Leadership and Time Management Writing Assignment Paper

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Leadership and Time Management
Introduction
Leadership is easy to recognize, but difficult to define. As Peter F. Drucker opines, leadership is the enhancement of one’s aspirations to higher levels, the improvement of an individual’s performance to higher ideals, and building their personalities past limits.A leader has fundamental responsibilities of building and sustaining performance of the team. According to Mullin, good leadership is a subjective judgment, which cannot be assessed based on the financial performances alone. Leadership is a process of guiding and influencing relationships in an organization. The aim of this paper will be to examine the 14 leadership traits, often denoted as “J. JDIDTIEBUCKLE”that are shared among leaders in different fields. It will define, explain and evaluate how these traits assist a leader and how one can identify leaders possessing them. The paper will offer insights on how to distinguish a good leader from the individuals that masquerade as leaders. Finally, it will discuss the time management concept and the reasons why time management is important in life.
Justice
In leadership, justice involves the ability of the leaders to consistently and impartially administer systems of punishments and rewards based on the facts at hand. This should be done in such a way that it is seen as fair by others. Offering punishments or a reward based on the situation under considerations. This trait is important to acquiring the respect and trust of others. It displays the fairness of the leaders and aids in cohesion and discipline maintenance in the organization.
Justice as a trait of leaders allows them to stick to the standards and exercise authority in an appropriate reason, time and ways without any favoritism or biases. It strengthened by the judgment ability. As they administer justice, they should also be just themselves in order to gain cooperation. A leader ought to be consistent and steady in order to enjoy success with this trait, which should be in alignment with team expectation standards. Any justice action should be completely in line with the organization's operation principles and values. A leader sometimes is forced to give an explanation of how they reached their decisions, since leaving a space for doubts usually have hazardous and detrimental effects on the success of the business and the entire organization. Leaders also need to apply prudence when practicing this trait and seal all openings of personal feelings.
Judgment
Judgement is the ability to weigh situations effectively and comprehend effects decisions will have on others. John William Gardnerstated that, judgment and taste are the only two qualities that need to be looked for when hiring employees since, according to him, everything else can be bought by the yards. Leaders equipped with this trait are able to assess situations based on their past knowledge and experiences and make the right decision for the sake of an organization’s good. The trait calls for other traits such as tact, emotional intelligence and integrity for it to be effectively applied. This trait can only be learned and displayed, but cannot be taught nor stated thus the team member are watching you constantly and assimilating both the bad and good.
A good and effective leadership must have leaders with good judgment; it allows them to be sensitive and humble to their subordinates. It helps them to make the right decision as opposed to them being right always. Leaders are able to ensure the right thing is known and done by the right people. It forces them to admit they are wrong or even delegating tasks to others, who, in particular situations, can handle it better than them (leaders). This is a very important thing as all people need to feel important, appreciated, valued and lead by an example. Judgment also demands for risk taking and flexibility of the leaders
Dependability
Dependability is the ability to be trusted, depended upon by others in times of need. It is certain that employees will undertake and accomplish their duties properly without being reminded or supervised. Waldo Emerson is said to have believed that the spiritual objective of true friendships becomes accomplished with one when they realize that someone else believes in them and is willing to trust them with their friendship. The trait requires long term application for its display to be visible. It involves leaders being assertive to their words, that is, doing what they promise or say they will do when they say they will do it. This is what creates dependability. It is cultivated through the practice of ensuring every pact and commitment has been kept on all the time, day by the day until it percolates into the psychic as a habit or stimuli.
The more promises a leader keeps, the more reliable they become. Through dependability, the leaders become reliable and predictable. This makes subordinates, the employees and the customers trust them as they prove to be consistent. As a result of that, they gain more loyalty and cooperation in organization, translating to increased productivity and profitability. It also reduces the customers and workers turnovers resulting in growth and expansion of the organization.
Decisiveness
Decisiveness refers to the ability of making timely and most appropriate decisions. It relies on the experiences of the past to influence its implementation. This trait is closely related with self-confidence of leaders. Self-confidence is one of the earliest leadership traits that scholars identified, and today, it continues to receive significant attention as the leading contributor to the effectiveness of leadership. The most effective and efficient Leadership involves making decisions in a timely manner, that is, not too hasty to avoid wrong decision and not paralyzed by the fears of unknowns forcing them to make no or late decision. This trait calls for the self-confidence of leaders and their ability to build confidence in their teams.
Any leader should apply the law of proportional decision making, which argues that the outcome of the decision is supposed to be proportional to the time of decision making. Decision aimed to produce big results should consume more times in comparison to smaller outcomes’ decisions which are supposed to take lesser time. This, for instance, if an innovative idea that assures enormous success, but demands a considerate amount of resources is forwarded by a team member; more time will be required in decision making for its planning before execution. Consistency and intentionality are very fundamental in the application of decisiveness. They assure the customers, the fellow team members and other stakeholders of conducive environment in which all will thrive as they know what to expect or how to approach leaders from a decision to another.
Initiative
Leaders with initiative trait exhibit the ability of knowing the appropriate thing to be done and proceeding to performing those tasks without being directed to. This is the ability of a leader to undertake an action without being ordered to or being supervised, that is, self-starter. Just like the Ants move without any guide, overseers or rulers, so should be the leaders be self-driven and self-initiatives. This virtual is one of the key traits that differentiate the outstanding and the mediocre, managers and the subordinates. From the scripture, we should emulate and strive to have initiative like those of Ants. This means that acting out of internal conviction as opposed to external directives to attain the set objectives and goals both in personal and business level. Any person in an authoritative position, but lacks initiative qualifies not to be called a leader. A leader with initiative trait knows what is to be done prior; they always think ahead and are proactive in nature. This enables the leaders to perceive a change in market trend and customers shifting needs and respond accordingly in order to maintain customers’ satisfactory hence retaining them and remaining in the marketplace. A good leader should also focus on instilling initiatives to employees. By doing so, it will enhance their performance with little or no supervision, more motivated, become part of problem solvers and act more with reduced complain.
Tact
Tact is a leadership skill of being sensitive to other peoples’ feelings. It enables them to interact and deal with others in avoidance of conflicts and offense while maintaining the good relationship. Via help of tact, they are able to do and say the right thing per situation. Leaders who possess the trait usually accord their seniors, peers and juniors in leaderships’ the courtesy and respects as well as treating them with a lot of maturity. Just as Joshua Gilbert said, the secret of man’s success resides in his insight into the moods of people, and in his tact in dealing with them, the tact allows leaders to opine, administer justice, give guidance, and criticize constructively and in a sensitive manner.
Tact utilizes a wisdom high level of emotional intelligence, and judgment in order to extend this deference cautiously regardless of the actual feelings at all conditions. Leaders should also reprimand discretely and not publicly to individuals to safeguard them from their peers teasing them with some of those issues. It is one of the easiest to implement of the 14 traits. Leaders who are striving in application of tact trait should cultivate their empathetic skill and apply the biblical teaching “therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them….” (Mathew7:12). Then it is important to understand your team so as to tailor the conversation per member. Lastly, applying the Lucius Annaeus Seneca quote “the best remedy for anger is remedy”, it is important that leaders take time to collect themselves and organize their thoughts and decide how to tactfully talk to others. This ensures that the organization operates in a conducive environment, thus enhancing its growth and success.
Integrity
Integrity is the moral principle of soundness and character uprightness. In entails honesty and truthfulness. It is difficult to earn integrity, but very easily lost, in demands proving time and again for its protection. It is built on trustworthiness which ensures unwavering belief in someone’s truth, reliability, strength and / or ability. Leaders have the obligation of inspiring trust which is evident in character (motive, intent and integrity) and competence (results, skills, record, track and competencies). Due to its high volatility, it is evident in the society where idolized heroes turned into villains within no time as a result of being blinded by their past good history, or even due to poor judgments. It is this trait that enables people to believe in their leaders. It triggers trust for them and as a result, customers resonate with certain products in the markets.
In businesses, the integrity of the leaders determines how far they are accepted by the by their prospective customers thus translating to degree of enjoyment in their profits as well as influencing their business extinction or thriving. Since it entails trust and honest, inherently, people are attracted to leaders who are honest, unlike previously where people assumed leadership position to be related to honesty thus never got to scrutinize them. Unlike in the past, currently there have been increased scenarios of dishonest dealings in the businesses thus a necessity for an assurance of the integrity of the new leaders.
Endurance
Endurance is an important trait of le...