fundamental for a company of any size and professional orientation. Additionally, it is one of the top tasks of a good leader to make final decisions. What he or she should do implies brainstorming, discussing various opinions in the group, making forecasts, analyzing all the pros and cons. However, the leader is the one to make a final decision. Thereby, he is in charge of researching the market, discovering all the hidden truths, and analyzing the organization’s potential and capabilities to result in the most effective decision. As it flows logically from the latter, an ability to make sound quality decisions is purely a professional quality. This leads to the conclusion that one has to work hard to become a genuine leader and master the skill of making effective decisions.

Overall, the leader may possess a multitude of different skills and master them perfectly. However, what has so far become transparent is that any leader, regardless of which team he leads, must possess three essential qualities. These qualities are commitment to the common goal, ability to handle and resist stress, and, finally, an ability to make effective decisions. All of the three qualities are most likely to be acquired over a lifetime. The statement below leads to the conclusion that even though some qualities can be innate, most are not the ones that leaders are born with. Hence, this answers an essential question: leadership feature is acquired, and not necessarily inborn.

20 leadership essay topics

When coming up with your next leadership essay topic, it is imperative to brainstorm ideas and think of what leadership might be related to. If you are struggling with a topic of the importance of leadership essay or any relevant type of essay, you may quickly take a look at some of the possible topics we prepared for you:

What are the main qualities of the leader?
Successful Time Management as a feature of an effective leader
The role that rhetoric plays in leadership
The most exceptional leader in the history of the 20-th century
The role of female leadership
What are the challenges of the leader of the 21-st century?
How college helps students develop leadership skills?
Qualities of the leader that motivate people to follow them
Top things to avoid doing to become a team leader
Examples of effective and ineffective leadership in the history
Top techniques for developing leadership skills
The interconnection of creativity and leadership
Is a university’s role fundamental in developing leadership skills?
Dictatorship as an anti-example of leadership
Liberal vs Authoritative leadership: which one works better?
The influence of the leader’s role model on the followers’ mindset
Main difficulties that the new leader may face in a new team
Leadership of today vs leadership of the past: what has changed?
Reasons why I want to become a member if the leadership program
The role of cognitive abilities for the leader

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What is leadership?

All leaders, to a certain degree, do the same thing. Whether you’re talking about an executive, manager, sports coach, or schoolteacher, leadership is about guiding and impacting outcomes, enabling groups of people to work together to accomplish what they couldn’t do working individually. In this sense, leadership is something you do, not something you are. Some people in formal leadership positions are poor leaders, and many people exercising leadership have no formal authority. It is their actions, not their words, that inspire trust and energy.

Get to know and directly engage with senior McKinsey experts on leadership

Aaron De Smet is a senior partner in McKinsey’s New Jersey office, Carolyn Dewar is a senior partner in the Bay Area office, Scott Keller is a senior partner in the Southern California office, and Vik Malhotra and Ramesh Srinivasan are senior partners in the New York office.

What’s more, leadership is not something people are born with—it is a skill you can learn. At the core are mindsets, which are expressed through observable behaviors , which then lead to measurable outcomes. Is a leader communicating effectively or engaging others by being a good listener? Focusing on behaviors lets us be more objective when assessing leadership effectiveness. The key to unlocking shifts in behavior is focusing on mindsets, becoming more conscious about our thoughts and beliefs, and showing up with integrity as our full authentic selves.

There are many contexts and ways in which leadership is exercised. But, according to McKinsey analysis of academic literature as well as a survey of nearly 200,000 people in 81 organizations all over the world, there are four types of behavior that account for 89 percent of leadership effectiveness :

being supportive
operating with a strong results orientation
seeking different perspectives
solving problems effectively

Effective leaders know that what works in one situation will not necessarily work every time. Leadership strategies must reflect each organization’s context and stage of evolution. One important lens is organizational health, a holistic set of factors that enable organizations to grow and succeed over time. A situational approach enables leaders to focus on the behaviors that are most relevant as an organization becomes healthier.

Senior leaders must develop a broad range of skills to guide organizations. Ten timeless topics are important for leading nearly any organization, from attracting and retaining talent to making culture a competitive advantage. A 2017 McKinsey book, Leading Organizations: Ten Timeless Truths (Bloomsbury, 2017), goes deep on each aspect.

How is leadership evolving?

In the past, leadership was called “management,” with an emphasis on providing technical expertise and direction. The context was the traditional industrial economy command-and-control organization, where leaders focused exclusively on maximizing value for shareholders. In these organizations, leaders had three roles: planners (who develop strategy, then translate that strategy into concrete steps), directors (who assign responsibilities), or controllers (who ensure people do what they’ve been assigned and plans are adhered to).

What are the limits of traditional management styles?

Traditional management was revolutionary in its day and enormously effective in building large-scale global enterprises that have materially improved lives over the past 200 years. However, with the advent of the 21st century, this approach is reaching its limits.

For one thing, this approach doesn’t guarantee happy or loyal managers or workers. Indeed, a large portion of American workers—56 percent— claim their boss is mildly or highly toxic , while 75 percent say dealing with their manager is the most stressful part of their workday.

For 21st-century organizations operating in today’s complex business environment, a fundamentally new and more effective approach to leadership is emerging. Leaders today are beginning to focus on building agile, human-centered, and digitally enabled organizations able to thrive in today’s unprecedented environment and meet the needs of a broader range of stakeholders (customers, employees, suppliers, and communities, in addition to investors).

What is the emerging new approach to leadership?

This new approach to leadership is sometimes described as “ servant leadership .” While there has been some criticism of the nomenclature, the idea itself is simple: rather than being a manager directing and controlling people, a more effective approach is for leaders to be in service of the people they lead. The focus is on how leaders can make the lives of their team members easier—physically, cognitively, and emotionally. Research suggests this mentality can enhance both team performance and satisfaction.

In this new approach, leaders practice empathy, compassion, vulnerability, gratitude, self-awareness, and self-care. They provide appreciation and support, creating psychological safety so their employees are able to collaborate, innovate, and raise issues as appropriate. This includes celebrating achieving the small steps on the way to reaching big goals and enhancing people’s well-being through better human connections. These conditions have been shown to allow for a team’s best performance.

More broadly, developing this new approach to leadership can be expressed as making five key shifts that include, build on, and extend beyond traditional approaches:

beyond executive to visionary, shaping a clear purpose that resonates with and generates holistic impact for all stakeholders
beyond planner to architect, reimagining industries and innovating business systems that are able to create new levels of value
beyond director to catalyst, engaging people to collaborate in open, empowered networks
beyond controller to coach, enabling the organization to constantly evolve through rapid learning, and enabling colleagues to build new mindsets, knowledge, and skills
beyond boss to human, showing up as one’s whole, authentic self

Together, these shifts can help a leader expand their repertoire and create a new level of value for an organization’s stakeholders. The last shift is the most important, as it is based on developing a new level of consciousness and awareness of our inner state. Leaders who look inward and take a journey of genuine self-discovery make profound shifts in themselves and their lives; this means they are better able to benefit their organization. That involves developing “profile awareness” (a combination of a person’s habits of thought, emotions, hopes, and behavior in different circumstances) and “state awareness” (the recognition of what’s driving a person to take action). Combining individual, inward-looking work with outward-facing actions can help create lasting change.

Circular, white maze filled with white semicircles.

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Leaders must learn to make these five shifts at three levels : transforming and evolving personal mindsets and behaviors; transforming teams to work in new ways; and transforming the broader organization by building new levels of agility, human-centeredness, and value creation into the entire enterprise’s design and culture.

An example from the COVID-19 era offers a useful illustration of this new approach to leadership. In pursuit of a vaccine breakthrough, at the start of the pandemic Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel increased the frequency of executive meetings from once a month to twice a week. The company implemented a decentralized model enabling teams to work independently and deliver on the bold goal of providing 100 million doses of vaccines in 12 months. “The pace was unprecedented,” Bancel said.

What is the impact of this new approach to leadership?

This new approach to leadership is far more effective. While the dynamics are complex, countless studies show empirical links among effective leadership, employee satisfaction, customer loyalty, and profitability.

How can leaders empower employees?

Empowering employees , surprisingly enough, might mean taking a more hands-on leadership approach. Organizations whose leaders successfully empower others through coaching are nearly four times more likely to make swift, good decisions and outperform other companies . But this type of coaching isn’t always natural for those with a more controlling or autocratic style.

Here are five tips to get started if you’re a leader looking to empower others:

Provide clear rules, for example, by providing guardrails for what success looks like and communicating who makes which decisions. Clarity and boundary structures like role remits and responsibilities help to contain any anxiety associated with work and help teams stay focused on their primary tasks.
Establish clear roles, say, by assigning one person the authority to make certain decisions.
Avoid being a complicit manager—for instance, if you’ve delegated a decision to a team, don’t step in and solve the problem for them.
Address culture and skills, for instance, by helping employees learn how to have difficult conversations.
Begin soliciting personal feedback from others, at all levels of your organization, on how you are experienced as a leader.

How can leaders communicate effectively?

Good, clear communication is a leadership hallmark. Fundamental tools of effective communication include:

defining and pointing to long-term goals
listening to and understanding stakeholders
creating openings for dialogue
communicating proactively

And in times of uncertainty, these things are important for crisis communicators :

give people what they need, when they need it
communicate clearly, simply, and frequently
choose candor over charisma
revitalize a spirit of resilience
distill meaning from chaos
support people, teams, and organizations to build the capability for self-sufficiency

Learn more about our People & Organizational Performance Practice .

Is leadership different in a hybrid workplace?

A leader’s role may look slightly different in remote or hybrid workplace settings . Rather than walking around a physical site, these leaders might instead model what hybrid looks like, or orchestrate work based on tasks, interactions, or purpose. Being communicative and radiating positivity can go a long way. Leaders need to find other ways to be present and accessible, for example, via virtual drop-in sessions, regular company podcasts, or virtual townhalls. Leaders in these settings may also need to find new ways to get authentic feedback. These tactics can include pulse surveys or learning to ask thoughtful follow-up questions that reveal useful management insights.

Additional considerations, such as making sure that in-person work and togetherness has a purpose, are important. Keeping an eye on inclusivity in hybrid work is also crucial. Listening to what employees want, with an eye to their lived experience, will be vital to leaders in these settings. And a focus on output, outcomes, results, and impact—rather than arbitrary norms about time spent in offices— may be a necessary adaptation in the hybrid era .

How should CEOs lead in this new world?

Just as for leadership more broadly, today’s environment requires CEOs to lead very differently. Recent research indicates that one-third to one-half of new CEOs fail within 18 months.

What helps top performers thrive today? To find out, McKinsey led a research effort to identify the CEOs who achieved breakaway success. We examined 20 years’ worth of data on 7,800 CEOs—from 3,500 public companies across 70 countries and 24 industries. The result is the McKinsey book CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest (Scribner, March 2022). Watch an interview with the authors for more on what separates the best CEOs from the rest .

Getting perspective on leadership from CEOs themselves is enlightening—and illustrates the nuanced ways in which the new approach to leadership described above can be implemented in practice. Here are a few quotes drawn from McKinsey’s interviews with these top-level leaders :

“I think the fundamental role of a leader is to look for ways to shape the decades ahead, not just react to the present, and to help others accept the discomfort of disruptions to the status quo.” — Indra Nooyi , former chairman and CEO of PepsiCo
“The single most important thing I have to do as CEO is ensure that our brand continues to be relevant.” — Chris Kempczinski , CEO of McDonald’s
“Leaders of other enterprises often define themselves as captains of the ship, but I think I’m more the ship’s architect or designer. That’s different from a captain’s role, in which the route is often fixed and the destination defined.” — Zhang Ruimin , CEO of Haier
“I think my leadership style [can be called] ‘collaborative command.’ You bring different opinions into the room, you allow for a really great debate, but you understand that, at the end of the day, a decision has to be made quickly.” — Adena Friedman , CEO of Nasdaq
“We need an urgent refoundation of business and capitalism around purpose and humanity. To find new ways for all of us to lead so that we can create a better future, a more sustainable future.” — Hubert Joly , former chairman and CEO of Best Buy

What is leadership development?

Leaders aren’t born; they learn to lead over time. Neuroplasticity refers to the power of the brain to form new pathways and connections through exposure to novel, unfamiliar experiences. This allows adults to adapt, grow, and learn new practices throughout our lifetimes.

When it comes to leadership within organizations, this is often referred to as leadership development. Programs, books, and courses on leadership development abound, but results vary.

Leadership development efforts fail for a variety of reasons. Some overlook context; in those cases, asking a simple question (something like “What, precisely, is this program for?”) can help. Others separate reflections on leadership from real work, or they shortchange the role of adjusting leaders’ mindsets, feelings, assumptions, and beliefs, or they fail to measure results.

So what’s needed for successful leadership development? Generally, developing leaders is about creating contexts where there is sufficient psychological safety in combination with enough novelty and unfamiliarity to cultivate new leadership practices in response to stimuli. Leadership programs that successfully cultivate leaders are also built around “placescapes”—these are novel experiences, like exploring wilderness trails, practicing performing arts, or writing poetry.

When crafting a leadership development program, there are six ingredients to incorporate that lead to true organizational impact:

Set up for success:
Focus your leadership transformation on driving strategic objectives and initiatives.
Commit the people and resources needed.
Be clear about focus:
Engage a critical mass of leaders to reach a tipping point for sustained impact.
Zero in on the leadership shifts that drive the greatest value.
Execute well:
Architect experiential journeys to maximize shifts in mindsets, capabilities, and practices.
Measure for holistic impact.

A well-designed and executed leadership development program can help organizations build leaders’ capabilities broadly, at scale. And these programs can be built around coaching, mentoring, and having people try to solve challenging problems—learning skills by applying them in real time to real work.

What are mentorship, sponsorship, and apprenticeship?

Mentorship, sponsorship, and apprenticeship can also be part of leadership development efforts. What are they? Mentorship refers to trusted counselors offering guidance and support on various professional issues, such as career progression. Sponsorship is used to describe senior leaders who create opportunities to help junior colleagues succeed. These roles are typically held by more senior colleagues, whereas apprenticeship could be more distributed. Apprenticeship describes the way any colleague with domain expertise might teach others, model behaviors, or transfer skills. These approaches can be useful not only for developing leaders but also for helping your company upskill or reskill employees quickly and at scale.

For more in-depth exploration of these topics, see McKinsey’s insights on People & Organizational Performance . Learn more about McKinsey’s Leadership & Management work—and check out job opportunities if you’re interested in working at McKinsey.

Articles referenced include:

“ Author Talks: What separates the best CEOs from the rest? ,” December 15, 2021, Carolyn Dewar , Scott Keller , and Vik Malhotra
“ From the great attrition to the great adaptation ,” November 3, 2021, Aaron De Smet and Bill Schaninger
“ The boss factor: Making the world a better place through workplace relationships ,” September 22, 2020, Tera Allas and Bill Schaninger
" Leading agile transformation: The new capabilities leaders need to build 21st century organizations ," October 1, 2018, Aaron De Smet , Michael Lurie , and Andrew St. George
" Leading Organizations: Ten Timeless Truths ," 2017, Scott Keller and Mary Meaney
“ Leadership in context ,” January 1, 2016, Michael Bazigos, Chris Gagnon, and Bill Schaninger
“ Decoding leadership: What really matters ,” January 1, 2015, Claudio Feser, Fernanda Mayol, and Ramesh Srinivasan

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What is leadership: Moving beyond the C-Suite

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Ivey Business Journal

The ideal leader.

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Leadership, an act or series of acts that moves people in a certain direction can no longer be displayed by a lone, heroic individual. Instead, as this author writes, we need to recognize that leadership can come from anyone who displays leadership as an occasional, discrete act of influence. Yes a leader must provide direction, but the person at the top isn’t the only person who can provide it.

The ideal leader has vision, charisma, integrity, emotional intelligence, an inspiring delivery and sterling character. But if there are leaders who don’t fit this image, then we cannot use our ideal to define leadership in general.

Here are some leaders who don’t match our ideal:

The teenage gang leader who has “street cred”, is tough and prepared to defy the law, even if it means shooting his way out of trouble.
Stalin, admired by some Russians who like tough leaders, even if ruthless.
Technical leaders, whose new product ideas induce change even if they have no vision, an abrasive style and little emotional intelligence.
Leaders in scientific or professional functions who exert quiet influence based on hard evidence but who are personally uninspiring.

If these are genuine examples of leadership, then our image of the ideal leader can’t be about leadership in general. Our ideal is biased in two ways: first it is culturally relative, and second, we narrowly focus on larger-than-life characters such as chief executives and heads of state, the heroic, glamorous end of the spectrum.

Idealizing leadership blinds us to its real essence. We need to stop viewing the leader as a type of person in charge of a group. Instead, we need to see how leadership can come from anyone who shows it as in an occasional, discrete act of influence. Leadership must be better aligned with a world that is too complex and fast changing for one person to provide all the answers. If crowds are wiser than individuals, then the lone, heroic, ideal leader is a liability.

The argument for this contention consists of four steps:

Why we are in love with the ideal leader
Why providing direction is the real essence of leadership
Why direction today can come from anywhere
Why leadership must be discrete acts of influence.

1. Why we are in love with the notion of the ideal leader.

Why is the glamorous CEO or head of state our paradigm case of leadership rather than front-line supervisors? Does our fascination with the larger-than-life leader reveal the essence of leadership or does it really say more about us, the followers?

We expect great insights from everyone we admire: pop musicians, movie stars and attractive, tall people. Anyone with charisma or a commanding presence, we assume, must have some unique power that we ordinary people lack.

We want leaders who transport us with their charm and dazzling wit, who exude confidence and seem impervious to anxiety. We feel brighter when their light shines on us, taking us out of the dull, cool shade we normally occupy. At the extreme, it doesn’t much matter what direction they advocate as long as they seem to know what they are doing.

Surely our need for the ideal leader reflects an acute need within us that only such a person can fill. Otherwise, why wouldn’t we see front-line supervisors as paradigmatic examples of what leadership means?

The needs that we want leaders to fill include: (1) a need for a dream, a cause or purpose to believe in, to give our lives meaning, (2) a need to belong, to be part of something, a group with which we can identify and (3) a need to calm our fear that we will fail or be rejected, feelings that generate dependency.

It is not just that we search for particular leaders to meet these needs; we actually define leadership in terms of our own needs. But, is this concept of leadership valid for modern, knowledge-intensive businesses or is providing direction more important?

2. Why providing direction is the real essence of leadership

Why is having and articulating a vision so critical for leadership? Well, if we are being taken on a journey, we want to know that the person leading has a destination in mind.

Kouzes and Posner’s model of leadership is based on the metaphor of a journey . Leaders, they claim, inspire us with their vision of a destination and help us get there.

But would we follow a charismatic leader with no idea where to go or how to get there? Conversely, if we were certain that a leader could get us to a desirable destination, the lack of charisma, character and emotional intelligence would not matter.

Suppose you were pursuing an escaped convict in a remote forest. After apprehending him, you discover that you are lost and your mobile phone is out of range. Now, if your convict knows the way out of the forest, you would follow him, even though you did not admire or like him. With only minimal trust, you would watch closely where he led you.

While we ideally want an all-singing-all-dancing leader, the only essential requirement in crunch situations is for the leader to know where to go and how to get there. If you were in a theatre that suddenly caught fire, who would you listen to, the charismatic figure who leaps onto the stage and tells you not to panic or the uninspiring fireman who appears in a doorway and calls out: “This way”? Again, the ability to provide direction is critical.

If you could vote on who should be the next CEO in your company, would you put your own needs first or those of the business? You might say the latter but a lot of “research” on the meaning of leadership asks employees what they want in a leader, thus focusing on their needs, not those of the business.

Employees care less about the organization’s direction than whether it enables them to pursue their dreams and identify with leaders who they admire. That is, they put their own needs first in deciding the sort of employer or leader they want.

But if we put the business first, then leaders must be able to move it in a direction that generates sustainable prosperity. This is why direction is critical. This is easiest to see in crisis situations, like being lost in a forest or caught in a burning building, because we deeply care about our own safety . But it’s only managers, and not all of them, who care this much about the direction of a business where they are not the owners.

In trying to decide the relative importance for leadership of providing direction versus being charismatic, emotionally intelligent and nurturing, etc., we need to think of the business’s needs, not our own.

3. Why direction today can come from anywhere

Finding direction in simple situations, like the way out of a burning building, is a lot easier than in a complex, fast-changing business, where it is hard enough to do so without the unforeseeable actions of competitors and the shifting whims of consumers.

Pursing a direction or vision in a fast changing, complex business is like being in a boat race, where the destination is constantly shifting, where competitors are trying to sink your boat or outwit you with clever moves that you can’t anticipate.

How do modern CEOs show leadership in the midst of so much ambiguity and rapid change? Meeting this challenge adequately is why CEOs’ visions are often little more than vague motherhood statements.

Management thinkers like Henry Mintzberg talk about emergent strategy. Wherever it is hard to be definitive about where to go in advance of starting a journey, strategy emerges en route.

So-called learning organizations learn by experimenting with new products and services, only deciding what direction to pursue based on what works. Direction in fast changing contexts can only be discovered through trial and error rather than definitively set in advance.

If CEOs struggle to offer concrete direction, we then have two choices: (1) we can say that they no longer provide all of the leadership that an organization needs or, (2) we can change our definition of leadership so that providing direction is not so central to it.

Guess what? Thanks to our deep need to idealize the CEO as leader, we have chosen the second option. Leadership is now widely regarded as a facilitative, enabling function that encourages employees to find their own direction or help the organization find one. “Level 5” leaders draw ideas for new directions out of team members rather than provide them themselves. But choosing this option abandons the real potential that leadership has to offer, just when we need it more than ever.

4. Why leadership must be discrete acts of influence

Suppose we choose the first option, in which a CEO no longer provides all the direction an organization needs. Thus, all employees can show leadership, not just to team members, but to the whole business when they promote a better way. The crucial difference is that employees can only influence the organization’s direction, not decide it.

We can still say that we need CEOs to keep the ship afloat in the storm, help us keep our spirits up and encourage us to give our best. However, this is not leadership, but management upgraded to an engaging, supportive, nurturing, coaching function 1 . This is how we want CEOs to behave; we just need to stop calling it leadership.

Thus, providing direction is still the core meaning of leadership. However, CEOs can provide only some of it. Leadership can also be provided by other employees, where its meaning shifts from deciding new directions to influencing others to accept a new direction.

Innovation is a critical source of new directions. It was once carried out exclusively in-house. But today, some businesses are either outsourcing innovation or simply looking for new ideas wherever they can find them.

Providing direction means showing the way for others either by example or by explicitly promoting a better way. This is what Martin Luther King did by campaigning for justice for African Americans. Green leaders who promote a better way can have a leadership impact on communities all over the world. When a front-line innovator promotes a new product to management, leadership is shown bottom-up.

Leadership shown by outsiders or bottom-up does not entail occupying a particular role, being a certain type of person or using positional authority to make decisions. It simply influences us to accept a new direction. This is the leadership that innovation-driven businesses need. It sells the tickets for the journey, not to take us to the destination. We need to get there ourselves or with the help of facilitators and coaches operating as managers upgraded 2 .

If leadership simply means convincing others to take a trip they wouldn’t otherwise take, then all the usual traits required of leaders are situational. This is why a front-line innovator with zero emotional intelligence might be able to convince management to adopt a new product.

CEOs need to be emotionally intelligent, but showing leadership only requires it in certain situations. Where the content of a new idea is sufficiently compelling or can be backed by hard evidence, it doesn’t matter what the person who is promoting it is like. Here, content trumps style.

This is like the fireman pointing to the exit in a burning building. We don’t care if he has zero charisma because he knows what direction to pursue. Also, this is an isolated act of leading, which doesn’t mean joining a group headed by the fireman. He simply demonstrates leadership without being our leader in a role-based sense.

The move to discrete acts of leadership means giving up the idea that being a leader involves being in charge of a group. We can maintain this fiction in simple groups like street gangs and politics, but not in complex, fast changing businesses. If leadership can come from outside the organization or bottom up, then execution must be a separate, managerial phase.

From statics to dynamics

This discussion has shifted from a person to a process . We started with the ideal person, who can be a leader where leadership is an internal, top-down, static role. This perspective encourages talk about style rather than content, which is why direction has been supplanted by behaviour, the need for a leader to be a certain sort of person.

But switching the focus back to direction (content) has huge implications, because new content can come from anywhere. Microsoft copied Apple’s graphical user interface when it shifted from DOS to Windows. It also followed Netscape by introducing Internet Explorer.

Microsoft thus regularly follows the lead of competitors. Such leadership is quite clearly not manifested by a person nor a role. Rather, leadership-as-influence is fragmented into discrete impacts that induce a change in direction and which can come from outside or bottom-up.

In our postmodern world there are no ultimate authorities. Positional leadership suited the industrial age of static hierarchy. But today leadership is fragmented into discrete acts and impacts that can come from anywhere. This is a massive change of perspective but one that is essential for innovation-driven businesses.. Such leadership can only influence us to think or act differently. It can’t make decisions for us, look after us, or take us on any journeys.

It is time to give up the myth of the ideal leader. Leadership is not a role or type of person.

Whither our dreams?

Defining leadership according to the needs of the business rather than our own need for a dream, or to identify with admirable people, doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice our dreams. Our ideal leader just becomes our ideal CEO. With so much power, this is an important role. We just need to see that a CEO can only show leadership rather than be a leader. It’s not just that we should stop calling CEOs leaders. We should stop talking about leaders altogether, at least in large, complex businesses.

If leadership is indeed an influence process , then to be consistent we should focus on that process and forget about what sort of person is showing it. If we can buy a product on eBay without knowing the seller, then, clearly, influence is at work regardless of the type of person who influences us. Wherever the need for rapid innovation is essential, all employees must be encouraged to promote new ideas, thereby to show leadership without taking charge of those who follow.

In summary, we have moved through the following four steps:

Why leadership must be discrete acts of influence

Our fascination with the ideal leader says more about us – the followers — than it does about leadership. Businesses need leadership that provides direction, which is hard for one person to do in an age of rampant change, complexity and the greater wisdom of crowds. We need to find direction regardless of its origin. Anyone with a better idea can influence change. Leadership is now a discrete act of influence that is independent of a role, or any character or personality traits.

Reinventing Leadership and Management, Mitch McCrimmon, Ivey Business Journal , May/June, 2010.
A New Role for Management in Today’s Post Industrial Organization, Mitch McCrimmon, Ivey Business Journal, July/August, 2010.

Writing an Essay About Leadership: A Complete Guide for Students

Leadership is typically defined as the capacity of a person (as well as a group of people or organization) to “lead” others, influence their opinions, or guide them. A good leader must be able to rally people around a shared cause or goal, help shape a vision, and motivate and inspire others to attain that goal.

For decades, leadership has been one of the most sought-after abilities. It is considered one of the primary driving forces of humanity and progress. Leaders foster innovation, growth, and a goal-accomplishing attitude. So, this quality is highly valued in all areas of our lives, including in school, at work, and in one’s personal life as well.

Being such a pivotal skill, leadership often becomes a topic for academic essays. Although the topic is incredibly popular, writing a compelling paper on this subject might be uneasy. Yet, this doesn’t mean that there are absolutely no ways to ease the process.

In the guide below, we are going to answer some of your biggest questions about this type of assignment and provide actionable tips for writing a good paper. Also, we are going to give you some leadership essay examples and ideas that should help inspire your own writing.

What Is Leadership Essay?

The first big question students face when assigned this task is ‒ “What is a leader essay, in the first place?” So, let’s start from there.

In a nutshell, a leadership essay is a short piece of writing focused on the topic of leadership. Just like any other essay, it can serve multiple purposes. For example, if it’s written as a part of your class or homework, it can be:

Informative;
Persuasive;
Argumentative;
Compare and contrast, etc.

Depending on the type of assignment, your task might be to define leadership, compare different leadership styles, reflect on real-life applications of this skill, etc.

Alternatively, this type of work can be a part of the college admission process. Leadership is a common topic for admission essays. In this case, the primary goal of the paper is to show the admissions officers that you are a true leader. You might need to explain what personal traits make you a good leader and showcase real-life examples of situations when you demonstrated this skill.

In both cases, this type of essay requires you to understand the nature of leadership and communicate it in your paper, following the provided prompts and guidelines.

Read on to learn how!

How to Write a Leadership Essay Step by Step

Typically, a leadership paper is a short essay that follows the traditional essay structure. It consists of three main components: an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Traditionally, an introduction and conclusion take up one paragraph each. The number of paragraphs in the body of your paper can vary depending on the given word count. In any case, there should be at least two body paragraphs.

The writing process for this type of paper is also pretty conventional. It requires decent planning and organization to convey your ideas efficiently. Here are the core steps that should be involved in the process:

Reading and analyzing the prompt and assignment guidelines;
Brainstorming ideas and selecting a relevant topic (unless you are assigned a specific subject);
Researching the topic and collecting valid sources of information that will help you answer the primary essay question and justify your ideas;
Crafting a detailed outline to organize your ideas and streamline the writing process;
Writing the essay following your outline;
Proofreading and editing your first draft until it looks perfect.

These are the main steps to handling this task, and they look pretty simple. Nevertheless, the task itself often turns out to be rather challenging. So, let us give you a few extra guiding tips to help you ace your essay.

How to Start a Leadership Essay

It’s hard to call a more crucial part of a leadership essay than its intro. This part of the paper aims to introduce the readers to your topic and make a logical transition to the ideas and arguments you are going to provide. But most importantly, this section should grab the readers’ attention and spark their desire to read your work to the end.

To grab the attention instantly, you should start your intro with a hook. Traditionally, there are six types of effective essay hooks:

A rhetorical question;
An impressive fact or statistic;
An anecdote (as long as it’s relevant and appropriate);
A common misconception about the topic;
An imagery description of the subject.

Depending on your task, pick a hook that has the highest likelihood of engaging your readers. Then, use a few sentences to create a topic onset and give your readers an idea of what you will be talking about in your paper:

If you are writing an admission essay, design the setting of your story.
If you are writing an informative or another type of work for the class, provide some background info on the subject matter and state your thesis.

Most importantly, keep your intro short and straight to the topic.

The Perfect Length of a Leadership Essay

Now that you know how to start your paper, we also need to take a moment to clarify the ideal length of your work.

The length of this type of work can vary significantly depending on its type and purpose. Most often, if you are writing for an admission committee, schools will ask you to stick with a 250 word essay on leadership. However, if you are writing for a class, the word count can go up to 1000 words.

As was mentioned earlier, your essay might come with a specific word count. Whether it’s written for admission or a class, you might be given a set of instructions with a specific limit of words. In this case, you should carefully study the guidelines and stick to the word count indicated in them.

In the rare case that the word count isn’t specified, stick to the general rule of thumb and limit your essay to 500 or 600 words.

How to Write a Killer Conclusion for Leadership Essay

While the body of your essay will be unique, which means we can’t give you much advice on how to handle it, the conclusion always follows a traditional structure.

The conclusion of a paper is its final clause. It aims to wrap up everything you’ve discussed in your paper and give it a sense of a logical ending. Often, you will also leave your readers with some food for thought to ensure that your essay makes a lasting impact. Now, let’s define how to write this part of your work in detail.

The first and most important rule for writing a conclusion is to summarize the information from your paper without introducing any new data. Providing new information will only make your readers confused and destroy the effect your essay has on them. So, keep this tip in mind.

Also, when writing a conclusion for your college essay, you should begin with a restatement of your thesis. This trick will logically link your conclusion to the intro.

If you are writing for a class, you can end your final clause with suggestions for further research. For students writing an admission paper, the best way to finish this essay is to emphasize how you plan to apply your leadership skills discussed in the paper to your education, future career, and community in general.

Leadership Essays Examples: Ideas and Topics

Unless you are provided with a specific prompt, question, or topic that you need to address in your essay, you will have to generate ideas for your work on your own. This can feel rather overwhelming. So, let us give you a few thoughts on what you can write about in your paper.

If you are writing an admission essay, the best way to handle it is to tell a story about your own leadership skills. There are a few ways to do this. For example, you can talk about:

A specific challenge that you faced, overcoming which required you to demonstrate your leadership abilities;
Your leadership style and, if applicable, how it was shaping and changing throughout your life;
What, in your opinion, makes an effective leader, and how you relate to the qualities and personal traits you provide;
How your own leadership skills can be used to make a positive change in your community or the world in general, etc.

If you are writing a paper for a class, the choice of ideas can be even more extensive. Depending on the type of your paper, you can write about the great leaders from history, business, or other areas. Also, you can define and analyze different leadership skills, styles, theories, etc.

Winning Examples of Leadership Essay Titles to Consider

To help you get started with your paper, we compiled a list of good leadership topics that you can try for your essay:

Homework leadership essay topics

The Difference Between Ethical and Unethical Leadership
Leadership Throughout History
The Role of Gender in Leadership
An Evaluation of the Key Leadership Styles
Theories of Leadership
The Key Differences Between Autocratic and Democratic Leadership Styles
The Most Common Myths About Leadership
The Role of Leadership in Organizations
Different Styles of Leadership Adapted to Cultural Differences
The Role of Leadership in the Political Landscape
The Key Leadership Skills and How to Develop Them
The Roles of Ethics and Emotional Intelligence in Effective Leadership
Female and Male Leadership: Compare and Contrast
The Core Challenges of Leadership

Admission essay leadership topics

What Makes Me a Great Leader?
My Personal Model of Leadership
Changing My Leadership Style
A Challenge I Had to Overcome That Made Me a Leader
My Personal Leadership Role Model
How Can I Change the World With My Leadership Skills
The Most Valuable Leadership Experience I Had in My Life and How It Changed Me

Now that you have some general topic samples, let’s look at the complete essay example to help you find inspiration.

The Concept of Leadership: Common Styles and Qualities of a Good Leader

Introduction.

“Great leaders are not defined by the absence of weakness, but rather by the presence of clear strengths.” ‒ John Peter Zenger. Leaders motivate, inspire, and guide others to greater achievements. They foster innovation, communication, and progress in every landscape. But what exactly does it mean to be a great leader? From Mahatma Gandhi and Abraham Lincoln to Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher ‒ these exceptional leaders have been shaping the history of humanity for many years. They all had different styles of leadership, values, and vision. Yet, they also had a lot in common. Regardless of the type and style of leadership one chooses, it’s personal skills and traits that make a true leader.

What Are the Main Leadership Styles?

It’s possible to define over ten different styles of leadership. These styles have been shaping and changing throughout history, affected by a variety of factors, including the overall structure of the world and the mood of society. In the 21st century, one of the most widespread types of leadership styles is democratic leadership. This style implies that the decision-making power is never concentrated in one person’s hands. Instead, all subordinates of the leader with this style are given a voice in the process of making decisions. Yet, the responsibility for the actions of the entire group is still on the leader. Throughout decades, this form of leadership has been considered one of the most effective and humane ones. No wonder so many impressive leaders in history relied on it, including Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F Kennedy, Mahatma Gandhi, Barack Obama, and many others. Due to its nature, the key characteristics of a good leader with this style include teamwork, empathy, and a fair mind.

An opposite of the democratic style is autocratic Leadership. This style implies that the entire control, command, and power are concentrated in the hands of a leader. In this setting, the leader makes all decisions on their own, without giving their subordinates much room for negotiation or objections. And the responsibility is also fully on the leader. Due to its somewhat tyrannic nature, this style of leadership has a lot of detractors, especially in the modern world. Nevertheless, it still has some adherents. Some of the most famous leaders who used this style and believed in its effectiveness include Queen Elizabeth I, Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler, Donald Trump, and others.

Apart from democratic and autocratic, there are also many other leadership styles, including transformational, team, visionary, strategic, and other types of leadership. Each of them has certain pros and cons. And each has its own adherents and detractors. Yet, in broader terms, it’s not a leadership style that determines a good leader but their qualities and the way they use their styles.

Top Qualities of a Good Leader

Regardless of the leveraged style of leadership, a good leader is determined by a set of personal traits, qualities, and skills. A good leader must be self-aware, resilient, accountable, and confident. Most importantly, they must possess such qualities as empathy and emotional intelligence. After all, a leader must motivate and inspire people to follow them, which is impossible without these two skills.

As for important leadership skills, they include decision-making, critical thinking, and problem-solving. Yet, the two essential skills are active listening and communication.

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How to Start a Leadership Essay for College?

How to write a leadership essay step by step, what skill makes a good leader.

Leaders come in many shapes and kinds. Some of them are in-born, whereas others overcome a long and thorny path of self-exploration and development. They also use a variety of leadership styles, such as democratic, autocratic, and others. Yet, if you have to describe a good leader, it’s their qualities and skills that matter the most.

You Might Also Be Interested In

How to Structure a Leadership Essay (Samples to Consider)

Leadership is a complex concept, but it’s essential for boosting your career. That’s why a leadership essay focuses on applying the theoretical models and concepts of successful management to real-life situations.

If you don’t know where to start writing such a paper, please read on for professional tips!

What Is Leadership Essay?

A leadership essay is a paper that analyzes leadership concepts and their application to real-life situations that may involve everyday business management, crisis situations, and other scenarios.

Every essay on leadership is about defining a concept. Then, it’s either comparing it to similar management tools or proving that it’s useful (or not).

While some students enjoy writing such papers, other learners hate them. The below samples will come in handy, no matter which group is yours.

What Does Leadership Mean to You? (Essay Sample)

It is one of the most popular topics for a leadership essay. If you need to write a paper like that, ask yourself:

Who is a good leader?
What style do they use?
What are the situations when they might switch styles?

You may take a more personal approach to such an essay if your professor allows you to. In the example below, you will see the academic approach to this topic. It analyzes three leadership styles to discover which one corresponds to the meaning of leadership if one thinks of it as guidance and support.

Why I Want to Participate in a Leadership Program (Essay Sample)

It’s another example of a popular topic. Such papers often have a meaning beyond the classroom since they may decide whether you plan to participate in a specific program. It’s critical to make them as effective and compelling as possible.

A personalized approach is the best when it comes to essays like this. In the example below, you will see the paper that relies on individual beliefs and a personal life story to explain why it’s so important for the specific student to participate in the chosen program.

How to Write a Leadership Essay

Like every other essay, this paper has an introduction, several body paragraphs, and a conclusion summarizing your thoughts. (1) The most important part of the introduction is the final sentence, aka a thesis statement. That’s where you state your claim to prove or develop in your leadership essay.

Each body paragraph should correspond to the purpose of your essay. To ensure you don’t stray from the aim you’ve established in the thesis statement, write the topic sentences for all your paragraphs in the outline . In simple words, write the first sentence of every paragraph to define its development in advance and see if you cover everything you need.

And now, to the conclusion:

Its most essential element is thesis restatement or the first sentence of that paragraph. It’s not just paraphrasing your thesis; it’s also considering the new information you’ve discovered while writing the essay.

Structure :

Introduction (End it with a thesis statement.)
Body paragraphs (Each one starts with a topic sentence.)
Conclusion (Start it with a thesis restatement.)

Understand the purpose of a leadership essay

When starting to write, think about why you’re creating this paper. Before you sit down and type the words, think about the ideas you want to convey and their meaning in your life:

Can this essay teach you to take responsibility? Or maybe will it help you understand how to be a leader in crisis situations? When you’ve answered the “why” question, begin outlining.

Build a strong thesis

Always start with your thesis statement. It will help incorporate your answer to that notorious “why” question into your essay. Once done, you can plan out the rest of the paper and start working on the body paragraphs as soon as you finish the introduction.

There’s another important tip —don’t rush into writing the conclusion before you finish everything else!

It might seem like a good idea to create a thesis statement and thesis restatement right off the bat. However, you’ll find yourself with more refreshing ideas after completing all the research and thinking necessary for the introduction and each body paragraph.

Decide on a structure; format accordingly

Even if your essay about leadership seems not so formal, and you can use personal pronouns, you still need a clear structure.

The best way to write any academic paper is to keep your introduction and conclusion as short as possible. (But no shorter than three sentences and four lines of text).

Another important tip is to try making all your body paragraphs equal in length. That way, you’ll give the same attention to all the vital points of your essay.

Ready to Write Your Essay on Leadership Now?

Hopefully, this article has helped you understand the most critical elements of a leadership essay.

Remember the structure, grammar, and appropriate academic style to create a top-level paper. Please don’t forget to answer the “why” question and remember why you’re writing. Then you’ll impress everyone with your results!

References:

https://lsa.umich.edu/onsf/news-events/all-news/directors-blog/writing-leadership-essays.html
Essay samples
Essay writing
Writing tips

How to Write an Essay on Leadership

The world needs great leaders to move forward and progress, the type of people that can inspire others and make tough decisions. Great leadership is not only defined by the words they say, but even more so by the actions they take. Globally, leadership traits are hard to define because being a leader can mean so many different things. It’s no wonder that this topic is heavily explored by universities and professors and given as term papers to see how the youth defines great leadership. Learning how to write a leadership essay can be easy if you follow these steps.

What is a Leadership Essay?

A leadership paper is a type of essay that asks the student to elaborate on the idea of leadership critically and subjectively. This entails research upon leadership styles and differences between leaders, managers, and followers. A deeper analysis of the type of leadership demonstrated in society is also essential for this paper.

The questions asked in an essay on leadership varies. Some may ask you to give examples and personal experience of how others demonstrate leadership skills from everyday tasks at home, to academia and extracurriculars, and even at a community level. Some may ask you to describe a prominent leader that you know of, and define leadership. The point is to get you to think critically about a leadership trait is in a subjective manner. Writing a leadership paper seems just like any other paper, but there are certain nuances and tactics to maximize your effectiveness.

Content

Leadership Essays are usually discursive essays, asking you a question to discuss and analyze in detail. Discursive essays are very distinct in the way that your thesis statements and arguments should align with each other and lead the reader to a similar conclusion you have about the topic at hand, in this case, the definition of leadership. But similar to other essays, the organization stays true; an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

○ Introduction

A strong introduction includes your thesis that asks the question you are going to answer in your essay. What makes a leader a leader? What separates a good leader from a great one? What does it mean to be a leader? Questions like these have many different answers, but it is up to you to choose an answer and develop your reasonings behind it.

○ Body Paragraphs

Discursive essays on leadership traits need to have solid arguments, supported by evidence and examples. Each new paragraph should have a clear argument for your thesis and should have enough information to talk about. Here are some examples of topics that can help you define leadership.

○ Best Qualities of a Leader

Certain characteristics of people help them become better leaders and other characteristics allow them to make tough decisions. From empathy to charisma or competence to morality, a whole spectrum of leadership qualities are easily talked about and argued for or against. It’s important to elaborate on them, so think of examples you can pair with each trait. For example, charisma allows people to convince and communicate with people on a different level to follow and support, and Napoleon was able to charismatically lead the French Military across Europe earning many wins in battle because he could communicate well with the soldiers. Use traits that many leaders use so your argument can stand firmly; most leaders have “this characteristic” to allow them “to do this thing.” Do some research on which traits you’d like to write about.

○ The single most important leadership trait

Choosing one trait out of all traits can exemplify what your definition of leadership is allowing a deeper analysis why this trait is important. Being able to elaborate on this can demonstrate your knowledge about the topic. Of course, one trait doesn’t completely define a leader, but if you are effective within your language and discourse, this one trait will become more important in the reader’s mind.

○ Examples of Great Leaders in Society

Using examples of real life leaders can strengthen your argument and show your critical thinking skills. Detailing the decisions that Napoleon made and the way he lead his armies, or why Mahatma Gandhi was so compelling to many other people globally are a great way to define great leadership and even leadership experience from a wide range of important people.

○ Different Types of Leadership Styles

Showing all the different types of leadership styles gives you room to talk about or criticize from different angles. This is important to include because it extends your knowledge on the topic and reader attention will be piqued because of the variety of ideas included. For example, speaking about Autocracy as an ideology and where it works and where it doesn’t can contrast with Democracy and how it applies to your work or life situations and even at a governmental level. There are a lot of types of leadership styles to analyze and compare, so make sure to do some research beforehand to create content for your essay.

○ Bad Leadership Styles/Leaders

Great discursive essays are critical and can even include counter-arguments or the flipside to emphasize the difference between your ideas and others. Being able to show what constitutes bad leadership styles or leaders that led people astray demonstrates your ability to think critically about opposing sides. But don’t write too many paragraphs about bad leadership styles and leaders, you should limit to one paragraph for counter-arguments.

○ Conclusion

The ending of your entire essay should be a summary of all the points you made about your thesis. Think of this as the bow that your wrap around a present it tie it all together. Reiterate your thesis statement. It should be a paraphrasing from your original thesis in your intro.

Tips to Enhance your Essay

Keywords The topic is about leadership, and although it should be completely subjective, there are lots of things that people can agree upon that make a great leader. One important aspect is to include personal characteristics of great leaders such as empathy, determination, ability to follow and lead, motivation, and so on. These keywords will provide a strong idea of what you think is a great leader.
Active Voice Use some lexical skills to enhance the effect of your paper. Active voice puts a more positive position on your paper, as it makes you or the leader the important part of the sentence. Avoid using the passive voice as it shows that someone is not the main aspect of a sentence.
Use Linking Words: Organizing your thoughts is crucial for an essay. Using linking words to create more cohesion and coherence can provide a better flow of an essay. Instead of “first, second, and third” you could use terms like “To begin with, on the one hand, or consequently” to liven up your language.

Leadership is bred, not born, and your essay should highlight all the things you think about it. Writing an essay requires you to be analytical and critical. When you are faced with an important essay about leadership, keep in mind all of these tips and tricks so you’ll ace it. This is what separates you from the rest of the crowd. Don’t be a sheep!

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Feb 15, 2023

Essays on Leadership for Students | 200 - 500 Word Essays

Are you writing an essay about leadership? Check out these examples!

Leadership is often defined as "the action of inspiring others to act in concert to achieve a particular goal." It signifies the harmony in actions that lead to a common objective. A genuine leader not only exudes confidence but also paves the way for their followers towards triumph. Over the years, various leadership styles have been identified and discussed by psychologists.

Qualities such as intelligence, adaptability, extroversion, innate self-awareness, and social competence often emerge as the hallmarks of impactful leaders. There's a consensus that these traits mold an individual into an effective leader. Interestingly, some theories suggest that extraordinary situations can thrust an ordinary individual into the spotlight, bestowing upon them the mantle of leadership. It's also believed that leadership isn't a static trait but an evolving journey. It underscores the belief that with dedication and the right resources, anyone can hone their leadership abilities.

True leadership goes beyond merely advocating for a cause. It involves taking responsibility, igniting motivation in others, and differentiating oneself from just being a 'boss'. A leader's essence lies in their ability to inspire and propel people towards grand visions, whereas a manager typically focuses on oversight and operational aspects.

What Is a Leadership Essay?

A leadership essay falls under the category of student application essays and serves to provide student admissions officers with insight into your past leadership experiences. Despite appearing to be very specific, this type of essay acknowledges that the nature and perception of leadership can vary significantly depending on the individual and the context.

If you find yourself in need of further insights or a unique angle for your leadership essay, consider exploring an expert essay-writing tool designed to assist students in crafting compelling narratives by analyzing vast data and generating fresh ideas within minutes. In this article, we'll also delve into various leadership essay examples to offer a clearer understanding of the genre and inspire your writing journey.

4 Examples of Leadership Essays

Qualities of a good leader, introduction.

Confidence is the most important attribute first of all. One of the most important qualities in a leader is confidence in one's own abilities. A lack of self-assurance is fatal to a person's leadership potential. If you want others to follow you, you need to exude self-assurance. It's imperative for a leader to have faith in his own judgment and actions. How can people want to follow him if he doesn't even know what he's doing?

Every effective leader knows that they need to be an inspiration to their followers. A leader needs to set an example for his team. In addition, he ought to inspire them whenever feasible. A leader must also maintain optimism in trying times.

What qualities a good leader must have?

Leadership is the ability to influence and guide individuals or groups toward a common goal. A leader must possess several qualities to be effective, including:

Communication skills: A leader must be able to communicate their vision and goals clearly and effectively, both verbally and in writing. This requires excellent listening skills, empathy, and the ability to adapt to different communication styles.

Emotional intelligence: A leader must be able to understand and manage their own emotions, as well as those of their team members. This includes being able to understand and respond to the emotions of others, and handling conflicts in a constructive manner.

Visionary: A leader must have a clear and inspiring vision of the future, and be able to articulate this vision in a way that motivates others to work towards it.

Strategic thinking: A leader must be able to think critically and creatively to identify and solve problems, make decisions, and develop plans and strategies to achieve their goals.

Flexibility: A leader must be able to adapt to changing circumstances and be open to new ideas and perspectives. This requires the ability to embrace change, be innovative, and continuously learn and grow.

Integrity: A leader must have strong ethics and values, and be willing to make difficult decisions that are consistent with their beliefs. This requires honesty, transparency, and accountability.

Decisiveness: A leader must be able to make tough decisions quickly, without undue hesitation or procrastination. This requires courage and the ability to take calculated risks.

Empowerment: A leader must be able to delegate responsibilities, give team members the resources they need to succeed, and foster a sense of ownership and accountability among their team.

Conclusion

These qualities are essential for effective leadership, and when combined with hard work, determination, and a commitment to excellence, can help leaders to achieve great things.

How one can be a Great Leader?

Leadership is the act of performing the duties of a leader. In the business world, for instance, it is essential to have someone in charge of a team to ensure everything runs well. Effective leadership is essential for any group that wants to maximize its prospects of success.

Leadership Comes from Experience

As we've shown, leadership can be innate in some cases but is more often learned through practice and exposure. Sometimes the best traits of a leader must be learned over a lengthy period of time, so that one can become a notable one, proving that leadership is not always about a person's innate qualities. Leaders should continuously be on the lookout for opportunities to grow their leadership skills.

Nobody can disagree that experience is a key component of leadership. Numerous examples exist to back up this claim, such as:

Instance 1:

Our school's head boy or girl has traditionally been an older student who has been around for a while and thus has a better grasp of the ins and outs of school politics.

Instance 2:

When there is a vacancy for a team leader, it is common practice for the employee who has consistently put in the most effort and attention to the office job to receive a higher number of votes than their coworkers.

“The best teacher for a leader is evaluated experience.” - John C. Maxwell

How one can be a Great Leader/Skills to be a Great Leader?

Effective leadership is a skill that develops through time. Developing into a leader with all the qualities that are needed takes a lot of hard work and potential. Being a prominent leader calls for a wide variety of traits. Some of these characteristics are addressed in further detail below:

One should be a Good Communicator

To be an effective leader, one must be able to convey his thoughts clearly to his/her/its subordinates.

Should have Confidence

The individual should have faith in what he says and does.

Give Credit to other Team Members too

A leader not only needs to impose his viewpoints and opinions instead he must also hear to the suggestions of other members of the team and offer them credit if their concept is appropriate.

Good Bond with the Team

A leader's ability to command respect from his team members depends on his ability to develop and maintain positive relationships with them.

Leads with Responsibility

A leader needs to be completely committed to his position. It's important that he takes on responsibility so that he can effectively deal with the various challenges he will inevitably face.

Any group or organization needs a leader above all else. Leadership development takes time and effort. One needs to have lived through a lot to be an effective leader. It's not enough to simply have years of experience in the field; one must also have the traits that make one an effective leader. You can't be a great leader unless you possess certain traits.

What makes a Good Leader?

Trying one's hand as a leader appears easy when viewed through this lens. Is that so tough? Of course not; leading is difficult, and not everyone aspires to be a leader. The vast majority of us have settled into well-established careers where we report to superiors and make a living. Still, not everyone is content to go along with the crowd. They become leaders in whatever field they pursue. A leader is an example to followers and will prioritize the needs of those around them.

Some Unique Qualities of a Leader

Many individuals resort to their leaders to vent their frustrations, therefore it's important for them to be good listeners.

A leader ought to be completely forthright; they can't play favorites or give anyone preferential treatment. One of the most essential qualities of a strong leader is the ability to make decisions with integrity.

They need to be aware of the bigger picture and understand what makes an individual stand out or become a leader. It's their expertise in addition to other distinguishing traits. Their awareness of current events and the results of recent studies is essential. In many ways, this is helpful, and it's the leader's responsibility to stay current.

Since some might not understand them, they should utilize straightforward, easily comprehended language. Leaders need to be able to communicate effectively at all times. In reality, what sets them apart is their exceptional communication skills. Adolf Hitler was such a gifted orator that his followers believed every word he said.

No matter how you're feeling or what's going on in the world, if you listen to a leader, they may make you feel energized. Since leaders are in charge of inspiring confidence in their followers, they can't afford to be wary or unsure of themselves. People tend to blindly follow their leaders.

Whether you're a leader or a doctor, you should devote yourself completely to your chosen field. Everything we do is for the benefit of others; engineers, for example, spend much of their time designing and constructing buildings for other people. So, take pride in what you do, and if you possess the aforementioned traits, you are also a leader who doesn't have to rely on others to succeed. No matter what you do, aspiring to leadership positions will always benefit others.

What is Leadership in Management and what are the weaknesses and strengths of a Leader?

Simply said, leadership is acting as a supervisor or manager of a group. Different mental pictures pop up when we hear the word "leadership" used in conversation. One might think of a political leader, team leader, corporate leader, school leader, etc. Leaders facilitate order and efficiency in the workplace. Teamwork and success are fundamental to effective leadership. Leaders utilize their managerial abilities to establish courses and guide their teams to success.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Leadership

Able to express oneself more clearly

Growth of character.

Self-awareness.

Possession of teamwork skills.

Gain assurance in yourself.

Weaknesses:

Acting favorably toward one's teammates.

Having no faith in the leader.

Thinks they're better than everyone else, but act hypocritically.

Not living up to the promised standard.

Insufficient morals.

Leadership and Management

Management and leadership are inextricably linked to one another. Leadership and management are both vital to the efficient operation of an organization; but, they accomplish very different things in the process. Leadership is a necessary skill for anyone aspiring to be an effective manager. The terms management and leadership are synonymous with one another. In this manner, we are able to draw the conclusion that a manager who demonstrates the traits of a successful leader is, in fact, a manager who is effective.

Leadership in School

Leadership is essential in nearly every group, as we've seen above. That group includes one's educational institution. Every school needs an outstanding figure to serve as its head of school. Class monitor, assembly captain, cultural leader, etc. are all examples of leadership roles that can be taken on at school, but this raises the question of what makes a person a successful school leader.

Any student hoping to be chosen as a student body leader will need to demonstrate a wide range of competencies. He or she needs to be a consistent student who pays attention in class and does well in extracurricular activities. For the simple reason that no intelligent and hardworking kid would ever be considered for leadership. Student leaders are most often selected from among those who participate fully in all activities.

Leadership in Organization

Leadership in an organization, also known as organizational leadership, is the process of establishing long-term objectives that further the company's mission and help it reach its ultimate destination. This is a classic illustration of how Bill Gates often works with his team: they agree on a strategy, and Gates implements it. To the same extent, it is the responsibility of the leader in each given organization to determine what it is that the group is trying to accomplish.

Leadership in Politics

Leadership in politics, also known as political leadership, is the process of becoming actively involved in a political party in the role of a party leader. Knowledge of political processes, their outcomes, and the political agenda is central to the idea of political leadership.

An effective leader can be developed in anyone who has the determination and drives to do so. Both the strengths and the areas for improvement should be nurtured. Whether in the classroom, the workplace, or the political arena, leadership is always necessary. Therefore, one can exercise leadership anywhere they like inside their own organization.

What are the types of Leadership?

The ability to lead is a rare trait that not everyone possesses. The ability to do so is a gift, so count your blessings if you possess it. It's recommended that you hone it even more so that you can propel your career forward and serve as an example to people around you. However, it is crucial to grasp the various leadership styles before you go ahead and polish your skills.

Types of Leadership Styles

Democratic Leadership

In this style of management, subordinates are given a voice in decision-making. Although the subordinates' efforts are highlighted, the leader is ultimately held responsible for the group's actions. Many people find this type of leadership to be effective.

Transformational Leadership

Transformational leaders motivate and inspire others to adopt new behaviors and ways of thinking in order to improve their own performance and that of their teams and organizations. A transformational leader is someone who encourages their team to strive for greater things and works to boost morale and output.

Team Leadership

A good leader fully incorporates his team into the task at hand. Members of the team are motivated to reach their goals and advance in their careers thanks to the leadership of the group.

Strategic Leadership

It requires a chief executive who doesn't restrict himself to brainstorming sessions with his superiors. He contributes on every level of the team. He is well-liked for his ability to unite the need for fresh ideas with the necessity of grounding them in reality.

Autocratic Leadership

The leader in a command and control structure is the center of attention. The chief executive has absolute power in this setting. He decides things on his own, without polling his staff. He relays this information to his staff and stresses the importance of swift action. The buck stops with him, and he alone must answer for his actions. Not much room for negotiation exists. It's no secret that this method of leading has its detractors.

Visionary Leadership

This kind of leader appreciates the abilities and requirements of his team members. He describes his ideal outcome and the teamwork that will be necessary to attain it.

Coaching Leadership

Leaders who coach their teams do so regularly in an effort to raise output. He inspires his employees to do better and works to keep them motivated. This approach to leadership has been much praised.

Facilitative Leadership

With occasional guidance, a facilitative leader ensures that the process runs smoothly for his team. As a precaution in case his team is ineffective. If the team is highly effective, the leader will take a hands-off approach.

Cross-Cultural Leadership

The leadership of this type is necessary when interacting with people from various cultural backgrounds. Because of the wide variety of cultures represented in the workforce across the United States, many managers and executives hold cross-cultural positions.

Laissez-Faire Leadership

The members of the team are given responsibility in this style of management. They are free to choose how they spend their time at work, with minimal oversight from the boss. It's not a good way to lead, according to experts.

Transactional Leadership

An interactive approach is integral to this kind of leadership. When team members successfully implement their leader's ideas and choices, they are rewarded with immediate, material benefits.

Charismatic Leadership

In order to bring out the best in his followers, this kind of leader makes the effort to change their attitudes, values, and actions.

This article should dispel the notion that leadership qualities can't be further subdivided. It should also assist you in pinpointing your own personal brand of leadership so you can perfect it over time.

Final Words

In conclusion, leadership is a complex and multifaceted concept that involves various qualities and skills. Effective leaders possess traits such as integrity, vision, empathy, decisiveness, and the ability to inspire and motivate others. They are able to navigate challenges, make difficult decisions, and lead their team toward success. Leadership also involves continuous learning and self-improvement, as leaders must adapt to changing circumstances and remain relevant. Effective leadership can have a positive impact on both individuals and organizations, fostering growth and creating a culture of success.

You can use Jenni.ai to quickly compose an essay on leadership, or any other topic, of your choosing. It's a fantastic choice that promises convenience and relief. Create an essay on any topic in a matter of minutes with the help of our AI-powered program. Membership is immediately available upon your free registration here.

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Key Qualities of Good Leader

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Published: Jul 15, 2020

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A Professional Guide to Writing an Inspiring Leadership Essay

Quick Navigation

1. Leadership Essay – What it Means?
2. What Makes a Good Leadership Essay?
3. Topics You Can Explore for Writing Leadership Essays
4. How to Write a Leadership Essay – Pre-Writing Stage
5.1 Introduction
5.3 Conclusion
6. Leadership Essay Topic Ideas
7. Write an Essay That Inspires!

The power of leadership stems from its ability to make an impact on people, earn respect, and put words into action. As a result, students in schools and universities are often tasked with writing leadership essays to recognize the importance of leadership in both personal and professional realms. This assignment not only helps improve writing skills but also challenges critical thinking abilities by encouraging reflection on personal experiences or evaluating the leadership qualities and styles of prominent figures.

This leadership essay writing guide offers suggestions and tips for mastering the craft of leadership essay writing, including focusing on essay structure, clarity of arguments, and content quality. Additionally, this guide provides appealing essay ideas, topic choices, an outline example, and other resources to assist in crafting a thoughtful leadership essay. In case you have no time to write your essay, you can give us a nudge by saying ‘ write my essay ‘ and get well-researched authentic papers crafted by our accomplished writers on any topic.

Leadership Essay – What it Means?

A leadership essay is a type of academic or personal writing that focuses on analyzing, evaluating, or discussing the concept of leadership, its various styles and theories, and the qualities and characteristics of effective leaders. The purpose of a leadership essay may vary depending on the assignment or context, but it typically aims to provide insights into leadership, its importance in organizations and society, and its impact on personal and professional development. A leadership essay may also require the writer to reflect on their own experiences as a leader or evaluate the leadership qualities and style of a prominent leader.

To write a perfect essay on leadership, the writer must define and apply the main concepts of leadership to real-life situations. This involves researching the history of the term and the various leadership styles employed worldwide. The essay must also evaluate the researched information and its application to human behavior and attitudes. Personal strengths and weaknesses in communication and daily interactions with others should be assessed. This format is commonly required for entering a business administration major in college, with the goal being to understand personal traits as a leader and explain them in writing. Remember, the key to writing a good leadership essay is to write about something that will inspire your readers.

What Makes a Good Leadership Essay?

A good leadership essay should have a clear and concise thesis statement that outlines the main argument of the essay. It should also provide relevant and credible evidence to support the argument, such as real-life examples and data. The essay should be well-organized, with a logical structure that guides the reader through the argument.

In addition, a good leadership essay should demonstrate the writer’s critical thinking skills and ability to analyze and evaluate information. The essay should also showcase the writer’s writing skills, including their ability to use appropriate language, grammar, and style.

Finally, a good leadership essay should offer insights and perspectives that are unique and thought-provoking. It should encourage the reader to think more deeply about the concept of leadership and its significance in personal and professional contexts.

Topics You Can Explore for Writing Leadership Essays

A leadership essay can cover a wide range of topics related to leadership. Here are some examples of potential topics:

Leadership styles and theories: Explore the different styles and theories of leadership, such as transformational, situational, autocratic, and democratic leadership, and discuss their strengths and weaknesses.
Qualities of effective leaders: Discuss the key qualities and characteristics that make an effective leader, such as integrity, empathy, vision, communication, and decision-making abilities.
Diversity and inclusion in leadership: Discuss the importance of diversity and inclusion in leadership, and analyze the impact that inclusive leadership can have on organizational culture, productivity, and innovation.
Leadership and ethics: Analyze the relationship between leadership and ethics, and discuss the importance of ethical leadership in creating a positive impact on society.
Women in leadership: Discuss the challenges that women face in leadership roles and analyze the impact that increasing gender diversity in leadership can have on organizations and society.
Leadership and innovation: Analyze the role of leadership in promoting innovation and discuss the qualities that effective leaders possess to foster a culture of innovation.
The role of leadership in change management: Discuss the importance of leadership in managing change within an organization, and analyze the strategies that leaders can use to effectively implement change.

These are just a few examples of potential topics for a leadership essay. Depending on your interests and experiences, you can choose a topic that resonates with you and allows you to showcase your knowledge and insights on leadership. Additionally, you can talk about your personal experience in your leadership essay. Here are some examples of how you can do that:

Using personal experiences to illustrate your points: Here you can discuss how personal experiences can be used to illustrate key points in your essay. For example, if you are writing about the importance of effective communication in leadership, you can draw on a personal experience where you witnessed or demonstrated effective communication skills.
Reflecting on what you have learned about leadership from your experiences: You can talk about the importance of reflecting on what you have learned about leadership from your personal experiences. For example, if you are writing about the qualities of an effective leader, you can reflect on how your own experiences have taught you the importance of those qualities.
Tying personal experiences back to the broader topic and argument of your essay: In this section, you can discuss how to ensure that your personal experiences are tied back to the broader topic and argument of your essay. For example, if you are writing about the role of leadership in promoting diversity and inclusion, you can use personal experience to illustrate how a leader’s actions can impact diversity and inclusion in the workplace or society.

Whether you need a hand with writing a critical essay or a thematic essay, let us know and we will assist you.

How to Write a Leadership Essay – Pre-Writing Stage

The first step in composing a leadership essay is to understand what leadership means. Leadership can be defined as the ability to influence others toward a common goal. A leader is someone who inspires, motivates, and guides others toward achieving success.

Step 1: Define Good Leadership

Before beginning to write an essay online , take a moment to contemplate the defining characteristics of exceptional leadership. Consider the essential and impactful qualities of a great leader, such as the ability to inspire and motivate others, lead by example, and possess integrity, empathy, accountability, responsibility, humility, resilience, vision, influence, and optimism. If you are writing about yourself, reflect on your qualities as a leader. On the other hand, if you are writing about a prominent leader, conduct thorough research on the individual to gain insight into what makes them a great leader and why they are so effective in their role. Additionally, when writing about a successful leader, be sure to analyze the various leadership styles they employ.

Step 2: Select an Inspiring Topic

The key factor in creating a good leadership essay lies in selecting an appropriate topic. If you are writing a biography of a successful and prominent leader, it is crucial to focus on their leadership qualities and on what makes them an effective leader. The topic should align with the objectives of the essay and highlight your writing strengths. Conducting thorough research and reflecting on your leadership traits can help you identify a suitable topic.

To make your essay more compelling, you can compare and contrast different leadership styles, such as authoritarian and democratic approaches. It is essential to choose a topic that emphasizes the importance and relevance of your essay. The essay should also focus on practical strategies that can be applied in real-life situations to develop effective leadership skills. Providing examples of how your essay can be used to support future practice and study can also be beneficial.

Step 3: Researching Your Topic

Once you have chosen your topic, the next step is to research it thoroughly. This will help you to develop a deeper understanding of the subject and to identify key ideas and arguments that you can include in your essay.

Determine your research question: Before conducting research, it’s essential to determine your research question. This will help to focus your research and ensure that you gather the information that is relevant to your essay topic. Your research question should be specific, clear, and concise.
Use credible sources: You can research your topic by reading books, articles, and other relevant sources, as well as by conducting interviews with experts in the field.
Consider multiple perspectives: When conducting research, consider multiple perspectives. This will help to provide a balanced view of your topic and ensure that you consider different opinions and viewpoints.
Take notes: Take notes while conducting research. This will help to keep track of the information you gather and ensure that you don’t forget any critical points.
Organize your research materials: It’s essential to organize your research materials to make it easier to access and use the information you gather. Some effective strategies for organizing research materials include creating an annotated bibliography or using a citation manager like Zotero or EndNote.
Review and analyze your research: After gathering your research materials, review and analyze the information. Identify key themes, arguments, and evidence that support your essay’s main points.

Step 4: Create an Outline and Write the First Draft

Once you have gathered your research materials, it’s time to organize them in the form of an essay outline . To organize your thoughts and prepare for writing your leadership essay, it’s essential to create an outline. This involves summarizing and arranging all the information you’ve gathered into an organized structure that will guide your writing. The essay can follow a standard five-paragraph format or have additional body paragraphs as required. The outline should include the following sections:

Introduction: Start with a hook to capture the reader’s interest and provide a clear thesis statement that highlights the main argument you’ll discuss in the essay.
Body paragraphs: Include three to four paragraphs, each presenting a unique perspective that supports your argument. Use examples, evidence, statistics, anecdotes, and other supporting details to connect each paragraph to the thesis statement.
Conclusion: Wrap it up by summarizing the key points discussed, reiterate the thesis statement, and with a strong statement that reinforces your opinion on what good leadership is and the importance of developing leadership skills.

Once you have organized your thoughts into an outline, you can begin writing your essay. In the next section, we have provided a thorough structure and an idea of how to write the introduction, body, and conclusion of a leadership essay.

Step 5: Editing and Proofreading

Once you have written your essay adhering to the outline, the next step is to edit and proofread it. This involves reviewing your essay for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors, as well as for clarity and coherence.

Crafting a Leadership Essay – Complete Structure

Introduction.

The introduction of a leadership essay is critical as it sets the tone for the entire paper and establishes the reader’s expectations. To make it engaging and persuasive, a hook sentence is essential. The first two sentences of the introduction should demonstrate the quality of the content and captivate the reader’s attention. It’s crucial to personalize the text by connecting it to your knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Incorporating a story in the introduction can also pique the reader’s interest by providing a background that will be further explored in the body paragraphs of the essay.
If you are wondering how to title an essay , keep in mind to choose a title that is both attention-grabbing and informative. You may include a hook phrase that accurately reflects the content and avoid clichés.
The introduction of a leadership essay should provide background information on the topic and set the stage for the rest of the essay. One way to do this is by providing a brief history of leadership and its evolution over time. This can help the reader understand how leadership has changed and developed, and how it is viewed in different contexts and cultures.
The thesis statement in a leadership essay introduction should clearly state the main point or argument that will be discussed in the essay. It should be concise and specific, providing a roadmap for the reader to understand what the essay will cover.
Example of a hook statement in a leadership essay:

Quotation hook: As John C. Maxwell once said, “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”

Interesting Fact Hook: Did you know that Martin Luther King Jr. was only 26 years old when he led the Montgomery Bus Boycott and became one of the most iconic leaders of the civil rights movement?

Statistic Hook: According to a recent study, companies with a gender-diverse leadership team are 21% more likely to outperform their peers in profitability.

Background information on leadership:

The study of leadership and its evolution can be traced back to the ancient philosopher Socrates, but it wasn’t until the 1930s that scientists began delving deeper into its development and impact.

Thesis statement example for a leadership essay:

“Effective leadership requires a combination of personal qualities, such as integrity and empathy, and practical skills, such as communication and decision-making, to inspire and guide individuals towards a common goal.”

This thesis statement sets up the argument that leadership is a multifaceted concept that involves both personal and practical elements.

The body paragraphs of a leadership essay should contain the main arguments or points that support the thesis statement. Each paragraph should focus on a single idea and provide evidence, examples, facts, or statistics to support the argument. It is important to organize the body of the essay logically and clearly, such as through chronological order, cause and effect, or problem and solution.

Some possible topics for the body of a leadership essay could include discussing different leadership styles, examining the qualities of effective leaders, exploring the challenges of leadership, or analyzing a specific leader and their impact on their organization or society. Discuss respective topic sentences in individual paragraphs along with supporting statements and evidence and make sure to stick to the thesis statement.

The conclusion paragraph of a leadership essay should effectively summarize the main points of the essay and restate the thesis statement in a different way. It should also provide a final thought or message to the reader, leaving them with a lasting impression. The conclusion can also include a call to action, encouraging the reader to apply the leadership principles discussed in the essay to their own life or work. Additionally, it can suggest areas for further research or discussion on the topic of leadership. A well-written conclusion should leave the reader feeling satisfied and informed, with a clear understanding of the importance of good leadership.

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Leadership Essay Topic Ideas

Some various topics and sub-topics fall under the broad subject of leadership. If you are looking for some inspiration for your leadership essay, then here are some brilliant ideas that are worth exploring:

Authentic Leadership: What it Means and Why it Matters
A Comparative Analysis of Leadership Styles: Democratic vs. Authoritarian Leadership
Servant Leadership: A Model for Effective Leadership in Modern Organizations
The Importance of emotional intelligence in effective leadership
The Impact of Leadership on organizational culture and employee satisfaction
The challenges of ethical leadership in modern organizations
The Role of Resilience in effective leadership
The Impact of Diversity on Leadership and organizational success
The relationship between leadership and innovation in the workplace.
Overcoming Adversity: Lessons from Great Leaders Who Have Faced Challenges
Examples of effective and ineffective leadership in the history
The Role of Effective Communication in Leadership
Exploring Transformational Leadership in the Workplace
American Civil War Strategy and Leadership
Contemporary Issues in Management: Gender and Leadership
Impact of Gender Differences on Leadership Styles
Authentic leadership: being true to yourself while leading others
The Impact of Globalization on leadership practices
Cross-cultural leadership: adapting to different cultural norms
A time when you displayed your leadership skills

Write an Essay That Inspires!

A well-crafted leadership essay should be inspirational and relatable. Writing such an essay requires a deep understanding of the subject matter and a careful selection of words and phrases that can effectively convey your ideas. At PenMyPaper, we understand the challenges of crafting a compelling leadership essay, and we are here to help. Our team of professional experts is dedicated to delivering high-quality essays that meet your specific requirements, exceed your expectations, and are delivered within your desired timeframe and budget.

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Leadership Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on leadership.

First of all, Leadership refers to the quality of leading people. Probably, it is one of the most important aspects of life. Above all, Leadership has led to the progress of human civilization . Without good Leadership, no organization or group can succeed. Furthermore, not everyone has this quality. This is because effective Leadership requires certain important characteristics.

Qualities of a Good Leader

First of all, confidence is the most quality. A leader must have strong self-confidence. A person lacking in confidence can never be a good leader. A person must be confident enough to ensure others follow him. The leader must have confidence in his decisions and actions. If he is unsure, then how can people have the desire to follow him.

A good leader must certainly inspire others. A leader must be a role model for his followers. Furthermore, he must motivate them whenever possible. Also, in difficult situations, a leader must not lose hope. How can a leader inspire people if he himself is hopeless?

Honesty is another notable quality of a leader. Honesty and Integrity are important to earn the love of followers. Above all, honesty is essential to win the trust of the people. Probably, every Leadership which loses trust is bound to fail. People will not work with full effort due to an immoral leader.

Good communication is a must for a good leader. This is because poor communication means the wrong message to followers. Furthermore, good communication will increase the rate of work. Also, the chances of mistakes by followers will reduce.

Another important quality is decision making. Above all, if a leader makes poor decisions then other qualities will not matter. Furthermore, good decision making ensures the success of the entire group. If the leader makes poor decisions, then the efforts of followers won’t matter.

A good leader must be an excellent innovator. He must display a creative attitude in his work. Most noteworthy, innovation is a guarantee of survival of a group or innovation. Without creative thinking, progress is not possible.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Real-Life Examples of Good Leadership

Mahatma Gandhi was an excellent example of a good leader. He was a staunch believer in non-violence. With his brilliant Leadership skills, he made the British leave India. Probably, this was the most unique independence struggle. This is because Gandhi got freedom without any violence.

Abraham Lincoln was another notable leader. Most noteworthy, he ended the slavery system in the United States. Consequently, he made many enemies. However, he was a man of massive self-confidence. His struggle against slavery certainly became an inspiration.

Sir Winston Churchill was a great patriotic Englishman. Most noteworthy, he led Britain in the 2nd World War. Furthermore, he was extremely inspirational. He inspired Britain to fight against Nazi Germany. His great communication motivated the entire country at a time of hopelessness.

To conclude, Leadership is required in probably every sphere of life. Good leadership is the door to success. In contrast, bad leadership is a guarantee of failure. Consequently, good leaders are what make the world go round.

FAQs on Leadership

Q.1 Which is the most important quality for being a good leader? A.1 The most important quality for being a good leader is self-confidence.

Q.2 Why Sir Winston Churchill is a good leader? A.2 Sir Winston Churchill is a good leader because he inspired Britain to fight in 2nd World War. Furthermore, his excellent communication also raised the motivation of his people.

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Plato and Socrates on the Ideal Leader’s Virtues Essay

Plato held that philosopher guardians would run a just state. Plato thinks that given their education, talents, virtues, and the way their lives would be controlled in his Republic, such people are the best possible rulers.

In my opinion, Plato is right. In Plato’s Republic, Socrates makes a poignant point on the nature of an ideal leader. Equitable leaders need to be wise. Also, philosophers have a lot of wisdom. Socrates’ assertion resonates with the wisdom of the ages which posits that the best leaders need to have a generous heart and wisdom. His allegory of ‘the cave’ is another excellent illustration of the natural inclination that humanity has to take illusions for reality.

People indeed have remarkably different and mostly incorrect ideas of what constitutes personal fulfillment in life. Some do not even have any idea. They spend their lives experimenting on different agendas trying to quench an inexplicable thirst.

Socrates posits that all of humanity possesses this thirst. It is what drives people through their daily struggles with life. They are seeking a ‘higher’ good. In the context of a community, different factors contribute to the definition of this ultimate success. Therefore, different people have different ideas. This is where leaders come into play. Communities should live in harmony. However, that would not be possible if everybody were to pursue his/her private desires.

Leaders come in to make a collective decision for these people. This becomes a formidable responsibility which the society cannot vest on just any other person. For one to qualify for this privilege, he/she needs to demonstrate the capacity to shoulder the weight of the mantle.

For instance, sacrifice is a critical value that such a person needs to demonstrate. Many leaders fall short of this point because their personal or private needs override their sense of duty to society. People naturally seek personal development. They put the needs of the community after their own. An upright leader should be a master at utilitarianism. Utilitarianism refers to a condition whereby the bosom of society precedes individual satisfaction. This requires a different breed of people altogether.

Intellect is another quality that these leaders should possess. This brings to light the importance of education. In contemporary society, people do not give too much emphasis on the education of their leaders. Most are swayed by the fallacies that these leaders spin during election campaigns. However, it is all propaganda. Consequently, after electing them into their respective offices, they depict their true colors which are often unsightly, to say the least.

Education is a tremendously essential quality in a leader. At the very least, a leader will be in charge of a highly diverse society. He/she will be presiding over people who are likely smarter than him/her. Therefore, the less educated this leader is, the more opposition he/she will face. Similarly, the more discontent there will be in society. It becomes necessary, mandatory even that effective leaders have the education to back them up.

Education denotes an appreciation for history. Ergo, an educated leader is more likely than not to learn from the past mistakes of his/her predecessors. Just as Socrates opines, he/she needs to have ‘memory’ (Kent, 2006, p. 23). Education also means that the leader has a base of Knowledge which serves to inform his/her actions. Such knowledge becomes useful in the deployment of their duties as leaders.

As a result, they will simply be implementing procedures that have proven to be efficient in the past. Leaders acquire this wisdom through training. At this point, Socrates uses the example of an eye attached to the body, thus, requiring the body’s manipulation to turn to the light. The leaders first need to acquire wisdom for themselves, which they will use to teach their subjects. This is important, as people in the community will stand a chance to achieve the higher statuses that they seek throughout their lives. Part of the training that the leaders administer will base on the understanding that material possessions are not the ideal goal in this life. The result of learning this lesson is that people will put less emphasis on selfish private endeavors and instead focus on healthy ventures to seek the truth.

Just leaders should also apply reason in reaching their decisions which is among the qualities of philosophy. In so doing, they will be able to exercise wisdom, thus, distinguishing between illusions and reality. Socrates says, “They will learn the truth about fair, just, and praiseworthy things” (Kent, 2006, p. 23). Part of this quality requires them to have inquisitive minds so that they are teachable. As a result, they will learn the different illusions and what they allude to so that they are better placed to advise their subjects on what to do.

The sacrifice mentioned at the beginning of this paper is a virtue that frowns upon self-indulgence. These leaders need to stay focused on meeting the needs of society. They cannot do this while attending to unimportant personal fetishes. Socrates mentions sex, personal wealth, and food as obvious because if a leader, for instance, is obsessed with wealth, he/she will likely manipulate his/her authority and status amassing this wealth at the expense of his/her subjects.

A philosophical leader is virtuous by his/her education level. The difficulty arises in finding a person who satisfies all these requirements. It is also possible to find a person. However, it may be even more difficult to convince the person to take the leadership mantle, as not all “just people” are interested in being leaders. Therefore, Plato is right concerning this issue.

Kent, J. (2006). Philosophical Discourses on Just Leadership. Philosophy , 1 (1), p. 23.

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IvyPanda. (2021, September 2). Plato and Socrates on the Ideal Leader's Virtues. https://ivypanda.com/essays/plato-and-socrates-on-the-ideal-leaders-virtues/

"Plato and Socrates on the Ideal Leader's Virtues." IvyPanda , 2 Sept. 2021, ivypanda.com/essays/plato-and-socrates-on-the-ideal-leaders-virtues/.

IvyPanda . (2021) 'Plato and Socrates on the Ideal Leader's Virtues'. 2 September.

IvyPanda . 2021. "Plato and Socrates on the Ideal Leader's Virtues." September 2, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/plato-and-socrates-on-the-ideal-leaders-virtues/.

1. IvyPanda . "Plato and Socrates on the Ideal Leader's Virtues." September 2, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/plato-and-socrates-on-the-ideal-leaders-virtues/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Plato and Socrates on the Ideal Leader's Virtues." September 2, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/plato-and-socrates-on-the-ideal-leaders-virtues/.

Socrates by Aristophanes and Plato
Socrates Influence on Plato’s Philosophy
Al-Bushiri's Mantle Poem and Ibn Sina's Eighth Class
Explaining “The Apology of Socrates“ by Plato
Greek Philosopher Socrates
"The Apology" by Plato: Socrates Accusations
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Louis Althusser on Ideology, State Apparatuses and Interpellation
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Great Leader Essay

Leadership is not a notion but a quality in itself. It is easy to be the boss and give orders but equally difficult to be a part of the process and lead it. As a leader, you should know the pros and cons of each of your team members and simultaneously ensure that your team keeps on growing. And remember, as a leader, it becomes your job to maintain unity in your team and ensure that your team is guided by mutual respect. Here are a few sample essays on great leader.

100 Words Essay on Great Leader

A good leader is very much needed in this world . The greatest quality that any leader can have is vision, the ability to see the future of their organisation or team, its capability, and what it will take to achieve that position. The ability to convey the vision to others holds the same importance as having a vision. This means maintaining a positive view of the organisation, helping team members stay focused, motivated, and engaged, and remembering the field they are working in. A good leader should also have critical thinking towards his work and be mindful about the opinion of their own team members.

200 Words Essay on Great Leader

Based on several qualities such as determination, perseverance, charisma, over time, we have found that several leaders have taken over a place in the hearts of the people by not only sympathising with them but empathising as well. Unless and until you put yourself into the shoes of others, you won't be able to relate to their situation. Thus, the situation itself would remain unaddressed and the problem unsolved. Mahatma Gandhi didn't lead India to its freedom by wearing his lawyer's cloak and enjoying the money that he earned. He understood that to make people do what you want, you must step in their shoes and that is exactly what he did.

Nelson Mandela knew that there had to be someone who would raise their voice to address the discrimination against Blacks, and he took the responsibility into his own hands. The position you stand in doesn't give you the qualities of a great leader, but the qualities you imbibe and the way you implement decisions are what is needed.

A good leader must undoubtedly motivate their supporters. A leader must serve as an example for his subordinates. Additionally, they ought to inspire them whenever possible. A leader must also maintain hope in trying times.

500 Words Essay on Great Leader

Let us delve deeper into the details of a few great leaders of all times who have not only inspired us to date but will keep on doing so in future as well.

Gandhi | Let us begin the journey with Mahatma Gandhi or Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhi, whose knowledge and great endeavours led India to its long-desired freedom. What makes him different from others is his fight using non-violent methods and how these methods themselves were quite persuasive in favour of India. His resilience, determination and willpower sustained him through all thick and thin. The Civil Disobedience movement, the Dandi March and the Non- cooperation movement are examples of his efforts. Despite being a popular leader, he excelled in academics as well. And thus, knowledge combined with empathy earned him the title of 'Father of the Nation' .

Nelson Mandela | Next on the list is the African leader Nelson Mandela, whose 'Long walk to Freedom' is not unknown to the world. Mandela's fight and determination had also led him behind bars, yet not even for a second did his determination dwindle. Mandela appealed to the masses, not because he was a philanthropist or a politician, but because he understood their needs and issues and addressed them with utmost sincerity. His long struggle against apartheid earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. Mandela did not just fight evil from the outside and had first-hand experience with it.

Martin Luther King Jr. | Martin Luther King Jr. did not just have a dream but had the vision of putting it into reality, which is what he worked for. Like Gandhi's beliefs and ideals, Martin Luther King Jr. was a Civil Rights Activist who envisioned an equal world and thus fought for the rights of African-Americans. His vision was not blurred, and his resilience was not unstable. Though America is still struggling with these anti-black sentiments, the percentage has declined to a very low level. Luther's dream is slowly and gradually taking the shape of reality.

Lincoln | The 16th President of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln , cannot be left off the list. His fight against slavery and his leadership in the Civil war all have been successful to get America a united front. Lincoln's name has often come coupled with democracy because he gave this idea for the world to follow to date.

Mother Teresa | In this list, next comes the name of the Nobel Peace Prize winner Mother Teresa , whose selflessness, empathy and dedication won over the hearts of everyone. Mother Teresa worked for the vulnerable, the orphans and those whose own families had been denied help. She has been called 'Mother' because of her pure love and dedication towards all.

Though not elaborated upon, many other leaders have inspired the world. Napoleon Bonaparte, George Washington, Winston Churchill, Julius Caesar, and Dalai Lama are other prominent names of world-renowned leaders.

Qualities Of Great Leaders

The one thing that makes great leaders amazing is that they want their people to grow into better people, which makes them better employees. They encourage employees to participate in discussions, submit their ideas, and learn new skills.

Great leaders are very clear with their vision and incredibly focused on achieving that vision. They know how to make decisions at the right time and move towards the goal.

Great leaders indirectly create loyal customers by creating an environment for employers to shine. A great leader who understands sharing of ideas, collaboration and transparency will automatically create a culture for employees where they will be able to please the customers.

Explore Career Options (By Industry)

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Bio Medical Engineer

The field of biomedical engineering opens up a universe of expert chances. An Individual in the biomedical engineering career path work in the field of engineering as well as medicine, in order to find out solutions to common problems of the two fields. The biomedical engineering job opportunities are to collaborate with doctors and researchers to develop medical systems, equipment, or devices that can solve clinical problems. Here we will be discussing jobs after biomedical engineering, how to get a job in biomedical engineering, biomedical engineering scope, and salary.

Data Administrator

Database professionals use software to store and organise data such as financial information, and customer shipping records. Individuals who opt for a career as data administrators ensure that data is available for users and secured from unauthorised sales. DB administrators may work in various types of industries. It may involve computer systems design, service firms, insurance companies, banks and hospitals.

Ethical Hacker

A career as ethical hacker involves various challenges and provides lucrative opportunities in the digital era where every giant business and startup owns its cyberspace on the world wide web. Individuals in the ethical hacker career path try to find the vulnerabilities in the cyber system to get its authority. If he or she succeeds in it then he or she gets its illegal authority. Individuals in the ethical hacker career path then steal information or delete the file that could affect the business, functioning, or services of the organization.

Data Analyst

The invention of the database has given fresh breath to the people involved in the data analytics career path. Analysis refers to splitting up a whole into its individual components for individual analysis. Data analysis is a method through which raw data are processed and transformed into information that would be beneficial for user strategic thinking.

Data are collected and examined to respond to questions, evaluate hypotheses or contradict theories. It is a tool for analyzing, transforming, modeling, and arranging data with useful knowledge, to assist in decision-making and methods, encompassing various strategies, and is used in different fields of business, research, and social science.

Geothermal Engineer

Individuals who opt for a career as geothermal engineers are the professionals involved in the processing of geothermal energy. The responsibilities of geothermal engineers may vary depending on the workplace location. Those who work in fields design facilities to process and distribute geothermal energy. They oversee the functioning of machinery used in the field.

Remote Sensing Technician

Individuals who opt for a career as a remote sensing technician possess unique personalities. Remote sensing analysts seem to be rational human beings, they are strong, independent, persistent, sincere, realistic and resourceful. Some of them are analytical as well, which means they are intelligent, introspective and inquisitive.

Remote sensing scientists use remote sensing technology to support scientists in fields such as community planning, flight planning or the management of natural resources. Analysing data collected from aircraft, satellites or ground-based platforms using statistical analysis software, image analysis software or Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a significant part of their work. Do you want to learn how to become remote sensing technician? There's no need to be concerned; we've devised a simple remote sensing technician career path for you. Scroll through the pages and read.

Geotechnical engineer

The role of geotechnical engineer starts with reviewing the projects needed to define the required material properties. The work responsibilities are followed by a site investigation of rock, soil, fault distribution and bedrock properties on and below an area of interest. The investigation is aimed to improve the ground engineering design and determine their engineering properties that include how they will interact with, on or in a proposed construction.

The role of geotechnical engineer in mining includes designing and determining the type of foundations, earthworks, and or pavement subgrades required for the intended man-made structures to be made. Geotechnical engineering jobs are involved in earthen and concrete dam construction projects, working under a range of normal and extreme loading conditions.

Cartographer

How fascinating it is to represent the whole world on just a piece of paper or a sphere. With the help of maps, we are able to represent the real world on a much smaller scale. Individuals who opt for a career as a cartographer are those who make maps. But, cartography is not just limited to maps, it is about a mixture of art , science , and technology. As a cartographer, not only you will create maps but use various geodetic surveys and remote sensing systems to measure, analyse, and create different maps for political, cultural or educational purposes.

Budget Analyst

Budget analysis, in a nutshell, entails thoroughly analyzing the details of a financial budget. The budget analysis aims to better understand and manage revenue. Budget analysts assist in the achievement of financial targets, the preservation of profitability, and the pursuit of long-term growth for a business. Budget analysts generally have a bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, economics, or a closely related field. Knowledge of Financial Management is of prime importance in this career.

Product Manager

A Product Manager is a professional responsible for product planning and marketing. He or she manages the product throughout the Product Life Cycle, gathering and prioritising the product. A product manager job description includes defining the product vision and working closely with team members of other departments to deliver winning products.

Underwriter

An underwriter is a person who assesses and evaluates the risk of insurance in his or her field like mortgage, loan, health policy, investment, and so on and so forth. The underwriter career path does involve risks as analysing the risks means finding out if there is a way for the insurance underwriter jobs to recover the money from its clients. If the risk turns out to be too much for the company then in the future it is an underwriter who will be held accountable for it. Therefore, one must carry out his or her job with a lot of attention and diligence.

Finance Executive

Operations manager.

Individuals in the operations manager jobs are responsible for ensuring the efficiency of each department to acquire its optimal goal. They plan the use of resources and distribution of materials. The operations manager's job description includes managing budgets, negotiating contracts, and performing administrative tasks.

Bank Probationary Officer (PO)

Investment director.

An investment director is a person who helps corporations and individuals manage their finances. They can help them develop a strategy to achieve their goals, including paying off debts and investing in the future. In addition, he or she can help individuals make informed decisions.

Welding Engineer

Welding Engineer Job Description: A Welding Engineer work involves managing welding projects and supervising welding teams. He or she is responsible for reviewing welding procedures, processes and documentation. A career as Welding Engineer involves conducting failure analyses and causes on welding issues.

Transportation Planner

A career as Transportation Planner requires technical application of science and technology in engineering, particularly the concepts, equipment and technologies involved in the production of products and services. In fields like land use, infrastructure review, ecological standards and street design, he or she considers issues of health, environment and performance. A Transportation Planner assigns resources for implementing and designing programmes. He or she is responsible for assessing needs, preparing plans and forecasts and compliance with regulations.

An expert in plumbing is aware of building regulations and safety standards and works to make sure these standards are upheld. Testing pipes for leakage using air pressure and other gauges, and also the ability to construct new pipe systems by cutting, fitting, measuring and threading pipes are some of the other more involved aspects of plumbing. Individuals in the plumber career path are self-employed or work for a small business employing less than ten people, though some might find working for larger entities or the government more desirable.

Construction Manager

Individuals who opt for a career as construction managers have a senior-level management role offered in construction firms. Responsibilities in the construction management career path are assigning tasks to workers, inspecting their work, and coordinating with other professionals including architects, subcontractors, and building services engineers.

Urban Planner

Urban Planning careers revolve around the idea of developing a plan to use the land optimally, without affecting the environment. Urban planning jobs are offered to those candidates who are skilled in making the right use of land to distribute the growing population, to create various communities.

Urban planning careers come with the opportunity to make changes to the existing cities and towns. They identify various community needs and make short and long-term plans accordingly.

Highway Engineer

Highway Engineer Job Description: A Highway Engineer is a civil engineer who specialises in planning and building thousands of miles of roads that support connectivity and allow transportation across the country. He or she ensures that traffic management schemes are effectively planned concerning economic sustainability and successful implementation.

Environmental Engineer

Individuals who opt for a career as an environmental engineer are construction professionals who utilise the skills and knowledge of biology, soil science, chemistry and the concept of engineering to design and develop projects that serve as solutions to various environmental problems.

Naval Architect

A Naval Architect is a professional who designs, produces and repairs safe and sea-worthy surfaces or underwater structures. A Naval Architect stays involved in creating and designing ships, ferries, submarines and yachts with implementation of various principles such as gravity, ideal hull form, buoyancy and stability.

Orthotist and Prosthetist

Orthotists and Prosthetists are professionals who provide aid to patients with disabilities. They fix them to artificial limbs (prosthetics) and help them to regain stability. There are times when people lose their limbs in an accident. In some other occasions, they are born without a limb or orthopaedic impairment. Orthotists and prosthetists play a crucial role in their lives with fixing them to assistive devices and provide mobility.

Veterinary Doctor

Pathologist.

A career in pathology in India is filled with several responsibilities as it is a medical branch and affects human lives. The demand for pathologists has been increasing over the past few years as people are getting more aware of different diseases. Not only that, but an increase in population and lifestyle changes have also contributed to the increase in a pathologist’s demand. The pathology careers provide an extremely huge number of opportunities and if you want to be a part of the medical field you can consider being a pathologist. If you want to know more about a career in pathology in India then continue reading this article.

Speech Therapist

Gynaecologist.

Gynaecology can be defined as the study of the female body. The job outlook for gynaecology is excellent since there is evergreen demand for one because of their responsibility of dealing with not only women’s health but also fertility and pregnancy issues. Although most women prefer to have a women obstetrician gynaecologist as their doctor, men also explore a career as a gynaecologist and there are ample amounts of male doctors in the field who are gynaecologists and aid women during delivery and childbirth.

An oncologist is a specialised doctor responsible for providing medical care to patients diagnosed with cancer. He or she uses several therapies to control the cancer and its effect on the human body such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy and biopsy. An oncologist designs a treatment plan based on a pathology report after diagnosing the type of cancer and where it is spreading inside the body.

Audiologist

The audiologist career involves audiology professionals who are responsible to treat hearing loss and proactively preventing the relevant damage. Individuals who opt for a career as an audiologist use various testing strategies with the aim to determine if someone has a normal sensitivity to sounds or not. After the identification of hearing loss, a hearing doctor is required to determine which sections of the hearing are affected, to what extent they are affected, and where the wound causing the hearing loss is found. As soon as the hearing loss is identified, the patients are provided with recommendations for interventions and rehabilitation such as hearing aids, cochlear implants, and appropriate medical referrals. While audiology is a branch of science that studies and researches hearing, balance, and related disorders.

Hospital Administrator

The hospital Administrator is in charge of organising and supervising the daily operations of medical services and facilities. This organising includes managing of organisation’s staff and its members in service, budgets, service reports, departmental reporting and taking reminders of patient care and services.

For an individual who opts for a career as an actor, the primary responsibility is to completely speak to the character he or she is playing and to persuade the crowd that the character is genuine by connecting with them and bringing them into the story. This applies to significant roles and littler parts, as all roles join to make an effective creation. Here in this article, we will discuss how to become an actor in India, actor exams, actor salary in India, and actor jobs.

Individuals who opt for a career as acrobats create and direct original routines for themselves, in addition to developing interpretations of existing routines. The work of circus acrobats can be seen in a variety of performance settings, including circus, reality shows, sports events like the Olympics, movies and commercials. Individuals who opt for a career as acrobats must be prepared to face rejections and intermittent periods of work. The creativity of acrobats may extend to other aspects of the performance. For example, acrobats in the circus may work with gym trainers, celebrities or collaborate with other professionals to enhance such performance elements as costume and or maybe at the teaching end of the career.

Video Game Designer

Career as a video game designer is filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. A video game designer is someone who is involved in the process of creating a game from day one. He or she is responsible for fulfilling duties like designing the character of the game, the several levels involved, plot, art and similar other elements. Individuals who opt for a career as a video game designer may also write the codes for the game using different programming languages.

Depending on the video game designer job description and experience they may also have to lead a team and do the early testing of the game in order to suggest changes and find loopholes.

Radio Jockey

Radio Jockey is an exciting, promising career and a great challenge for music lovers. If you are really interested in a career as radio jockey, then it is very important for an RJ to have an automatic, fun, and friendly personality. If you want to get a job done in this field, a strong command of the language and a good voice are always good things. Apart from this, in order to be a good radio jockey, you will also listen to good radio jockeys so that you can understand their style and later make your own by practicing.

A career as radio jockey has a lot to offer to deserving candidates. If you want to know more about a career as radio jockey, and how to become a radio jockey then continue reading the article.

Choreographer

The word “choreography" actually comes from Greek words that mean “dance writing." Individuals who opt for a career as a choreographer create and direct original dances, in addition to developing interpretations of existing dances. A Choreographer dances and utilises his or her creativity in other aspects of dance performance. For example, he or she may work with the music director to select music or collaborate with other famous choreographers to enhance such performance elements as lighting, costume and set design.

Videographer

Multimedia specialist.

A multimedia specialist is a media professional who creates, audio, videos, graphic image files, computer animations for multimedia applications. He or she is responsible for planning, producing, and maintaining websites and applications.

Social Media Manager

A career as social media manager involves implementing the company’s or brand’s marketing plan across all social media channels. Social media managers help in building or improving a brand’s or a company’s website traffic, build brand awareness, create and implement marketing and brand strategy. Social media managers are key to important social communication as well.

Copy Writer

In a career as a copywriter, one has to consult with the client and understand the brief well. A career as a copywriter has a lot to offer to deserving candidates. Several new mediums of advertising are opening therefore making it a lucrative career choice. Students can pursue various copywriter courses such as Journalism , Advertising , Marketing Management . Here, we have discussed how to become a freelance copywriter, copywriter career path, how to become a copywriter in India, and copywriting career outlook.

Careers in journalism are filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. One cannot afford to miss out on the details. As it is the small details that provide insights into a story. Depending on those insights a journalist goes about writing a news article. A journalism career can be stressful at times but if you are someone who is passionate about it then it is the right choice for you. If you want to know more about the media field and journalist career then continue reading this article.

For publishing books, newspapers, magazines and digital material, editorial and commercial strategies are set by publishers. Individuals in publishing career paths make choices about the markets their businesses will reach and the type of content that their audience will be served. Individuals in book publisher careers collaborate with editorial staff, designers, authors, and freelance contributors who develop and manage the creation of content.

In a career as a vlogger, one generally works for himself or herself. However, once an individual has gained viewership there are several brands and companies that approach them for paid collaboration. It is one of those fields where an individual can earn well while following his or her passion.

Ever since internet costs got reduced the viewership for these types of content has increased on a large scale. Therefore, a career as a vlogger has a lot to offer. If you want to know more about the Vlogger eligibility, roles and responsibilities then continue reading the article.

Individuals in the editor career path is an unsung hero of the news industry who polishes the language of the news stories provided by stringers, reporters, copywriters and content writers and also news agencies. Individuals who opt for a career as an editor make it more persuasive, concise and clear for readers. In this article, we will discuss the details of the editor's career path such as how to become an editor in India, editor salary in India and editor skills and qualities.

Linguistic meaning is related to language or Linguistics which is the study of languages. A career as a linguistic meaning, a profession that is based on the scientific study of language, and it's a very broad field with many specialities. Famous linguists work in academia, researching and teaching different areas of language, such as phonetics (sounds), syntax (word order) and semantics (meaning).

Other researchers focus on specialities like computational linguistics, which seeks to better match human and computer language capacities, or applied linguistics, which is concerned with improving language education. Still, others work as language experts for the government, advertising companies, dictionary publishers and various other private enterprises. Some might work from home as freelance linguists. Philologist, phonologist, and dialectician are some of Linguist synonym. Linguists can study French , German , Italian .

Public Relation Executive

Travel journalist.

The career of a travel journalist is full of passion, excitement and responsibility. Journalism as a career could be challenging at times, but if you're someone who has been genuinely enthusiastic about all this, then it is the best decision for you. Travel journalism jobs are all about insightful, artfully written, informative narratives designed to cover the travel industry. Travel Journalist is someone who explores, gathers and presents information as a news article.

Quality Controller

A quality controller plays a crucial role in an organisation. He or she is responsible for performing quality checks on manufactured products. He or she identifies the defects in a product and rejects the product.

A quality controller records detailed information about products with defects and sends it to the supervisor or plant manager to take necessary actions to improve the production process.

Production Manager

Merchandiser.

A QA Lead is in charge of the QA Team. The role of QA Lead comes with the responsibility of assessing services and products in order to determine that he or she meets the quality standards. He or she develops, implements and manages test plans.

Metallurgical Engineer

A metallurgical engineer is a professional who studies and produces materials that bring power to our world. He or she extracts metals from ores and rocks and transforms them into alloys, high-purity metals and other materials used in developing infrastructure, transportation and healthcare equipment.

Azure Administrator

An Azure Administrator is a professional responsible for implementing, monitoring, and maintaining Azure Solutions. He or she manages cloud infrastructure service instances and various cloud servers as well as sets up public and private cloud systems.

AWS Solution Architect

An AWS Solution Architect is someone who specializes in developing and implementing cloud computing systems. He or she has a good understanding of the various aspects of cloud computing and can confidently deploy and manage their systems. He or she troubleshoots the issues and evaluates the risk from the third party.

Computer Programmer

Careers in computer programming primarily refer to the systematic act of writing code and moreover include wider computer science areas. The word 'programmer' or 'coder' has entered into practice with the growing number of newly self-taught tech enthusiasts. Computer programming careers involve the use of designs created by software developers and engineers and transforming them into commands that can be implemented by computers. These commands result in regular usage of social media sites, word-processing applications and browsers.

ITSM Manager

Information security manager.

Individuals in the information security manager career path involves in overseeing and controlling all aspects of computer security. The IT security manager job description includes planning and carrying out security measures to protect the business data and information from corruption, theft, unauthorised access, and deliberate attack

Business Intelligence Developer

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My Ideal Leader (Essay Sample)

Table of Contents

Introduction

As a person or a group, we always seek a reference person to resonate our skill and knowledge. Having an ideal leader is important because every person should have a guide or supporter that enlightens their skill and attitude to improve their performance. As a follower, we always need a leader who will always lead us the way. In this case, having an effective leader is essential because they associate us with the background and capability to bring us to a productive endurance to accomplish a certain task efficiently. We often associate our values and principles that have been set-up by our leaders because their thinking capacity and actions make us motivated to follow what they have already contributed to our society.

My ideal leader is a quick thinker because we always want an immediate accomplishment to every scenario that is needed to be settled. As a leader, having the capability to accomplish things in a quick manner enables us to correlate our values and understanding to the practices that we made. Leaders who are quick witted are always granted with the ability to accomplish tasks effectively and accurately. It is important to finish any task ahead of time because as a leader, we always want change and improvements that can improve our values and abilities to improve our skills. An ideal leader that always thinks fast inspires their followers because they are able to show that they are already expert or have mastered a certain routine that can elicit productive practices. Decisions that are made ahead of time increase the capability of managing time effectively. The reason behind is that we are able to lend out extra time to start other tasks to fulfill our goals.

An ideal leader is always responsible for letting their decisions known. As a leader, the character of being affectionate to their followers provides a role to improve their character that can engage in a healthy relationship. This is because leaders are always responsible for upholding the behaviors and attitudes of their followers to prevent any distant relationship with each other. Improving the values of the workplace allow leaders to become more responsible for the decisions made by their followers. In this case, following the hearts and the desires of their followers indicate that leaders are always available to improve their productivity. Encouraging interpersonal relationships between two individuals in the workplace is important because it prevents any risk of developing conflicting interests or misunderstandings at work.

Some say that a leader should have a competitive background; however, an effective leader does not agree that background is always the main basis. This is because it is their present actions that matters most to benefit their follower’s interests. Whenever a leader is ready to fulfill the vision and tasks of their followers, it indicates that they are ready to ensure that their productivity becomes reliable with other stakeholders. An ideal leader is reliable and trustworthy so that they can always gain the cooperation with other individuals. Their influence makes them influential to their followers because they are able to coordinate and teach their followers using their character, leadership, and empathy. These three issues make a leader effective, which could help improve the character of a person to become more reliable with their respective jobs and actions that influence an efficient social policy (Clasen, 2013).

Clasen (2013) Defining Comparative Social Policy. New York: Academic Press.

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Essay on “An Ideal Leader” Complete Essay for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Essay No. 01

An Ideal Leader

The ideal leader has got to have sterling qualities, the impression of which should be such that the pupils persons of masses treasure his memory all their lives. The ideal leader arouses love and respect from all those whom he leads. In other words, people naturally feel drawn towards him. This is attributable to his quietly inviting personality which is bedecked with elderliness. The ideal leader aims at winning the hearts of his followers. He should effortlessly create a living bond between himself and the people.

The ideal leader should be in possession of all the qualities that go to make an ideal leader. As a matter of fact it is the efforts and environment and heredity factors that contribute to leadership. Efforts and industry are the key factors towards making such a leader. If he fails to lead the people well and towards a proper direction he ceases to be an ideal leader.

The ideal leader has, as such, to understand the aspirations of his people and make them realize and feel that he is going to do his best to achieve them their goal. The woes of the people are his woes. He has to share the woes of people and partake their joys. He cannot be selfish. He cannot serve his interest before the interest of people. His quality is self confidence and determination. He can achieve his goals by sticking to his aim and no failures deter him from his path. Righteousness is the beacon light of an ideal leader. He does not believe in any double- dealings. He speaks the same language before individuals and parties. Truth is his greatest strength. He does not fear failures and does not celebrate successes. Such leaders do have a deep public base. Wherever he goes people follow him to take his guidance. He does not believe in making a a high image of himself before the media and the public. His success is his reputation as he is always busy in finding his faults. He does not like to find the weak points in his rival leaders and exploit them for his personal ends. He has no personal life or interest. He is dedicated to his people. He gradually loses interest even in his family members and relatives because they do not matter much to him.

Only the men of imagination and vision have made spectacular advances and led people to a proper direction. Mahatma Gandhi was a leader with a mass base. He delved deep into the problems of the masses and saw through the main cause of the suffering of people. He worked with them to solve their problems. He became one among them and succeeded in driving away the Britishers from this country along with making a sound foundation for an independent India.

The ideal leader knows the pulse of his people, loves them, encourages them to fight for their just cause. He inspires them and enthuses new zeal in them. He never misses the track of his people. He is selfless and the good of his people is his ultimate ambition.

Essay No. 02

Leadership in The 21st Century

Securing and maintaining control over some territory for hunting food is the top existential priority of higher animals. Sometimes they die for it because they must die without it. There are a variety of interesting and amusing ways and means adopted by the different species to demarcate their area of operation.

Our ancestors, too, while living in caves, drove their adult progeny out. Slowly and painfully, and may be accidentally, they must have discovered the strength in number. And first tentative steps forming a society were taken. It is not very surprising, then, that the most primitive societies adopted the animal-political system. The ability to fight best was the criterion for selecting its leader. He had to be strong, cunning and ruthless. When it came to dealing with other societies, it was again the jungle law. Murder, plunder and rape were heroic acts.

Though agriculture began to civilize the members within the society, a new territorial strife cropped up among the member families of the society as also among the members of a family. Laws for property (including wives and children), its transfer and inheritance were formulated. These agricultural societies only refined the animal-political system of settling the issues with force and violence especially with people of other races and tribes.

When the diabolical tool of spiritual subjugation made its entry is an academic point, it is still with us at the close of the twentieth century, with the same deadly effect. Kill or break the spirit and you get the ideal obedient automaton. Human society, then, encountered its first freak—the megalomaniac who craved for more and more territory without any existential needs. With industrialization and onset of democracies, the criterion for leadership changed. It was the first true departure from jungle law as mental prowess (acting, oratory, scheming etc.) now took place of brute force. Complete subjugation gave way to exploitation only. At last we were close to ants’ political organization minus their efficiency and harmony. In this dark political scenario of the present times, there is a silver lining, too. So far we have been fighting for land, water, minerals and other resources. The air was taken for granted and the Ozone layer shielding us from the ultra—violet rays of the Sun was unknown. The nations are for the first time beginning to realize that on the environmental and ecological issues they must sink together if they cannot swim together. This is the truth our present industrial civilization has discovered the hard way on the brink of extinction. Selecting our leaders by mental quality alone is inadequate to meet this challenge. We must devise more effective methods for choosing our true leaders. Some objective mind detector for the safety of the earth and survival of this high-tech civilization is indispensable now. Besides honesty and sincerity, these leaders must be loyal to the mother earth as a whole; not only to a part or parcel.

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The Day Ram Dass Died

By Christopher Fiorello

A blackandwhite photo of Ram Dass speaking to a crowd of people who are seated on grass.

I woke up every thirty minutes the night before Ram Dass died. Stretching my perception through the big divider that separated his study—where I lay on a narrow couch—from his bedroom, I’d count the seconds between the short, ragged breaths churning through his sleep-apnea machine.

Four years later, I still have no idea why I was chosen to watch over him that night. I was at the bottom of the caregiver pecking order when it came to things directly related to Ram Dass’s body. I lacked the size and strength to transfer him from bed to wheelchair, or wheelchair to recliner, on my own; was too much of a novice to help organize his schedule or coördinate with his doctors; and was too unfamiliar to offer intellectual comfort in the rare moments that he wanted to talk. I’d met him ten months earlier, had his voice in my head for just three years. There were people in the house, on Maui, who had known him for more than three decades.

Before arriving, I had no formal medical training, but I had done three weeks of volunteering at a hospice facility in anticipation of coming to the island. Most of it involved moving Kleenex and changing the amount of light in empty rooms. Several times I sat with the dying. It was overwhelming to look at their closed eyes, feeling the heaviness in the room, the sense of something happening or about to happen. I scanned their faces for signs of pain, of fear or bliss, of transcendence. Through the palliative haze of opioids, they were impossible to read. No one was thrashing in pain; no one was smiling, either.

But it somehow buoyed me, being so close to death. The heaviness seemed critically important to my spiritual growth. I imagined myself giving peace to the dying through my presence, and in the process conquering my own fear of leaving life behind.

During my time with Ram Dass, I flitted constantly between self-righteousness and self-pity, one day indulging in grandiose fantasies that I was the heir to his legacy, charged with scattering his ashes, and the next imagining that everyone in the house hated me. The caregivers called it the classroom or the fire—a site of purifying work, a pathway to enlightenment.

My own work, purifying or otherwise, consisted mostly of handling various chores needed to keep a six-bedroom cliffside home with a pool, guesthouse, and two-acre yard going. For the bits that mattered—the scrubbing and the laundry and the cooking—there was a team of cleaners and a rotating cast of chefs. I ended up doing a lot of the rest: separating recycling, washing dishes, and replacing cat-scratched screens. There were three other caregivers in the house, and I was given a modest salary, plus my own room, meals, and shared access to a truck. I was an employee, but most days the house felt like a family, for better or worse.

Still, this was only the second time I’d been asked to spend the night in the study. It was generally perceived as an act of intense devotion: accepting a horrible night’s sleep, on a couch that reeked of cat pee, while facing the prospect of Ram Dass dying on your watch. I hated it, but I was there to care for the guy however it was decided that he needed care.

Most of the deciding was done by a woman affectionately dubbed Dassi Ma, a seventysomething lapsed-Catholic firecracker from Philadelphia. Dassi Ma was Ram Dass’s primary caretaker, and, though she no longer did the more strenuous physical tasks, she was still in command of what he got and when, often more so than Ram Dass himself. He was eighty-eight, and his health had been steadily deteriorating owing to a host of issues, including chronic infections. When I moved to Maui to be near him, in February, 2019, he had almost died the night I arrived. He bounced back, to everyone’s surprise but his own. “It wasn’t time,” I remember him saying in his stoic way, neither relieved nor disappointed. Now he had another spreading infection, and what appeared to be a cracked rib from being transferred to and from his wheelchair.

Ram Dass’s life is the subject of multiple documentaries, an autobiography, and a docuseries in development starring “ High Maintenance ” ’s Ben Sinclair. He was born Richard Alpert in 1931 to a wealthy Boston family. His pedigree was sterling: a Stanford psychology Ph.D., tenure track at Harvard, visiting professorship at Berkeley. In 1963, after five years at Harvard—much of it spent studying psychedelics with his fellow-psychologist Timothy Leary —he was fired for giving psilocybin mushrooms to an undergraduate.

He bopped around for a few years, often taking obscene amounts of mind-altering substances with Leary at the Hudson Valley estate of his friend Peggy Hitchcock. In 1967, like so many other Westerners of the time, he travelled to India in pursuit of exotic answers to life’s biggest questions. He’d grown disenchanted with the psychedelic world, which had come to seem rotely defined by highs and comedowns. In India, he met a Californian hippie named Kermit Riggs and followed him to a village called Kainchi, in the Himalayan foothills, to meet Riggs’s guru.

The guru was an old, squat man named Neem Karoli Baba. Before long, an enthralled Alpert was reborn as Ram Dass, or roughly “servant of God.” He returned to America later that year, arriving at the airport dressed in white robes and with a long, scraggly beard, and began his career as a spiritual teacher. Most of what he talked about, from 1967 to his death, were the experiences he had with Neem Karoli Baba, whom he called Maharaj-ji (“great king”), and the spiritual beliefs that emerged from those experiences.

One of his main ports of call became death and dying. In 1981, he co-founded the Dying Center, in Santa Fe, an organization that described itself as “the first place specifically created to support and guide its residents to a conscious death.” The center sought, in effect, dying people who wanted to use their death to become spiritually enlightened, and staff members who wanted to use other people’s deaths to achieve the same. Even before the Dying Center took shape, Ram Dass was lecturing on the spirituality of death, its place in the natural order, and the starkly contrasting way that he believed it was perceived in the East. His teachings were rooted in a specific vision of metaphysical reality, as informed by his guru and by the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Hindu text. Roughly, he believed in nondualism, that there existed an unchanging and absolute entity—the Hindu Brahman, which Ram Dass more frequently called God, the divine, or oneness—from which all material reality came. Included in that reality were souls (something like the Hindu atman ), which by their nature were caught in the illusion of their separateness from God, repeating a cycle of birth, suffering, death, and reincarnation until they remembered their true nature as part of the oneness—that is, until they became enlightened.

Death could be a crucial moment for remembering this nonduality, as it was when the “veil of separateness” was thinnest. In his 1971 book, “ Be Here Now ,” which has sold more than two million copies worldwide, Ram Dass summarizes his views: “You are eternal . . . There is no fear of death because / there is no death / it’s just a transformation / an illusion.”

He often spoke to crowds afraid of dying, repeating that he had “no fear of death.” He sat with people on their deathbeds and talked routinely about the power of “leaving the body,” his efforts to “quiet himself” so that the dying could see where they were in the reincarnation process and do what they could to escape it. His stories were sometimes graphic—people dying prematurely, or dying in tremendous pain—but always tinged with a lightness and humor.

Perhaps Ram Dass’s most memorable remarks about death came not from his own mind but from a woman named Pat Rodegast, who claimed she had channelled a spirit named Emmanuel from 1969 to her death, in 2012. Rodegast was working as a secretary, raising children, and practicing Transcendental Meditation when she began to see a light, which evolved into what she called telepathic auditory guidance. Some of that guidance was captured in three books published in the eighties and nineties, two of which came with forewords from Ram Dass. According to Ram Dass, when he asked Emmanuel what to tell people about death, Emmanuel replied that it was “absolutely safe,” “like taking off a tight shoe.”

I first encountered the voice of Ram Dass in 2016. I was twenty-seven and living in New York, in a Chinatown building that rattled every time an empty box truck drove down First Avenue. Each morning, I tumbled down five flights of sticky stairs and placed one of his talks deep into my ears, letting his distinct blend of scientific erudition and spiritual mysticism carry me across town.

He had a habit of segueing from psychological concepts, like attachment theory and childhood trauma, to cryptic ones, like Emmanuel’s messages and the astral plane, pausing briefly to ask listeners if they could really, truly “hear this.” He seemed to build on the insights of others who had revolutionized end-of-life care in America—thinkers such as the psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross —but also spoke in the New Age argot of Alan Watts. I gobbled it all up, feeling my spiritual life deepen exponentially by the day. His lectures made me more prosocial, more anti-capitalist, more curious, and decidedly more self-loving.

This was my second rodeo with spirituality; growing up, a rigid strain of Protestantism had been foisted on me like a chore. In Kansas City, Missouri, I was enveloped by an atmosphere of creationism, tent revivals, and anti-abortion screeds. I still recall standing on a busy street as a six-year-old and holding a sign that read “Before I Formed You in the Womb I Knew You—God.”

The teachings of Ram Dass were nothing like that. They were straight out of the hippie movement, and seemed to license a more liberal, self-directed search for meaning. As the grind and filth of Manhattan wore me down, Ram Dass’s voice became a salve, a way to “wake up to the illusion of our separateness.” I turned to his work again and again—to ease my loneliness when, walking down the street, droves of people moved around me like I was a light post, or to arrogantly tell my ex-girlfriend that we would always be “together,” even though I’d already dumped her.

After a couple of years, I learned that I could actually meet Ram Dass, for free, by signing up for one of his “Heart-to-Hearts”—a one-on-one, hour-long Skype call he offered as a sort of public service. When my time came, and the man appeared onscreen, I was stunned into silence. I had thought of him as a spry, ethereal figure who existed only in decades-old recordings. This Ram Dass was very old and lived with fairly advanced aphasia, a side effect of a major stroke he’d had in 1997. His speech was slow—in our full hour, he said roughly sixty words—but not at all ponderous. I thought it gave him a mystical quality.

There was no format to the session; Ram Dass just smiled his winning smile and listened. At one point, after I’d nervously overshared, he told me, “You take yourself pretty seriously.” That struck me as profound, at least at the time, but what endured was more feeling than words. It seemed he had arrived at a place from which he could find genuine love for strangers like me. It didn’t strike me as brand positioning, or as a form of ego; I didn’t think he loved me in the sense that he wanted to be close, or even that he cared whether we got to know each other. I just believed he saw me as another soul, and that, in his view, made me worthy of kindness.

By then, I was walking around New York, trying desperately to feel connected to anything. I wanted what Ram Dass had. So I left the city, intending, among other things, to get him to show me how to have it.

The friend I’d discovered Ram Dass with had already moved to Neem Karoli Baba’s temple, in Taos, New Mexico. I visited him for a fortnight of cooking group meals, wandering through the snowy high desert, and hobnobbing with Maharaj-ji zealots, including one white teen-ager who insisted that he was the reincarnation of Krishna, one of Hinduism’s most revered avatars. Like the young Krishna of lore, he would steal away to the temple pantry to eat pure butter until caught.

Some of this evoked my childhood church, where kids compared how quickly they could transition into speaking in tongues, or flexed the depth of their personal relationship with Jesus while leading a collective prayer. But this was my first encounter with Neem Karoli Baba devotees; I figured followers would be a bit more mellow the farther I got from his temple. Toward the end of my stay, I met a longtime friend of Ram Dass. He saw that I was eager to do volunteer work—known as seva , Sanskrit for “service”—so, when he learned of my intent to find Ram Dass on Maui, he offered to put in a good word to Dassi Ma.

That recommendation made the seemingly impossible possible. People of all ages came to the island to be near Ram Dass. Some found their way into the group texts for arranging kirtan —living-room chanting sessions at Ram Dass’s house—or beach excursions. A few found opportunities to be useful around the house, or made friends with one of the live-in caregivers, enabling them to drop by every week or so. But to be offered to help care for Ram Dass, for pay, as a virtual nobody, was exceptionally rare.

Upon arriving at the house, I found it shot through with the same quasi-religious fervor I had seen at the temple. I was quickly intercepted by another caregiver and taken to a lean-to, in a nearby pasture, so that I could silently meditate with prayer beads. It was incredibly humid, and I got annihilated by mosquitoes. I returned to the house to find a living room packed with people chanting—mostly the Hanuman Chalisa, a devotional hymn that features verses like “With the lustre of your vast sway, you are propitiated all over the universe.” A collective effervescence filled the room, and I joined along, staring at hundreds of statuettes of religious figures while fighting back the sense that I was in church.

After more than an hour of chanting, we milled about, greeting one another over chai and snacks. Attendees swapped stories of Maharaj-ji’s miracles, told me that my presence must be part of his plan, sat smiling at Ram Dass’s feet, their hands over their hearts. During my year on Maui, Ram Dass’s foundation led retreats at a local resort, where hundreds of people would gather for spiritual talks and chanting. Inevitably, someone at these events would look at me with confusion or pity when I told them my name was Christopher. “He hasn’t given you a name yet?” the person would ask. Ram Dass often bestowed a Hindu name on people: Lakshman, Govinda, Hari, Devi. I was fine with Christopher.

But there were other moments, informal and fleeting, when I witnessed the mixture of play and profundity that first drew me to Ram Dass. One autumn morning, two other caregivers and I were helping him get through his daily routine—brushing teeth and hair, putting on clothes and hearing aids, making the bed—when I turned on Doja Cat’s “Go to Town,” a song I later learned was about cunnilingus. I cranked the volume, and the four of us started dancing with illicit glee. One caregiver jumped on the bed, another swung from the divider between the bedroom and the study, and Ram Dass waved his one mobile hand with bright eyes and a rascally smile.

Another day, I was alone with Ram Dass, helping him pick out a shirt. Though I spent nearly all my time in the house, I could count the hours we had been alone together on two hands, and most of them had involved food and drink, or foot massages, ostensibly to relieve the pain that he felt from diabetic neuropathy. On this day, the house was recovering from Ram Dass having been denied psilocybin owing to his health. I felt sorrow for him; the drug was, after all, the beginning of his spiritual journey more than five decades prior. I asked him if the house ever felt like a prison. A full minute of silence passed, with me standing over him in his walk-in closet. Eventually, he tapped his temple and said, “This is the prison.”

When morning broke on December 22, 2019, and Ram Dass was still alive, I allowed myself a moment of relief. Dassi Ma came up, looking short on sleep, and took his vitals. They were horrible. We snapped into action, trying to comfort Ram Dass until one of his doctors arrived.

The infection had pooled fluid in his lungs, which made every breath a burden. Wet, rattling half-breaths were punctuated by coughs of bloody mucus. He looked wrecked, but still managed a weak smile when his Chinese-medicine doctor told a joke at his bedside.

At some point, Dassi Ma and the doctor began talking in the study; other caregivers were on an oxygen-tank-and-essentials supply run. I was on one side of Ram Dass’s bed; on the other was his longtime co-author Rameshwar Das, a friend since Kainchi. Then Ram Dass started choking.

It wasn’t that different from any of the other horrible breaths he’d taken that morning, except that he just couldn’t breathe it. When he realized this, he turned to me with a look that haunts me even now: light eyes wide as quarters, mouth open, lips a bit rounded. I immediately panicked, calling for Dassi Ma and trying to get his adjustable bed as upright as possible so that he could clear his throat. Then, when that didn’t seem upright enough, I frantically tried to lug his torso up so that his head could hang over his waist; perhaps he could vomit his throat clear.

Thirty seconds had passed since he first lost his breath. Somewhere from near his feet, the doctor snapped at me: “You have to calm down!” It jolted me into an awareness that Ram Dass was dying, right there. Perhaps it did the same for Dassi Ma, because she sprang for the study, returned with a large framed photo of Neem Karoli Baba, and commanded him to focus. “Ram Dass! Maharaj-ji! Maharaj-ji!” she said, placing the photo at the foot of the bed. She told him that she loved him, that he could go. I told him that I loved him. And then Ram Dass stopped trying to breathe.

I was the only person to leave the room. Stumbling into the study, I picked up my phone, hands quivering, and sent word to the other caregivers: “RD’s dying imminently. Like within the next couple of minutes.”

The wind was screaming outside. On Maui’s North Shore, it wasn’t unusual for it to reach thirty, forty knots, rattling the windows and throwing palm fronds across the lawn. That day, it had blown from early in the morning, under a tightly woven blanket of gray clouds. Sitting in the study, I watched it bend the trees, felt the violence of it, indiscriminate.

Ram Dass believed that fear kept us from recognizing our interconnection to all things. “Change generates fear; fear generates contraction; contraction generates prejudice, bigotry, and ultimately violence,” he said. In his teachings, he often placed fear and love on opposing sides of the human experience. Fear was the by-product of the ego; love was the by-product of the soul that remained pure, in the moment, especially at the time of death. “When we are fully present,” Ram Dass wrote, “there is no anticipatory fear or anxiety because we are just here and now, not in the future.”

And yet this binary is precisely what made watching him die so disorienting. I’ve no idea what Ram Dass felt in those final moments, what he could see or hear. I don’t even really know if that was fear I saw in his eyes, though it certainly looked like it. Perhaps it was surprise or another sensation entirely, the rush of emptiness before a huge plunge into something tremendous.

Whatever it was, its existence seemed largely absent from his teachings. There were times when he acknowledged the pain and coarse brutality of death. In his book “ Still Here ” (2000), he writes:

Dying is often not easy . . . the stoppage of circulation and starving of the heart muscle . . . the inadequate transport of oxygen to tissues, the failure of organs . . . Where can we hope to stand in our own consciousness during such traumatic conditions, in order to die with clarity and grace?

Yet the emphasis he placed, over decades of lectures, on the importance of grace during death made so little space for terror—for how fear could coexist with presence, and even with love. In the minutes after his passing, the chasm between how he died and how I thought he was supposed to die reminded me of the betrayal I’d felt when, at sixteen, I flouted my mother’s and pastor’s admonitions and stopped asking God for protection, only to discover that a similar slew of terrible and wonderful things still happened to me.

In the house, too, marching through three days of death rituals before Ram Dass’s body was removed, I felt my spirituality slip its moorings. Late on the second night, his body lay on ice in his study—a rite he’d specifically requested, hoping that it would help those around him transcend their fear. I sat on the floor and peered up at his face through candlelight, his skin whitish blue and gaunt, his mouth slightly agape. I waited for grace, for him to speak reassuringly from some other plane of reality. Instead, I was taken back to our final moments together, where fear sutured me to each passing second. Not fear of the past or some uncertain future, but fear of the vast, strange intensity of what is. ♦

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In Move to Protect Whales, Polynesian Indigenous Groups Give Them ‘Personhood’

Indigenous leaders of New Zealand, Tahiti and the Cook Islands signed a treaty that recognizes whales as legal persons. Conservationists hope it will lead to legal protections.

A humpback whale and her calf in a body of blue water.

By Remy Tumin

For many Indigenous groups across Polynesia, whales hold an ancient sacredness and spirit that connects all life. Whales — or tohorā, as Māori call them — guided their ancestors across the Pacific Ocean. Today, those groups consider themselves to be guardians for the largest animals under the sea.

But as of Wednesday, whales are not simply animals in this region.

Indigenous leaders of New Zealand, Tahiti and the Cook Islands signed a historic treaty that recognizes whales as legal persons in a move conservationists believe will apply pressure to national governments to offer greater protections for the large mammals.

“It’s fitting that the traditional guardians are initiating this,” said Mere Takoko, a Māori conservationist who leads Hinemoana Halo Ocean Initiative , the group that spearheaded the treaty. “For us, by restoring those world populations we also restore our communities.”

Conservationists have good reason to believe they will succeed: In 2017, New Zealand passed a groundbreaking law that granted personhood status to the Whanganui River because of its importance to Māori, New Zealand’s Indigenous people.

The treaty, or He Whakaputanga Moana, which translates to “declaration for the ocean,” was signed on Rarotonga, the largest of the Cook Islands, in a ceremony attended by Tūheitia Potatau te Wherowhero VII, the Māori king, and 15 paramount chiefs of Tahiti and the Cook Islands.

In a statement, the Māori king said that as “the songs of our ancestor” grow fainter, the treaty “is not merely words on paper.”

“It’s a Hinemoana Halo,” he said, “a woven cloak of protection for our taonga, our treasures — the magnificent whales.”

The significance of whales to Māori and other Indigenous groups is twofold, said Ms. Takoko, who wrote about the initiative in the climate and culture magazine Atmos. First, they believe they can trace their ancestry directly back to whales, and second, whales were key to developing the Māori system of navigation as people followed whale migrations from island to island.

“Without the whale, we actually would have never found all of these various islands of the Pacific,” Ms. Takoko said.

A number of types of whales are found in the Pacific Ocean, including blue, gray, minke, sperm, southern right and, of particular importance to Māori, humpback. And while there is some protection for the mammals within the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, where the International Whaling Commission has banned all types of commercial whaling, there is no formal legislation.

Ms. Takoko said the treaty would allow her team to start talks with governments in New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Tahiti, Tonga and other Polynesian countries to develop a legal framework to enforce protections around whales.

While climate change is considered a significant threat to whales, encounters with large vessels can be fatal. About 10,000 whales are killed every year because of ship strikes, said Carlos Duarte, a marine ecologist and the lead scientist for the effort. Entanglement with fishing gear is also an issue, he said. The Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary offers some protection, but whales will be whales.

“The problem with whale conservation is that the whales do not know all the boundaries,” he said. “They move freely around the ocean.”

New technology can help track their wanderings, Mr. Duarte said, including remote sensors and acoustics that can help conservationists and vessels locate whales underwater.

Legislation would be built around several pillars: monitoring, penalties for killing whales and even whale insurance. A $100 million fund would back the initiative.

“When you recognize a whale as a legal person — that doesn’t mean they’re human — they’re a legal person, meaning you can endow them with certain rights,” said Ralph Chami, the project’s head economist. “And with that comes a responsibility that if you hurt or bring harm to a whale, then there are remedies.”

Mr. Chami has estimated that if one were to track a whale over its lifetime and factor in the unwanted carbon that it removes from the atmosphere, one whale would be worth about $2 million . And if a vessel — shipping, fishing or otherwise — were to hit one, there would be fines and premium adjustments.

To mitigate costs, Mr. Chami said, insurance companies would require ships to have monitoring or anti-collision devices to help reduce the probability of hitting a whale.

Now, Ms. Takoko and her team will try to persuade world leaders to follow suit.

She said the document would allow her team to start talks with governments. She has already begun conversations with officials in Tahiti, Tonga and the Cook Islands, and said the Māori king had addressed some members of New Zealand’s Parliament. Legal experts from the United States and Europe are also joining the effort, she said.

Remy Tumin is a reporter for The Times covering breaking news and other topics. More about Remy Tumin

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If crowds are wiser than individuals, then the lone, heroic, ideal leader is a liability. The argument for this contention consists of four steps: Why we are in love with the ideal leader. Why providing direction is the real essence of leadership. Why direction today can come from anywhere. Why leadership must be discrete acts of influence.
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Posted by. Janna Smith. Leadership is typically defined as the capacity of a person (as well as a group of people or organization) to "lead" others, influence their opinions, or guide them. A good leader must be able to rally people around a shared cause or goal, help shape a vision, and motivate and inspire others to attain that goal.
Leadership Essay: Format and Samples to Check for A+
A leadership essay is a paper that analyzes leadership concepts and their application to real-life situations that may involve everyday business management, crisis situations, and other scenarios. Every essay on leadership is about defining a concept. Then, it's either comparing it to similar management tools or proving that it's useful (or ...
How to Write a Leadership Essay That Takes the Lead
In short, a leadership essay seeks to do two things: Define leadership. Show how you are a leader. The best way to do this is to list characteristics that successful leaders have and show your reader how you exemplify these traits. Leadership essays, in general, are going to be pretty different than the essays you're used to writing for class.
How to Write an Essay on Leadership
Active voice puts a more positive position on your paper, as it makes you or the leader the important part of the sentence. Avoid using the passive voice as it shows that someone is not the main aspect of a sentence. Use Linking Words: Organizing your thoughts is crucial for an essay. Using linking words to create more cohesion and coherence ...
Essays on Leadership for Students
In this article, we'll also delve into various leadership essay examples to offer a clearer understanding of the genre and inspire your writing journey. 4 Examples of Leadership Essays. Qualities of a Good Leader; Introduction. Confidence is the most important attribute first of all. One of the most important qualities in a leader is confidence ...
Key Qualities Of Good Leader: [Essay Example], 538 words
Confidence. A good leader will show confidence in the face of challenges, and will inspire confidence in histeam by reminding them that (blocking or stopping things) are just there to be overcome. The confident leader will keep his eye on the goal and will not allow anything discourage him or her, or their team, from success.
A Professional Guide to Writing an Inspiring Leadership Essay
Step 2: Select an Inspiring Topic. The key factor in creating a good leadership essay lies in selecting an appropriate topic. If you are writing a biography of a successful and prominent leader, it is crucial to focus on their leadership qualities and on what makes them an effective leader. The topic should align with the objectives of the ...
Why I Am A Good Leader [Free Essay Sample], 1082 words
Why I Am A Good Leader. I've always wanted to be a leader. As I was growing up, I heard motivational messages such as 'don't be a sheep; be a wolf' and "don't follow the herd; be an individual". It never felt quite right to be in a position as a follower. Throughout my life, I have gravitated towards being a leader in different ...
Leadership Essay for Students and Children
First of all, confidence is the most quality. A leader must have strong self-confidence. A person lacking in confidence can never be a good leader. A person must be confident enough to ensure others follow him. The leader must have confidence in his decisions and actions. If he is unsure, then how can people have the desire to follow him.
How to Become an Ideal Leader
A leader should communicate frequently and make sure that everyone understands the message, adapting the methods when necessary to suit the needs of the team. Leadership is as much about communication as it is about listening, so making efforts to take in the feedback received is the key to your development. Being a leader sometimes means that ...
Plato and Socrates on the Ideal Leader's Virtues Essay
In Plato's Republic, Socrates makes a poignant point on the nature of an ideal leader. Equitable leaders need to be wise. Also, philosophers have a lot of wisdom. Socrates' assertion resonates with the wisdom of the ages which posits that the best leaders need to have a generous heart and wisdom. His allegory of 'the cave' is another ...
What Makes a Good Leader (Free Essay Samples)
A good leader sets you up for success. Because he is invested in your growth, he has no personal agenda where he benefits in a selfish way. All of what he does for you is geared towards your growth and eventual success. He makes sure that there is a set direction for his team.
Qualities Of A Great Leader Essay
The Ideal Qualities of a Leader Essay. 1 - What are the ideal knowledge, skills and attributes of a leader in my area of work? Introduction Leadership is a topic that has been widely studied and worthy of great interest because of its impact on both individuals and society as a whole. Exactly what constitutes a strong leader is a topic of debate.
Great Leader Essay
100 Words Essay on Great Leader. A good leader is very much needed in this world. The greatest quality that any leader can have is vision, the ability to see the future of their organisation or team, its capability, and what it will take to achieve that position. The ability to convey the vision to others holds the same importance as having a ...
What Makes A Great Change Leader?
A Vision Beyond the Horizon. A great change leader is a visionary. They possess the uncanny ability to spot distant opportunities - to envision what could be. They are dreamers who live in ...
Ideal Leader Essay
Leadership In National Honor Society. Leadership is the ability of one to organize or lead a group of people. A leader should be respectful, a leader is bound to know what goal is attempted to be reached. My favorite leadership quote is by Chris Hadfield, "Ultimately, leadership is not about glorious crowning acts.
My Ideal Leader, Essay Sample
My ideal leader is a quick thinker because we always want an immediate accomplishment to every scenario that is needed to be settled. As a leader, having the capability to accomplish things in a quick manner enables us to correlate our values and understanding to the practices that we made. Leaders who are quick witted are always granted with ...
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Essay No. 01. An Ideal Leader. The ideal leader has got to have sterling qualities, the impression of which should be such that the pupils persons of masses treasure his memory all their lives. The ideal leader arouses love and respect from all those whom he leads. In other words, people naturally feel drawn towards him.
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12 Characteristics of a Good Leader

What Good Leadership Looks Like

12 Essential Leadership Qualities

1. Self-Awareness

3. Compassion

5. Communication

6. Learning Agility

7. Collaboration

8. Influence

9. Integrity

10. Courage

11. Gratitude

12. Resilience

Develop the Characteristics of a Good Leader in Yourself & Others

Good leaders are made, not born.

Leadership is a social process.

Good leadership never stops.

We Can Help You Develop the Qualities of a Good Leader

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Leadership Essay

What is a good leadership essay?

How to write a Leadership essay?

Introduction

Body Paragraphs

Leadership Essay Examples

20 leadership essay topics

A life lesson in Romeo and Juliet taught by death

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Art Research Paper Topics

What is leadership?

Get to know and directly engage with senior McKinsey experts on leadership

How is leadership evolving?

What are the limits of traditional management styles?

What is the emerging new approach to leadership?

Introducing McKinsey Explainers : Direct answers to complex questions

What is the impact of this new approach to leadership?

How can leaders empower employees?

How can leaders communicate effectively?

Is leadership different in a hybrid workplace?

How should CEOs lead in this new world?

What is leadership development?

What are mentorship, sponsorship, and apprenticeship?

Want to know more about leadership?

Reimagining HR: Insights from people leaders

What is leadership: Moving beyond the C-Suite

CEO Excellence

Ivey Business Journal

1. Why we are in love with the notion of the ideal leader.

2. Why providing direction is the real essence of leadership

3. Why direction today can come from anywhere

4. Why leadership must be discrete acts of influence

From statics to dynamics

Whither our dreams?

Writing an Essay About Leadership: A Complete Guide for Students

What Is Leadership Essay?

How to Write a Leadership Essay Step by Step

How to Start a Leadership Essay

The Perfect Length of a Leadership Essay

How to Write a Killer Conclusion for Leadership Essay

Leadership Essays Examples: Ideas and Topics

Winning Examples of Leadership Essay Titles to Consider

The Concept of Leadership: Common Styles and Qualities of a Good Leader

What Are the Main Leadership Styles?

Top Qualities of a Good Leader

How to Start a Leadership Essay for College?

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