Short Essay: The Art Of Leadership

The art of leadership

Leadership is both simple and complicated at the same time. It is an attribute that some people are born with as well as a ‘module’ that is taught at all business schools. It can be both enjoyable as well as stressful, depending upon the individual concerned and the situation at hand. It is possible to experience leadership by following a set of rules and guidelines, but impossible to write an algorithm to predict it, as it happens. Much easier is to trivialise the roles and responsibilities of a leader but tricky to find a volunteer to lead. Once anointed, either by will or by design, a leader, by a single decision, has the power of bringing down an entire empire as well as the capability of taking it to monumental heights. He/she is actively involved in deciding the fate of an entity but at the same time, passively detached to its daily concerns. A sizeable population accepts a person as its leader by counting the number of grey hair he/she has, yet agrees to barter experience with the youthful charisma of a novice, when the decisive time comes. A leader can be anyone but not everyone can be a leader. The following cases highlight this unpredictable nature of leadership by discussing some instances that present day organisations witness on a

Without much fanfare, an ordinary individual from the same unit is made the interim head. It's a pressure cooker situation and takes every ounce of her experience, wisdom, and mental strength to head the unit. She is aware of the team’s daily concerns, takes pride in representing them and ensures that their interests are protected. Further, she nudges the team members to take responsibility, represent the team and grow professionally. Unsurprisingly, the team is more comfortable with her as a head and delivers unexpectedly high results. Not natural leaders, but when given a chance, ordinary people can turn out to be excellent