Cultural Dimensions of Leadership
February 12, 2025
Did you know that while in India or America a “Fantastic” or an “OK” sign is demonstrated by forming a circle with your thumb and forefinger. In Tunisia the same symbol means “I will kill you” and in Japan it means “money”? Kinesics or study of body language must be understood by all. Whether it […]
Success in the workplace depends on your ability to build a team, as well as to interact with others on that team. Together, people are able to accomplish what one person alone can not. This is known as synergy. Following are the characteristics of a Good/Effective team: A clear, elevating goal: This is a goal […]
We have always associated leadership with a very visible and popular role which gives you recognition and a larger than life status as a leader however the level 5 leadership proposes quite opposing characteristics of a successful leader. Jim Collins and his research team were exploring the factors that made good companies great way back […]
Internal frauds are a big part of the operational risk faced by any organization. This is truer of multinational companies who have business interests in various countries across the globe. This is because there are thousands of people in important positions making business decisions on behalf of the company. Hence, ensuring that all these employees […]
Morale can be defined as the total satisfaction derived by an individual from his job, his work-group, his superior, the organization he works for and the environment. It generally relates to the feeling of individual’s comfort, happiness and satisfaction. According to Davis, “Morale is a mental condition of groups and individuals which determines their attitude.” […]
We have introduced the concept of Transleader in the previous articles. We discussed how a leader who is integral to the organization and vice versa could prove to be an effective leader.
Taking the discussion forward, this article reviews the three traits that make for effective leadership and separates leaders from followers. The three traits that are discussed here are character, vision, and relationship effectiveness. It needs to be mentioned that these three are not the only traits but more like these traits are essential to leadership.
In other words, these traits are necessary but not exhaustive.
In other words, the individuals who have their values and beliefs in deep-rooted ways would be able to withstand the pressures and tests of their values and principles. Since leadership is all about being the final decision maker, it is important for the leaders to be committed to principle and be driven by values instead of merely pursuing the bottom line. Hence, the first trait of effective leadership is the strength of character that leaders have.
The point here is that leaders are individuals whom the followers look up to guide them towards the future and hence leaders ought to have visionary capabilities to actualize this need.
We have examples from business, government, and society where true leaders like the late legendary Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Larry Paige and Sergei Brian of Google proved that they had game changing ideas about the future. The essence of 21st century leadership is not only about peering into the future but also making the future a place for the organization to thrive and succeed.
In other words, leaders are those individuals who are not threatened by the future and instead like the legendary mythological prophets in every religion can show pathways to the future which the followers can follow.
Finally, it needs to be noted that leaders must find the organizations that they are comfortable in and hence their characteristics and the organizational DNA must be aligned to create a winning combination. After all, one can be the right person for the wrong job and the wrong person for the right job and what matters is whether one is the right person for the right job.
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