blog




  • Essay / Do leaders matter? - 1411

    Much research has been done to understand the answer to the question “Do leaders matter?” » To decipher this dilemma, we will have to distinguish between the beautiful and the horrible logics of the leaders. Additionally, we should recognize what it means to be a leader and provide insight into how people perceive leaders. Do all leaders have the instinct to lead, or do they need to learn the technique? There are many inquiries that can be made, but first we need to understand some of the dynamics that make up a good leader. Understanding how a good leader maneuvers will allow us to examine some of the biases that revolve around a leader. I will endeavor to leave no doubt in your mind that leaders do not have an immense influence on performance. A leader must demonstrate many traits in order to be measured as someone who can truly make a difference effectively. Many different authors have differing opinions on who a leader is or how to become one. Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, believed that every leader should embody his qualities which he called the 4Es of leadership. He even created a management training institute in order to give all his managers adequate training in his techniques. “Crotonville has served as a forum for sharing the experiences, aspirations and, often, frustrations of the tens of thousands of GE executives who have passed through its campus” (Welch). The 4Es of leadership are Energy, Energizers, Advantage, and Execution. An energetic person would wake up every morning with the desire and passion to motivate them throughout the day. An individual must also have the ability to energize others in order to outdo and outdo their peers. You have to have the edge, or the middle of the paper... too much control. If leaders have uncontrollable power without any checks, they will most certainly try to hide the dire times and extend their superiority. I have to say that at the end of the day, leaders are only as good as their employees. This is how I concluded that leaders do not matter. Works Cited Lauer, C. (2008). The 4E Leader: Hack Welch's winning leadership formula. In The Management Gurus. New York, NY: Penguin Group. Pfeffer, J. and Sutton, R. (2006). Do great leaders control their companies? In Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths, and Total Nonsense: Profiting from Evidence-Based Management. Harvard Business Press. Tichy, NM and Ulrich, DO (2003). The Leadership Challenge – A Call to the Transformational Leader. Classic readings on organizational behavior. (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.