CHAPTER 1

UNDERSTANDING SELF- LEADERSHIP

Self-Leadership and the essential role that it plays in an organization's
performance will be discussed here. It is said that anyone can become a leader and
make an impact. It actually takes a tremendous amount of commitment and
willingness to develop every day. Leadership does not represent a one-time
commitment as a human it starts and ends at you. Also if you are born with natural
leadership traits, much work and preparation is required.

"Personal leadership is not a singular experience. It is, rather, the ongoing process of
keeping your vision and values before you and aligning your life to be congruent with
those most important things.”

Stephen Covey

"Good government is no substitute for self-government. “

Mahatma Gandhi

"First we make our habits then our habits make us."

Charles Noble

Most leadership professors and experts in their leadership lectures often

quote "leadership is self-governance," which simply means an individual must lead
himself first before he can lead others. He must have the ability to deliberately
control his own thoughts and actions to attain his personal goals or the goals of the
organization he leads. When he has foresight, he makes the right decisions and
choices on his own and shows commitment to achieving his goals, then he has skills
in self-leadership. Apart from setting goals, self-awareness is another aspect helping
to make people great self-leaders.
 SIGNIFICANCE OF SELF-LEADERSHIP

1. Self-leadership allows leaders or senior officers, who undergo very little or no

supervision, to prepare and set targets on their own, as well as to control their own
self to execute such plans.

2.For lower-level employees or subordinates, who cannot always be sure of the kind
of governance or leaders they may face in their careers, self-management enables
them to become effective and efficient workers under any leadership they may
encounter, be it laissez faire, free-rule, democratic or autocratic.

3. Self-leadership helps make individual decision makers proactive, focused, and

autonomous. People who do not have a strong sense of self leadership tend to feel
that they are not in control of themselves, frequently lose concentration and easily
get frustrated.

Thus, the effectiveness of organizational objectives accomplishment depends on the

self-leadership of both superiors and subordinates.

DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-LEADERSHIP

1. Clarity of Purpose

This means that each entity must have a vision and be able to set it up. Being
your own leader, your purpose or vision will be the foundation upon which you will
build self-leadership. Without clearly planned expectations or intent for your life, you
will be at risk, attempting to fulfill the wishes or ideas of people for your life and you
will end up lost in the middle of nowhere.

2. Aim at Success and Take Reasonable Risks

Risk-taking is a necessary part of life. Challenge yourself to take on

challenging assignments. Do not deter yourself or others from past failures rather
concentrate on success. However, risks which are applicable to your intent should
be fairly measured.
3. Spend Time to Reflect on Your Life

Reflections can also mean letting others make an objective evaluation of you.
Although you remain the active doer of the things that you are doing, you may only
see things from your viewpoint. Taking some time off to think about life. Compare
experience of current and present to hopes of the future. You can never notice those
small defects until you pause to examine yourself.

4. Don’t Tolerate Just Anything

You should not risk your dream. You should learn to be intolerant to any
suggestions or ideas that don't suit your vision. This intolerance is not just toward
others but also toward you. It involves not tolerating negative factors such as
laziness, anxiety and many others in your nature.

SIMPLE WAYS TO LEAD YOURSELF

1. Know your Values and Stick to Them

The ones with real values and ethics are the most trustworthy leaders. Find
ideals that reverberate with your philosophy, temperament, and creeds to become an
effective leader. People tend to be drawn instinctively to somebody who has a dream,
intent and dignity. One who treats people respectfully and is empathetic to their
needs. Make sure that you know what type of leader you want to become. Personal
beliefs in leadership, core values, and the implementation of those values help
leaders become successful.

2. Move towards Purpose

You can't be a leader unless you have a clear intention to help you through
the dark times. The aim at the end of a tunnel is like a light; a hope that keeps us
going. One has to spend time questioning the real intent or inspiration behind being
a leader. As a leader, you can inspire, guide, and encourage your subordinates to
achieve larger objectives. If you have a clear purpose, then you can make sure the
team is aligned with a common purpose.
3. Keep Improving Yourself

Great leaders are working hard to improve, expand and evolve into better versions of
them. Whether you've just started leading or you've been a veteran in your place,
make it a point to learn something new by going back home.

4. Make Mistakes but Never Make the Same Mistake Twice

"All leaders make mistakes. They are a part of life. Successful leaders
recognize their errors, learn from them, and correct their faults.”

John C. Maxwell

The only thing that sets a leader different from a great leader is that he never
makes the same mistake twice. Note also that on the back of disappointment always
comes the greatest successes. Trying new stuff, and doing things that challenge
your comfort zone, is important. You might end up making mistakes whilst doing so.
Everyone does. So over them there's no need to be ashamed.

5. Lead By Example

None is easier than leading from the front. Not only is it a brave thing to do but
it is a very leading thing. Perhaps that's why they all find it toughest. The only thing
that can turn you into a leader is when you begin to act like one.

INFLUENCE OR INFLUENCED?

"Your job gives you authority. Your behavior earns you respect"

Irwin Federman

If you influence others and provide direction and guidance, then you lead them.
Many of us only assume that leaders are those individuals born with unique abilities
or gifts or situations that are right. That's not always the case, though, the fact is that
everyone is prospective leader. That makes a person a good leader is not just his
skill and skills but primarily his character and attitude.
Leader must influence and should be influenced. Everyone can influence somebody
either for the good or for bad. Even the shyest person can influence at least 10,000
people in his or her lifetime. While it is up to everyone to determine how to use this
leverage, this only means that anybody can be a leader. A person to be called a
leader should have followers for him. He has to direct his people to something which
will bring goodness, not harm. Just as a good leader should, it only takes skill,
knowledge and compassion for an individual to harness influence.

Furthermore, if a person refuses to use this power at all and does not take a
personal stance on issues, he or she can easily be convinced and the person would
most likely end up being influenced as the one. When it comes to this, it seems that
there are only two alternatives-to be the influencer or the one affected.

"Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions."

Harold S. Geneen

CHAPTER II
ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP

CONCEPT OF LEADERSHIP

Leadership is the practice of driving people to achieve goals. This plays an

important role in success and efficiency of subordinates. Leaders do this by
providing many means of shaping the actions of subordinates. It's a process
whereby an individual influences others and guides the organization in a manner that
makes it more cohesive and coherent.

While leadership is learned, a leader's skills and knowledge can be influenced

by his or her attributes or traits, such as beliefs, values, ethics, and character.
Knowledge and skills contribute directly to the process of leadership, while the other
attributes give the leader certain characteristics that make him or her unique. A
leader might have learned the skills in counseling others, but her traits will often play
a great role in determining how he counsels.
FOUR PRIMARY FACTORS OF LEADERSHIP
(U.S. Army, 1983)

1. Leader
An individual appointed as a leader must understand himself honestly, what
he knows and what he can do. Take note that it is the followers that decide whether
the leader is successful, not the leader or anyone else. If they don't trust their leader,
or lack confidence, they'll be uninspired. To be successful you have to persuade your
followers that you are worthy of being followed, not yourself or your superiors.

2. Followers

Different people expect different leadership styles. A newly-employed

deserves more supervision than an accomplished subordinate does. An individual
without motivation needs a different approach than one with a high motivation level.
You have to know your people, as a leader. The basic starting point is to have a
clear understanding of human nature such as needs, feelings and motivation. You
have to come to learn the be, know and do qualities of your people.

3. Communication

Being a leader, you lead by bidirectional communication. A great deal of that

is nonverbal. For example, when you "set an example," that shows your people you
wouldn't ask them to do something you wouldn't want to do. What and how you
interact either strengthens or destroys your relationship with your followers.

4. Situation

Every situation is different. Everything you do in one situation isn't

automatically going to work in another. You have to use your discretion to determine
the best course of action and the style of leadership needed for each situation. You
may need to face a subordinate for inappropriate behavior, for example, but if the
confrontation is too late or too early, too harsh or too mild, then the outcomes may
prove ineffective.

Take note also that the disorder typically affects a leader's actions more than
its characteristics. This is because while traits can be impressively stable over a
period of time, they have little consistency in situations (Mischel, 1968).
THEORIES OF LEADERSHIP

The theories below explain how people turn themselves into leaders. The first two
demonstrate to a small number of people the nature of leadership, while the third is
the dominant theory today.

1. Trait Theory
Some personality traits may lead people naturally into leadership roles.

2. Great Events Theory

A crisis or important event can cause a person to rise to the occasion, putting
forth extraordinary qualities of leadership in an ordinary person.

3. Transformational or Process Leadership Theory

Today, it is the widely accepted theory. People can opt for leadership. People
can learn the ability to take leadership.

THE LEADER AND ITS ROLES

A leader sets the company or organization a specific vision, motivates

employees, guides workers through the cycle of work, and creates morale. They're
made good leaders, not born. You will become a successful leader if you have the
will and the willpower. Good leaders grow through a cycle of self-study, education,
training and experience that never ends (Jago, 1982).

There are many things you have to be, learn and do to inspire your
workers or subordinates into higher levels of teamwork. These also do not come
easily but are gained through ongoing research and study. Good leaders work and
study constantly to develop their leadership skills; they do not rely on their past
achievements.

BOSS OR LEADER?

Although your role as a manager or supervisor gives you the authority

to accomplish certain tasks and objectives within the organization (Assigned
Leadership), this power does not make you a leader, it simply makes you a boss.
Leadership differs in that it makes the followers want to achieve high goals
(Emerging Leadership), rather than simply ordering people around (Rowe, 2007).
Thus, by your position, you get Assigned Leadership and you display Emergent
Leadership by influencing people to do great things.
TOTAL LEADERSHIP

People want feedback from those leaders they respect and who have a
good sense of direction. They must be ethical, in order to gain respect. This provides
a sense of direction by conveying a clear vision of the future. When people decide to
value you as a leader, they don't think of your qualities, but rather watch what you're
doing so they can assess who you really are. They use this insight to say if you are
an upright and trustworthy leader or a self-serving individual who exploits power to
look good and get promoted.

Self-serving leaders are not as effective because their employees only

obey them, not follow them. They succeed in many areas because they present a
good image to their superiors, but at the expense of their workers. Honorable
character and selfless service to your organization is good leadership. In the eyes of
your peoples the leadership is all you do that affects the aims and well-being of the
organization.