1. 1.

0 Introduction This Leadership Assignment will give us clear picture about leadership and the importance of leadership in companies. We will discuss in detail about few outstanding business leaders in Asia and their leadership style. All the research material used in this assignment has been sourced from accredited authors and some researcher findings. The National Library (Singapore) and associated academic journal and some e-journal websites were referenced to make this assignment. Please see the reference at the end of this essay for further details. 2.0 Leader and Leadership Leader and Leadership have been part of our history and we have seen many examples and heard many stories about such leaders. Jesus Christ is the perfect example of a great leader in The BIBLE. When we were in school we read about Charismatic leaders like Alexander the Great; Augustus-the first Roman emperor; Charlemagne the Great; William the Conqueror, Genghis Kahn-Emperor of all Mongols, Napoleon Bonaparte, Knights and Kings who lead their armies to victories in battlefields. They were normal people who inspired others for a common cause and who are remembered even today for their courage to take decisions, for their ability to influence people. They are remembered for how they motivated everyone around them and how they created followers. In recent times we have read about leaders like Hitler, Mahatma Gandhi, Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Dalai Lama etc. In sports we have great leaders of their game who influence other athletes around them and who play for their countries and who lead their teams to victory. Sports stars like Lance Armstrong, Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh, Michael Schumacher, David Beckham, Tiger Woods etc. They create such fan following that big commercial giants hire them to market their products, and these players become an iconic figures. They are admired for their innate ability and knowledge that they posses about the game and for their leadership ability. Leadership and leaders are everywhere and in every field. Even in our houses. Our mother and father can be great leaders to each one of us. Lets see leaders and leadership from the business perspective. Fortune magazines analysis of 10 most admired companies in the world was summed up by Thomas Stewart as The truth is that no one factor makes a company admirable, but if you were forced to pick the one that makes the most difference, youd pick leadership.(Mar 1998,p.72) Leadership definedAccording to Brian O'Nail, "Leadership is influencing people to get things done to

a standard and quality above their norm. And doing it willingly. Leadership is the ability to influence people toward the attainment of organizational goals. There are three aspects of Leadership people, influence and goals. Leadership occurs among people, it involves people being influenced and this influence is used to achieve the goals of the organizations. In general, Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more unified and coherent. Leadership involves creating a change and not maintaining a status quo. Leader VS Manager

Leader
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. SOUL Visionary Passionate Creative Flexible Inspiring Innovative Courageous Imaginative Experimental Initiates changes Personal power

Manager
13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. MIND Rational Consulting Persistent Problem Solving Tough-minded Analytical Structured Deliberate Authoritative Stabilizing Position Power

(Source; Genevieve Capowski, Anatomy of a Leader: Where are the Leaders of Tomorrow? Management Review 1994,12.) 3.0 Leadership Traits

Leaderships success is highly dependent on the personal traits of the leaders. Some traits are god gifted and leaders are born with it, while other traits can be learned over time. Like knowledge and communication can be learnt in schools/universities or by experience. Few traits of successful leaders are self-confidence, alertness, energy, decisiveness, knowledge, communication, personality, popularity, integrity, goal driven, ethical conduct, honesty, humble. 4.0 Leadership Approaches:Transactional Leaders He/she is a leader who clarifies the roles and responsibilities of his subordinates, clarifies their task requirements, initiates structures for them, provides rewards to his subordinates, and displays/shows consideration for his subordinates. They believe in organization norms and values. Charismatic Leaders He/she is a type of leader who has the ability to motivate their subordinates to do more than what is normally expected. They excite, stimulate and drive employees to work harder. Charismatic leaders include Hitler, Martin Luther king jr etc. Transformational Leaders- He/she is a type of leader who is a charismatic leader but has the special ability to bring about innovation and changes in the organization. They have the ability to change the organizations mission, structure, operation, rules etc. Interactive Leaders- He/she is a type of leader who is concerned about consensus building, and wants everyone to participate in the decision making, and is very caring for their subordinates. They like interacting with subordinates before decision making and they like free flow of ideas between the subordinates. Servant Leaders- He/she is a leader who works to fulfil the subordinates needs and requirements, who works to fulfil their subordinates goals and as well as achieve the organizational goals. They provide their subordinates with whatever they need to serve the customer. Autocratic Leaders- He/she is a type of leader who wants to centralize power and authority with themselves. They make the decisions for their subordinates and their followers have to follow it. They rely on carrot and stick approach to reward and punish their subordinates. They are the kind of leaders who do not delegate authority. Democratic Leaders- He/she is a type of leader who delegates authority to their subordinates; they encourage participation of employees in decision making process. They consult with others to solve problems and they empower their subordinates if necessary. 5.0 Outstanding Business leaders in Asia:-

Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani (1932-2002):Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani (1932- 2002) was an exceptional human being and an outstanding leader. He was man far ahead of his times; he had a great entrepreneurial spirit. He dared to dream on a scale unimaginable before, in Indian industry. His life and achievements prove that, backed by confidence, courage and conviction, man can achieve the impossible. His life journey is reminiscent of the rags to riches story. From a humble beginning, he went on to create an enviable business empire within a span of just 25 years. Reliance Group is a living testimony to his will power, single-minded dedication and an unrelenting commitment to his goals. Under Dhirubhai Ambanis visionary leadership, the Reliance Group emerged as the largest business conglomerate in India, and carved out a distinct place for itself in the global corporate giants. The Group's track record of consistent growth is unparalleled in Indian industry and perhaps internationally too. Today, the Group's turnover represents nearly 3 percent of India's GDP. Shri Dhirubhai Ambani was not just firmly rooted in traditional Indian values, but was also a modern man. This was reflected in his passion for mega-sized projects, the most advanced technology and the highest level of productivity. Dhirubhai Ambani is remembered for shaping India's equity culture, attracting millions of retail investors in a market which were dominated by financial institutions in the 1980s. He revolutionised capital markets in India. From nothing, he generated billions of rupees in wealth for those who invested in his companies. With innovative instruments like the convertible debenture, Reliance quickly became a favourite of the stock market in the 1980s. Indian Heroes His corporate philosophy was short, simple - "Think big. Think differently. Think fast. Think ahead. Aim for the best". He inspired the Reliance team to do better than the best not only in India but in the world. Prestigious awards and titles were awarded to him by national and international organisations. He was acclaimed as the top businessman of the twentieth century and lauded for his dynamic, pioneering and innovative genius. Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani a brief History: He was born on 28th December 1932 at Chorwad, in Gujrat, India. He was born into a poor family and his father was a teacher in a school. He is said to have started his entrepreneurial career by selling "pakora (Indian fast food snack)" to pilgrims in Mount Girnar over the weekends. When he was 16 years old, he moved to Aden, Yemen. He worked as a dispatch clerk with A. Besse & Co. Two years later A. Besse & Co. became the distributors for Shell products and Dhirubhai was promoted to manage the companys oil-filling station at the port of Aden.

Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani returned to India in 1958 and started the Reliance Commercial Corporation with a capital of Rs. 15,000.00. The primary business of Reliance Commercial Corporation was to import polyester yarn and export spices. This company is now Reliance Industries Limited and is India's largest private sector company on fortune 500 list with a turnover of US $28 billion and profit of US $2.033 billion for the fiscal year ending in March 2006. Reliance Industries Limited has a wide range of products from petroleum products, petrochemicals, to garments (under the brand name of Vimal). Leadership Lessons from Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani:Leadership as an Art Mr. Dhirubhai never took leadership lessons in school or college, nor did he learn any leadership skills. He was not an MBA. He developed his own style. Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani never followed the textbook style of management. Instead, he evolved a unique style, which combined the American style of entrepreneurship, with the Japanese focus on the latest technology. And to this, he added the innate shrewdness of a Gujarati businessman. He learnt leadership from practice and hands on experience, as well interpersonal exploration and development. He was a Charismatic and Transformational Leader:His approach to business was very different. His moves made people write new theory in the Indian stock exchange. He came up with the innovative idea of converting the debentures of the company into equity shares. By doing this he converted all his liabilities. The share prices of his company went up and investors made money through him. He is the person who influenced 1000s of people to invest in the share market , his seed has grown up to 3 million people, Reliance is the company having the highest number of share holders in the world. Source BBC NEWS. He was able to convince people of rural Gujarat that being shareholders of his company will only bring returns to their investment. Reliance Industries holds the distinction that- it is the only Public Limited Company whose several Annual General Meetings were held in stadiums.--Source BBC News. He believed in new technology, innovative products, and new ways to manage people and get things done. Few lessons from his leadership style are:Roll up your sleeves and help (Team player):According to Ambani he and his team share the same DNA. Reliance, during the time of Vimal's (Reliance Textile- was known as the brand Vimal) initial days had organized a

fashion show at the Convention Hall, at Ashoka Hotel in New Delhi. Every seat in the hall was occupied, and there were an equal number of impatient guests outside the hall, waiting to be seated. The management was trying hard to handle the confusion, chaos and protests, when to everyones amazement and relief; Dhirubhai Ambani went to the door trying to pacify the guests. Dhirubhai at that time was already a name to reckon with and a VIP himself, but that did not stop him from rolling up his sleeves and diving in to rescue a situation that had gone out of control. Most leaders in his place would have gone home in their expensive cars and would have delegated this task to their managers. Not Dhirubhai Ambani. When things went wrong, he was the first person to sense that the circumstances would have been beyond his team's control, and not being a slip on their part. He trusted his teams capabilities. His first instinct was always to join his men in putting out the fire and not crucifying them for it. Be a safety net for your team (He empowered his managers):There was a time when Reliance agency Mudra was the target of some vicious propaganda by few managers in the top management, when on an almost daily basis business ethics were put on trial. The managers, who followed business ethics, never raised this subject during any of their meetings with Dhirubhai because they were hesitant to raise this issue. But one day, he gently asked one of the managers if he needed any help in combating it. That did it. That was all the help that the manager needed in combating corruption. Overwhelmed by his concern and compassion and the knowledge that he knew and cared for what they were going through, and that he was there for them and for the right cause, worked wonders for their confidence. Managers went back fully armed to face whatever came their way. By letting them know that he was always aware of it and that he was on right side through it all, this gave them courage, they never thought, they had. Be a silent benefactor (He was humble, caring, generous and kind):This was one of his remarkable traits. When Dhirubhai Ambani helped someone, he never uttered a word about it to anyone else. There are many employees and managers who have come across his kindness and generosity, yet he never went around broadcasting it. He never used charity as a platform to gain publicity. Sometimes, he would donate money without even letting the recipient know who the donor was. Such was the extent of his generosity. Dream with open eyes (His visions were real):He is a living proof that whoever dreams big and has the courage to fulfil it, than nothing is impossible. Whenever people working under him or with him tried to point out that a task seemed too big to be accomplished, he would say: No is no answer! He not only

dreamt big, he taught us to do so too. Whenever things seemed difficult, he used to say "It's difficult but not impossible!" He dreamt big, but he was able to distinguish between perception and reality and his favourite phrase "dream with your eyes open" proves that. He would never let preset norms, laws or policies govern his vision. He worked hard, night and day familiarizing himself with every element that constituted his dreams. He studied every thorn that came his way and between his visions, and made sure it was eradicated. This is how, as he puts it, even though he dreamed, none of his dreams turned into nightmares. And he achieved one dream after another. His arm around the shoulder (His motivation technique):This is Dhirubhai Ambanis very own signature style. Whenever he had time to speak to employee of the company in person, or if it was a conversation for a short walk till up to his car, he would instantly put his arm around the persons shoulder and proceed to discuss the issues at hand as they walked. With this simple gesture, he managed to achieve many things. He would put the person at ease instantaneously. He will make them feel equal, someone who was loved and important enough to be close to him. And employees would walk away from that meeting feeling good about themselves and the work that they were doing, and highly motivated. He was always encouraging people to share their thoughts and ideas. Yes, this was one of the things that was uniquely Dhirubhai his warm arm around the shoulder of the employees did much more than words in letting every employee know that he belonged to the company, that he had trust in him. Always stay ahead of times (Foresight):Mr. Ambani was not an economist. He was born poor, was from a conservative society of India. But his ideas were modern. At a time in 1970s and 80s other industrialist in India would invest in capacities only after a careful study of market, he had the vision, courage and risk to invest in gigantic plants and manufacturing units that would supply more than the required demand. The initial capacity of Reliance textile plant was 10,000 tonnes of Polyester Fibre way back in 1980, while the market in India for it was only about 6,000 tonnes. He had the ability and the foresight to judge the scenarios. The result was that the market blossomed to absorb supply, the consumer gained due to reduced prices and they demanded more. Soon Dhirubhai started exporting Polyester yarn to the U.S. He had an uncanny knack of knowing exactly how the market is going to behave and stayed ahead of times. Believe in being the best, success and money will follow (He believed in Quality):This was his belief and Dhirubhai lived by it. For instance, when he was setting up Reliance Textile he briefed the marketing head clearly: Produce the best textile

advertising in the country. He did not breathe a word about profits, nor about cost of such advertising. Great advertising was his goal. He did not dream of making profits as the end result of advertising. His instruction and goal were simple, produce the best advertisement the country has ever seen. So work toward a goal and dont worry about the by product or the end-result. Success in attaining that goal will eventually bring in cash. If we work towards creating a name for our self and earning a good reputation, then money/profit will be the end result. People will pay our product or service if it is good. Risk Taker (He was decisive, courageous and non conformist):He was known for his risk taking ability. Normally, in management we say Never put all the eggs in one basket. However, he had so much belief in his ability and decisions that he invested his entire earning to purchase huge stock of Polyester Yarn when he started his new business. Everyone around him advised him that it was wrong decision to invest so much money in Polyester; however he was stubborn and knew what he was doing. This decision made him a billionaire today. Great leaders take risk and they believe in their ability. 6.0 Conclusion:Mr. Dhirubhai never took leadership lessons in school or college, nor did he learn any leadership skills. He developed his own style. Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani never followed the textbook style of management. Instead, he evolved a unique style, which combined the American style of entrepreneurship, with the Japanese focus on the latest technology. And to this, he added the innate shrewdness of a Gujarati businessman. He learnt leadership from practice and hands on experience, as well inter-personal exploration and development. His leadership was an Art and he practiced this art with perfection. People have written books on his management style and he is looked upon as a GURU of Management in India. He created his own style of leadership and management, which other follow even today; this clearly establishes the relationship between Leaders and followers. He was a transformational leader and influenced everyone who worked with him. He has provided many budding entrepreneurs hope and inspiration. We have learned from Mr. Dhirubhai that if we have a goal and the will power to achieve it, then nothing is impossible. Reference:Internet:Dhirubhai Ambani : Indian Legends @ muraleedharan.com Dhirubhai Ambani - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Great lessons from Dhirubhai Ambani [Archive] - ManagementParadise.com : Your Gateway to Online MBA Degree . Management Students Forum for MBA,BMS, MMS, BMM, BBA, students and aspirants. Dhirubhai Ambani Real Story from Rags to Riches | Stock Market India | Stock

Market News | Stock Recommendations - paisacontrol.com Books:The Leadership Experience Richard L. Daft Author: Sumit Reply With Quote

2. 06-07-2008 10:47 PM #2 praveen

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Leadership Research Essay Leadership as Art Science or Religion

Introduction: If you go into history and see why leaders have succeeded, its because they have been able to identify a goal that appears almost impossible. They have been able to get their followers to accept that the seemingly impossible goal is achievable; they have been able to give them the confidence to achieve this goal. That is the inspirational role of leadership Leaders have succeeded when they set themselves up as examples and get people to replicate what they have done as role models. Everybody would accept this as a leadership definition. Outstanding leaders are those who set audacious objectives and get people to own and achieve them. Take the example of Narayana Murthy:he has shown that you can be a global player. Or a Dhirubhai Ambani, who thought world-scale. Three essentials emerge: setting a goal which seems impossible or needs a fundamental leap; second is to communicate to people and inspire them that the task is not so daunting; and the third is to be a living example of what can be done so that followers can

refer to the leaders life and his actions and see the way to behave in given circumstances. Personal definition of leadership: A Leader is some one who emerges out of a crowd, because of qualities like confidents and knowledge and leads a group or a team wherein the team tends to accept him because of sense of bonding and trust.

Scope of the Research: In this research essay, I have tried to explain my perception of leadership by taking analyzing the life and leadership style and different phases of the career of Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani who was a very big industrialist and founder of one of India's biggest flagship business. I have made an analysis of his leadership style and accordingly I have taken my stand on leadership. Leadership as Art What is art? Art is a skill of performing the job easily or comfortable with a sense of perfection showing class. A person who can act is an actor; he has developed this skill because of his traits or learning from the environment Leadership as Art because many leadership skills and qualities cannot be learned from a text book. Leadership takes practice and hands-on experience, as well as intense personal exploration of effective human communication and development.

Leadership as a Science To be a leader you need to know the in and out our subject the learning comes from knowledge and systematic approach, it also includes procurers and system So leadership in certain filed or industries like research and development need science as form of leadership, the interesting thing is every thing needs research and development so science is required. Leadership as a Religion

Religion is created by the values followed by some people, example Buddha had his values which he spread his values which become the religion because people felt this is correct an followed, so it has such an impact that even with out knowing people follow. This is more oriented towards faith and belief I would like to explain the concept of leadership as art with an example of a leader Mr.Dhirubhai Ambani. Mr.Dhirubhai Ambani was born in 28 December 1932 in the state of Gujarat, Indian business tycoon and founder of Reliance Industries Limited.

History of Mr.Dhirubhai Ambani: He worked as a dispatch clerk with A. Besse & Co two years later A. Besse & Co. became the distributors for Shell products and Dhirubhai was promoted to manage the companys oil-filling station at the port of Aden. Mr.Dhirubhai Ambani returned to India and started the Reliance Commercial Corporation with a capital of Rs. 15,000.00. The primary business of Reliance Commercial Corporation was to import polyester yarn and export spices. The business was setup in partnership with Mr. Champaklal Damani, his second cousin, who used to be with him in Aden, Yemen. Reliance Industries ltd. Dhirubhai Ambani has built the biggest private sector enterprise in India the companys turnover equals to 3% of Indias GDP. India's largest private sector enterprise, with businesses in the energy and materials value chain. Group's annual revenues are in excess of USD 22 billion. The flagship company, Reliance Industries Limited, is a Fortune Global 500 company and is the largest private sector company in India Source: Reliance Industries Limited. (RIL) Mr.Dhirubhai Ambani leadership as Art Dhirubhai Ambani influenced is friends and relatives to join him in his future success. He did one thing that is dream big, he bet on his little money he had and on his confidence. His sayings Only when you can dream it, you can do it.

Risk was the name of the game he played he put all his earnings in one single deal. For purchase of polyester yarn this shows his skill which I call it as Art. No leadership or management book says put all your eggs in one basket he started his carrier in this was. So leaders must learn to trust their interior voices, the artist's voice, especially the small quiet voice that visits in moments of silence and solitude. The voice is not always logical. Art teacher Robert Henri wrote: Dhirubhai never followed the textbook style of management. Instead, he evolved a unique style, which combined the American style of entrepreneurship, with the Japanese focus on the latest technology. And to this, he added the innate shrewdness of a Gujarati businessman. Source: AG Krishnamurthy. Source: Dipayan Mazumdar and Associates. His approach to business was very different his moves made people write new theory in the Indian stock exchange. He went on the way he though is best for him He is the person who influences 1000s of people to invest in the share market today his seed has grown up to 3 million people Reliance is the company having the highest number of share holders in the world. Source BBC News Dhirubhai Ambani is credited with starting the equity cult in India. More than 58,000 investors from various parts of India subscribed to Reliance's IPO in 1977. Dhirubhai was able to convince people of rural Gujarat that being shareholders of his company will only bring returns to their investment. Reliance Industries holds the distinction that it is the only Public Limited Company whose several Annual General Meetings were held in stadiums. In 1986, The Annual General Meeting of Reliance Industries was held in Cross Maidan, Mumbai and was attended by more than 35,000 shareholders and the Reliance family. Dhirubhai managed to convince a large number of first-time retail investors to participate in the unfolding Reliance story and put their hard-earned money in the Reliance Textile IPO, promising them, in exchange for their trust, substantial returns on their investments. He not only faced problems in starting business he faced biggest threat of closures of the empire he built in one stage According to me no man would have survived the pressure this great legend survived and succeed , In this shock he was paralyzed but recovered in 2 months During this process he did all that he could such as crisis management damage control reestablishing motivating people what ever is necessary

THEORIES I have to tried to establish a connection between Ambani's leadership styles with some of the leadership theories. I personally feel that Mr.Ambani applied The Contingency theory he did not know surely what contingency theory is because he was not a graduate. He learn't from the realities of life and grew step by step. The best example would be that he bribed who liked money i.e., the government employees he gave pride and power to who like power the politicians. "We cannot change our Rulers, but we can change the way they Rule us." Mr.Dhirubhai Ambani. Ambani and the X & Y Theory He handed competition in best possible way He had faced the biggest challenge from the bigger business firms than him those days. Communication skills: It is an effective echo of Dhirubhai famed ability to communicate his message in short, clear sentences He was a good speaker he delivers things that he has in the mind in short but correctly Because of his communication skill he could communicate to the share holders their lied his success He always believed in motivation He has understood the motivation law by himself example: Reliance company shares were over subscribed to such an extent that it created history in those days His share bonus and dividend motivated more and more people invest and only this saved him during crisis He has used the contingency theory in every step of life.

Paper position In my example it clearly shows that their has been no process or system In Mr.Dhirubhai Ambani approach he went to an extent of creating a system, were these systems are

highly successful, my point is that for great leaders they do not have to go through system or process they create their own system which suits them best, the way they create system is called art. In my contest leaders create their own system, which other follow so here clearly leaders and followers are relationship has been established Evidence for my context is Mr.Dhirubhai Ambani created new system in share market such as creation of convertible bonds which did not exit then today it is the most used strategies now. Mr.Mukesh Ambani first son of Mr.Dhirubhai Ambani In an interview when he was questioned about his fathers success he said that even the managers. It was all a feudal style of management. If we had accepted that style, we would not have grown. It was simply not a scalable model. Of course, the easiest thing would have been to follow it. But we had a disruptive style of management. So we said, 'we don't want people carrying their wisdom in notebooks as if it is some kind of secretive operation.' "Dhirubhai will go one day. But Reliance's employees and shareholders will keep it afloat. Reliance is now a concept in which the Ambanis have become irrelevant." Conclusion: Art as a leadership is more relevant in this context of my example The though in us to solve the problem or create a opportunity is, know as Art Every system is created by some one that some one is the leader. And the type of the leadership this person possesses is Art. I feel instead of learning a lot of things and failing to implement, it better to learn from mistakes and implement. You might be exposed to every struggle in life but only when u feel or experience it u will know its importance. Experience in books and hearing can guide you but cannot make you win you need you do it, experience it for wining. Leadership books or written on experience of others, but art is creating experience. "Growth has no limit at Reliance. I keep revising my vision. Only when you dream it you can do it." Mr.Dhirubhai Ambani. "Dhirubhai will go one day. But Reliance's employees and shareholders will keep it afloat. Reliance is now a concept in which the Ambanis have become irrelevant."

References Source: AG Krishnamurthy. Source: Dipayan Mazumdar and Associates. Art and religion by von ogen vot. Colocation | Broadband Wireless | Dedicated Servers | DocSTAR | DSL | Web Hosting | Web Design & Development - Infinity Internet Welcome to rediff.com Dhirubhai Ambani in memoriam Reliance Industries Limited. (RIL) Reliance ADA GROUP. Reply With Quote

3. 06-07-2008 10:48 PM #3 praveen

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"Leadership is one of the most observed and least understood phenomena on earth. Leadership is nothing more than a romantic myth, perhaps based on the false hope that someone will come along and solve our problems by sheer force of will." DEFINATION OF LEADERSHIP: Leadership is an influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend real changes and outcomes that reflect their shared purposes. Leadership involves influence, it occurs among people, those people intentionally desire significant changes, and the changes reflect purposes shared by leaders and followers. Influence means that the relationship among people is not passive; however, also inherent in this definition is the concept that influence is multidirectional and non-coercive. Leadership is reciprocal. Leadership involves creating change, not maintaining the status quo. Leadership is influencing others to come together around a common vision. Thus, leadership involves the influence of people to bring about change toward a desirable future. Leadership occurs among people; it is not something done to people. Since leadership involves people, there must be followers. An individual performer who achieves excellence as a scientist, musician, athlete, or woodcarver may be a leader in her field of

expertise, but is not a leader as it is by definition unless followers are involved. Followers are an important part of the leadership process, and leaders are sometimes followers. Good leaders know how to follow, and they set an example for others. The issue of intention or will means that people leader and followers are actively involved in the pursuit of change toward a desired future. Each person takes personal responsibility to achieve the desired future. Leadership is shared among leaders and followers with everyone fully engaged and accepting higher levels of responsibility. There are opportunities for leadership all around us that involve influence and change toward a desired goal or outcome. Without leadership, our families and communities, as well as our organizations, would fall apart. Leadership is an everyday way of acting and thinking that has little to do with title or formal position in an organization. EVOLVING THEORIES OF LEADERSHIP The various leadership theories can be categorized into six basis approaches. Many of these ideas are still applicable to leadership studies today. Great Man Theories: This is the granddaddy of leadership concepts. The earliest studies of leadership adopted the belief that leaders (who were always thought of as male) were born with certain hero leadership traits and natural abilities of power and influence. In organizations, social movements, religions, governments, and the military, leadership was conceptualized as a single "GREAT MAN" who put everything together and influenced others to follow along based on the strength of inherited traits, qualities, and abilities. Trait Theories: Studies of these "larger-than-life" leaders spurred research into the various traits that defined a leader. Beginning in the 1920s, researches looked to see if leaders had particular trait or characteristics, such as intelligence, height, or energy that distinguished them from non leaders and contributed to success. It was thought that if traits could be identified, leaders could be predicted, or perhaps even trained. Although research failed to produce a list of traits that would always guarantee leadership success, the interest in leadership characteristics has continued to present day. Behavior Theories: The failure to identify a universal set of leadership traits led researchers in the early 1950s to begin looking at what a leader does, rather than who he or she is. One line of research focused on what leaders actually do on the job, which relates to the content of managerial activities, roles, and responsibilities. These studies were soon expanded to try to determine how effective leaders differ in their behavior from ineffective ones. Researchers looked at how a leader behaved toward followers-such as whether they were autocratic or democratic in their approach and how this correlated with leadership effectiveness or ineffectiveness. Contingency Theory: Researchers next began to consider the contextual and situational variables that influence what leadership behaviors will be effective. The idea behind contingency theories is that leaders can analyze their situation and tailor their behavior to improve leadership effectiveness. Major situational variables are the characteristics of followers, characteristics of the work environment and follower tasks, and the external environment. Contingency theories, sometimes called situational theories, emphasize that leadership cannot be understood in a vacuum separate from various elements of the group or organizational situation. Influence Theories: These theories examine influence processes between leaders and followers. One primary topic of study is charismatic leadership which refers to leadership

influence based not on position or formal authority but, on the qualities and charismatic personality of the leader. Theories of charismatic leadership attempt to identify how charismatic leaders behave, how they differ from other people, and the conditions that typically give rise to charismatic leadership. A related area of study is vision. Leaders influence people to change by providing an inspiring vision of the future. Relational Theories: Since the late 1970s, many ideas of leadership have focused on the relational aspect, that is, how leaders and followers interact and influence one another. Rather than being seen as something a leader does to follower, leadership is viewed as a relational process that meaningfully engages all participants and enables each person to contribute to achieving the vision. Interpersonal relationships are seen as the most important facet of leadership effectiveness. One major relational theory is referred to as transformational leadership. Transformational leadership develops followers into leaders and brings about significant change by elevating leaders and followers to higher levels of motivation and morality. The theory of servant leadership means that the leader is first and foremost a person who serves others, rather than directs or controls others. The servant leader puts others needs and interests above his or her own. Personal qualities that leaders need to build effective relationships, such as emotional intelligence, a leader's mind, integrity and high moral standards, and personal courage. In addition, leaders build relationships through motivation and empowerment, leadership communication, team leadership, and embracing diversity. EMERGING LEADERSHIP THEORIES Elements of each of the approaches are still applicable to leadership today. However, with the transition to a new paradigm discussed earlier new ideas are emerging. Te understanding of the world as "turbulent, ever-changing, risky, and always challenging" is being translated into new concepts of what it means to be a leader. In this view, facilitating change is the key aspect of being a leader. Leading change has always been an essential part of leadership, but many of the earlier theories paid little attention to change behavior. With the unpredictable environment of the early 21 st century, attention has turned to how leaders create changes within followers and the organization that respond to and keep pace with change in the environment. To adapt to a chaotic world, leaders strive to create learning organizations, in which each person is intimately involved in identifying and solving problems so the organization can grow and change to meet new challenges. Rather than directing and controlling others, leaders work with others to create a shared vision and shape the cultural values needed to attain it. Rather than relying on hierarchical control, leaders build whole organizations as communities of shared purpose and direction. LEADERSHIP TODAY A SCIENCE, AN ART OR A RELIGION As the concept of leadership has evolved through many perspectives and continues to change. Today's reality is that the old ways no longer work, but the new ways are just emerging. Everywhere we hear the cry for Good Leadership. The main question for us is does a LEADERSHIP is a science, an art or a religion? Some says it is an art because many leadership skills and qualities cannot be learned from

a text book. Leadership takes practice and hands-on experience, as well as intense personal exploration and development. Some says it is a science because a growing body of knowledge and objective facts describes the leadership skills to attain organizational goals. Why it is a religion? Every civilized community is now vitally interested in the arts. In any great modern city the numbers of persons and the numbers of hours devoted to some of the artistic production are very far excesses of the numbers of persons or hours consciously devoted to religion. "Nor soul helps flesh more now, than flesh helps soul" Our view of human nature and of the bodily life is very different from that of the Reformation theology.

Leadership :Art, science or Religion, A different perspective There are only two things that can say with any degree of certainty about leaders. First, know what they care about. Second, they are interested in having care about the same things. Exactly how they know what they care about, and how they work to interest in the same things, is the leader's art form. Like any art form, there are wide variations in technique and interpretation. Leaders make their dreams, and the dreams of others, come true. This is the art of leadership. A leader's dream is most often called a vision. As artists, leaders swim in their own emotional and spiritual undercurrents. Visions emanate from the undercurrents. Creating a vision is not a purely rational exercise. It is an act of both inspiration and aspiration. As inspiration, the act is "in spirit." The inspiration of a visionary emanates from a mysterious source. As aspiration, creating a vision expresses a desire to move "toward spirit." The aspiration is the dream, the attempt to create a superior reality to what currently exists. Creating a vision is an artist's act of deciding both what is to be created and why it is to be created, whether the thing is a pot, a book, a poem, or a product, process, company, or manufacturing plant. So leaders must learn to trust their interior voices, the artist's voice, especially the small quiet voice that visits in moments of silence and solitude. The voice is not always logical. Art teacher Robert Henri wrote: "There are moments in our lives, there are moments in a day, when we seem to see beyond the usual -- become clairvoyant. We reach then into reality. Such are the moments of our greatest happiness. Such are the moments of our greatest wisdom. It is in the nature of all people to have these experiences; but in our time and under the conditions of our lives, it is only a rare few who are able to continue in the experience and find expression for it." It would seem that humanity permanently values truth, goodness, and beauty. These values are essential to religion. But there is a cleft between the popular religion of our day and all these three. There are many persons engaged in healing the breach between religion and science; equally many concerned with a new ethical seriousness in religion; few seem to be aware of the cleft between religion and art.

The values that we are reappraising, the formulae that breaking down, what are they? In the main they are the work of the Reformation age. We have been living religiously and morally and politically by the premises and forms of thoughts established by the Reformation. This does not mean that these principles have been accepted by all or that they are now to be entirely displaced. It does mean that Reformation assumptions have quite generally wrought themselves into all departments of human life, that their logic is fairly complete, and that it is now time to estimate their success and failure. The new premises, sanctions, and standards, where are they? They are largely the effects of nineteenth century science and mechanics, both negative and positive. We do not know exactly what they are, nor shall we until they are half consciously established in practice. They relate to changed conceptions of individualism and freedom, authority, property, education, human nature, liberty, art. These and other interests are to be differently conceived than in the period under Reformation dominance. Science is not alone the sufficient cause of these transformations. It is rather the efficient cause, the force that will break much remaining mediaevalism, confirms the central Reformation Protest and then displace both protestant and catholic sanctions, preparing the way for the positive work of new forces in philosophy, popular morality, art, and religion. The Reformation age is being effectively closed by the work of nineteenth century science, its close marked by the upheaval of war. But the new age will not be predominantly scientific. Science has displayed, negatively, what it cannot do for human life as well as what it can do. Approved scientific method will go forward to be one of the major instrumentalities of the new good. But art will be another major instrumentality. Both will be agents in forming the new age after the desires of life itself, that human experience of universal life which we call religion and which alone is the sufficient cause of human good. A new age is never an entire break with the past. It carries forward from the immediate past much that does not logically belong with the new forms. It carries forward from the more remote past much that is still more out of harmony with the new forms. And it restores some things from the distant past more useful and valued in the new age than they were in the immediately previous one. Feelings and forces are swept out of notice, even for long periods, which later come back freshly to benefit and balance human life. One of these feelings for beauty, one of these forces is the force of artistry. In a general way, the great lack of Protestantism is not intellectual nor moral but artistic, not ethical but cultural. In the pioneer and commercial stages of America life this lack has not been so noticeable or unfortunate. For the most part those who have recognized the severance of art from religion are chiefly persons who have felt the ungodliness of art rather than the ugliness of religious forms. With the growth of cities and city planning, the rapid improvement in the popular arts, including architecture and the advancing brilliance of civilized life the church must keep pace. The art of worship is the all comprehending art. No other art can satisfy the demand of human nature for all-inclusive experience. Nor can be the conditions favorable to that experience be ever freshly reproduced without the aid of all the arts. If architects are to build successful church buildings they must know more about the requirements of the worship to be conducted in those buildings. If the artist in worship is to be successful, he must know how to set forth his message architecturally as well as liturgically.

Lets us take some models and example of leadership in Indian and the whole world context. I would choose Mahatma Gandhi, Jawahar Lal Nehru, Nelson Mandela and Hitler. Lets analyse their style of leadership one by one and conclude whether their leadership was science or art or religion. Mahatma Gandhi - He was a simple person .When he was in South Africa, he saw the misery of people and turned towards the active politics. After returning to India, he fought for the Indians. His leadership was based on Truth, Non-violence, and theory of Passive resistance. These are all unique. People would believe him because they found him to be true. He was knowing the art of implementation of his leadership that he did through different theories. Jawahar Lal Nehru He was a political leader of the Indian National Congress, a pivotal figure in the Indian Independence Movement and the First Prime Minister of Independent India. He was also key figure in International politics in the post-war period, and was one of the founding figures of the non-alignment . Popularly referred to as Panditji (Scholar), Nehru was also a writer, scholar and amateur historian. In the 1920s, Nehru was elected president of the All India Trade Unions Congress. He had become the most prominent youth leaders, and both demanded outright political independence of India. In 1927 he became a member of the League against Imperialism created in Brussels. Nehru won the hearts of many young Indians. Nelson Mandela LEADERSHIP AS THE NEW REALITY FOR TODAY'S ORGANIZATION OLD Paradigm NEW Paradigm Stability Change and crisis management Control Empowerment Competition Collaboration Uniformity Diversity Self-centered Higher purpose Hero Humble From stability to change and crisis management : In the past, many leaders assumed that if they could just keep things running on a steady, even keel, the organization would be successful. Yet today's world is in constant motion, and nothing seems certain anymore. If leaders still had an illusion of stability at the dawn of the twenty-first century, it is surely shattered now. From Control to Empowerment : Leaders in powerful positions once thought workers should be told what to do, how to do it, when to do it, and who to do it with. They believed strict control was needed for the organization to function efficiently and effectively. Rigid organizational hierarchies, structured jobs and work processes, and detailed, inviolate procedures let everyone know that those at the top had power and those at the bottom had none. Today, the old assumptions about the distribution of power are no loner valid. An emphasis on control and rigidity serves to squelch motivation and morale rather than produce desired results. Today's leaders share power rather than hoard it and find ways to increase an organization's brain by getting everyone in the organization involved and committed. One reason for this is that the financial basis of today's economy is rapidly becoming information rather than the tangible assets of land, buildings and machines.

From Competition to Collaboration : The moves to empowerment also ties directly into new ways of working that emphasize collaboration over competition and conflict. Although some companies still encourage internal competition and aggressiveness, most of today's organizations are stressing teamwork and cooperation. Self directed teams and others forms of horizontal collaboration are breaking down boundaries between departments and helping to spread knowledge and information throughout the organization. Compromise and sharing are recognized as signs of strength, not weakness. From Uniformity to Diversity Many of today's organizations were built on assumptions of uniformity, separation, and specialization. People who think alike, act alike, and have similar job skills are grouped into a departments, such as accounting or manufacturing, separate from other departments. Homogenous groups find it easy to get along, communicate, and understand one another. The uniform thinking that arises, however, can be a disaster in a world becoming more multinational and diverse. From Self-Centered To Higher Purpose: The Ethical turmoil of the early twenty-first century has prompted a determined and conscious shift in leader mind-set from a selfcentered focus to emphasis on a higher purpose. Public confidence in business leaders in particular is at an all-time low, but politics, sports, and nonprofit organizations have also been affected. From Hero to Humble: A related shift is the move from the celebrity " leader-as-hero" to the hard-working behind-the scenes leader who quietly builds a strong enduring company by supporting and developing others rather than touting his own abilities and successes. CONCLUSION: I have come to the belief that leadership is an art. As with any art, leadership can not be understood by logical argument or technical instruction. Certainly, there are technical abilities a person must master in order to be an effective leader, but mastery of public speaking or conducting a meeting does not make a person a leader. For example, a person who knows all about brushes, paints and canv Reply With Quote

4. 06-07-2008 10:48 PM #4 praveen

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LEADERSHIP RESEARCH ESSAY LEADERSHIP AS ART, SCIENCE OR RELIGION

1. INTRODUCTION The concept of 'Leadership' is very complex and deep as it is a process that involves the interaction and communication between individuals. What makes leadership complex is the simple fact that no two individuals are the same. There is no definitive pattern or place for leadership to occur. When ever there is more than one individual, the scope and tendency of leadership automatically arises. Every great leader was once a helpless baby. If we look at history there have been different kinds of leaders like Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha to Alexander, Hitler and even terrorists of today. All these leaders have had different objectives and purposes; some of their objectives may sometimes pose as a question mark in many of our minds. But what is common in all these leaders and what ultimately matters is that they were able to influence millions of people in their times and though they are history, they are still talked about and followed even today, which just shows us to what extent of leadership qualities they possessed. No two leaders are the same. But, a common factor that can be seen in all leaders is that every leader has the capacity and ability to express thoughts and ideas into action unlike thinkers. Leaders are also very different from managers as leadership is always based on a long term perspective of trust of the followers. An important quality that is the possible explanation of the existence of any good leader is the ability to absorb, guide, inspire or motivate people to a common platform of thought or idea. Leadership can either be forced on the followers or can wholeheartedly happen. In todays world there is always a larger scope and longer sustainability for leadership that is followed wholeheartedly rather than being forced upon. 1.1 Leadership inside Oneself Every individual at some point of a time plays the role of the leader knowingly or unknowingly. All of us have leadership qualities within us but only a few of us know how exactly to use them. There are some of us who stimulate a sense of inspiration or motivation while doing something but that catalysing factor sometimes doest remain for a long time. There are others who lack that initial spark but after sometime will lead the whole team towards the attainment of the goal. Some individuals remain moderate the whole time by not taking much initiative. Whereas some have that constant leading or guiding quality. This stimulates others to follow. 1.2 My Definition of Leadership Leadership is the quality of being able to express, transform or relate ones feelings, thoughts or ideas to other individuals and simultaneously giving guidance, inspiration and motivation to reach a common platform of thought or idea and ultimately creating a sense of mutual trust.

2. SCOPE OF RESEARCH Leadership is such a vast subject that it is applicable in almost every field of thought. I am writing this essay in order to show my position and perspective of whether leadership is an art, science or religion. Being a management student I have given evidences and characteristics of leadership based on a management perspective. I have referred three different books. One of the authors is a former supersonic test pilot Danny Cox whose book's name is Leadership when the heats on. I chose this book in order to get a leadership view from a different perspective. The second book is Leadership Styles by Tony Kippenberger which is a small compact book with a lot of relevant information on characteristics of leaders. The third book is The Art of a Strategist by William.A.Cohen. Apart from these three books, I have tried to establish a connection of my research evidence and position with a few theories mentioned in our prescribed leadership text The Leadership Experience by Richard.L.Daft. I have taken into consideration most of the common leadership approaches and behaviours of leaders and based on those factors I have taken my position of leadership. 3. Leadership as an Art, Science or Religion It is indeed very difficult and challenging to classify leadership as an art, science or religion. As every individual is unique, each person will have various reasons to follow, be inspired and motivated by his or her own set of leaders. 4.1 Leadership from an Art perspective The word art means a superior skill that you can learn by practice and observation. Leadership from the art perspective is the way of emphasising that leaders are not born but bred. Every individual has leadership qualities. It is only through the exploring of one self that the extent of ones leadership quality be known. It is only through practice and mistakes that a person realizes ones mistakes and has an opportunity to correct them. Each situation is different from the other and each individual is different from the other and that is why we need leaders to guide us. 4.2 Leadership from a Science perspective Science as subject requires a lot of hard evidence. True scientists don't consider something a fact unless it can be replicated forever without exception. Leadership as a science is largely based on a systematic pattern of findings, analysis of behaviours and models. It is something that can be taught and basically has a systematic approach. From the scientific perspective, to a great extent every person can analyse people based on their behaviour and practically apply various theories, models and approaches. In this complex and fast developing world, examining leadership from such a perspective sometimes does make sense. 4.3 Leadership from a Religious perspective Examining leadership from a religious point of view takes us to a totally different level. The essence of any great leader's quality is the ability to win trust from the followers. The higher the trust, the greater command the leader will have over his followers. The amount of commitment that a religious person has towards religion is usually enormous. This theory or concept can be applied to almost anything. Certain people are committed to

business or work religiously. This means the level of commitment is as high or similar to that of a true follower of a religion. If a leader is able to extract or obtain such kind of commitment from his followers, be it work or business, it is something great and miracles can happen and certain leaders are capable of this. 5. THEORY AND MODEL REVIEWS Since Leadership is an evolving and relatively old subject, there are many theories and models. However, after reading most of them from our text, I have taken into consideration three of them through which I eventually have tried to relate with the evidence and taken a stand. 5.1 The Trait Approach There are certain personality traits like self-confidence, knowledge, honesty, integrity, inter-personal skills and other factors that a leader should possess. I feel that this theory is very relevant in regard to my research as most of the leaders of today are leaders because of their consistent qualities or traits that most ordinary people dont have. 5.2 Fiedler's Contingency Model The peculiarity of this model is that it gives importance for relationship building and achievement of tasks. Both relationship building and task achievement are important and the extent of importance to be given to each of these factors during a contingency can be determined by only an effective leader. 5.3 Path-Goal Theory I found this theory to be of great relevance because it gives a lot of importance for motivation which is the underlying factor for any leader to sustain his level of leadership or the people following. Good motivation leads to higher satisfaction and performance. 5.4 A Brief Examination of a few Leaders Adolf Hitler is one of the leaders that is most talked about till today. Whenever we speak of him the first thing that comes into our minds is his face and peculiar moustache. The German word 'hittler' means one who lives in a hut or a shepherd. Ironically, he was rejected twice by the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna (1907 1908) due to "unfitness for painting". A compelling reason for Hitlers tough style was because of the very hard and sad childhood. He had so many followers for his cause. He appealed to the economic needs of the lower and middle classes, while sounding resonant chords of nationalism and anti-communism. What makes him so amazing is the fact that he rose from a poor background and went on to create a big revolution in the history of the world. George.W.Bush The whole world definitely has an opinion of the 43rd and current President of the USA and his approach. He has had the advantage of getting into politics because of his father being a former president. But there was an added level of expectation and performance from him because his father was a former president. He proved himself by being re-elected. The people who follow him are either those who are in his line of thought or some of them who are forced to and those who dont follow him and are totally against his way of thought. Everyone has their own personal opinion of

George Bush's stand on the recent war and countering terrorism. He may be right or wrong, but what I appreciate is his firm stand on his decision despite opposition from his own country. Osama Bin Laden What might be wrong to some of us need not to be to the others. Every person has his own perception and is only natural. Osama is also someone who created a revolution. In spite of the things he does, he appears to be a mild and soft spoken person in television. Osama might have his very own reasons for the things he does. I feel he is someone who is definitely very committed and focussed in what he believes, because the means of how he accomplishes his objectives no longer matters to him. His level of involvement is so high that bad things do not sound as something bad to him. 6. EVIDENCE FUCTIONING AND CHARACTERISTICS OF MOST LEADERS From the books that I have read, I have taken into consideration the common methods of functioning and characteristics of most leaders. These factors have helped me take my position. Goals and Objectives By definition, a goal is an objective. A vision is a way of seeing something to be achieved in the future. Making a vision a reality will require the successful attainment of many goals. Edgar Schein, emeritus professor at the Sloan School of Management has divided the life cycle of every organization into four stages and the maturity of a leader's role and importance in each stage. l Creating is the initial stage of breathing life and energy into the new enterprise and the people working in it. The leadership process is about making mistakes and