Since ancient times, humanity has been trying to understand what is the secret of the success of famous leaders and leadership, how they manage to successfully influence other people towards a given goal. Not only numerous philosophers and sociologists, but also psychologists have devoted their works to find answers to this question and many other questions since the problem of leaders and leadership are one of the cardinal problems of management. After all, there are always people who guide other people. People who are guided, unconditionally believe in those who easily managed to achieve the desired results. Even in prehistoric human society, there were leaders called tribal elders. Therefore, leadership is the most natural phenomenon in society as we need someone who can share their experience and guide us.

Good Leadership Essays for Students

Below you can find leadership essays that explore the topic of leadership from different angles. You can also discover an essay that will serve as a template for your paper. Among these examples, you will find essays on leadership qualities, motivation, and other important aspects of the leader. These essay samples will help you understand what specific part of leadership you are interested in and what you should write about in your paper.

Good Leadership Essays: Example 1 (200 words)

Leadership theory dates back to the 1920s when interest in management as a science first began to emerge. The first thing that the researchers paid attention to was the possible presence of common character traits among various prominent leaders. This is how the theory of traits, or "The Great Man Theory" appeared. Unfortunately, the theory was not very successful. It turned out to be very difficult to identify common features of leaders and leadership in general. Of course, there were many similarities among leaders. Traits such as high intelligence, bright appearance, self-confidence, and common among these people. But it was not possible to create a general portrait of the leader. People who did not possess the above qualities were also outstanding leaders.

Good Leadership Essays: Example 2  (300 words)

In this essay, we'll talk about leadership styles. What styles there are and what do they mean. 

K. Levin identified the following types of leaders: authoritarian, democratic, and permissive.

Authoritarian Leadership 

A person endowed with power makes all decisions by himself, gives orders. Such a boss is a “despot”. He does not care much about his employees' problems; the work process and the assigned tasks' solution are more important to him than people in his team. He is the sole ruler.

Democratic Leadership 

This leader works in contact with his team. The team takes part in the discussion of tasks and the decision-making process. This style simplifies problem-solving, maintains warmer relationships in the team. But the authoritarian leadership style.

Permissive Leadership 

The leader is there, but he is not visible. The group works independently. She herself discusses and makes decisions. The leader has practically no influence on the work of the group. With this leadership style, the group can work effectively but spends a lot of time organizing the workflow.

We face leadership throughout our lives. The headman at the school, the captain of the football team, the boss at work. The question of which leader or leadership style will be most effective remains open. It is necessary to consider many factors, such as the group's size, the degree of trust in the group and the leader, communication in the group, assigned tasks, deadlines, the nature of the leader, etc. Each specific situation needs a specific leader.

In experimental practice, several types of leaders have been identified: leader-organizer, leader-initiator, leader-erudite, etc.

It can be said for sure that a group without a leader does not exist. The leader organizes, directs, motivates the group.

Good Leadership Essays: Example 3 (350 words)

A group of leadership theories called “humanistic” focused on the development of an effective organization. According to representatives of this approach, a person by its very nature is a “motivated creature”, and an organization by its nature is always structured and controlled. The main function of leadership is to modify the organization in order to ensure the freedom of individuals to realize their motivational potential and satisfy their needs - however while achieving the goals of the organization.

D. McGregor developed two theories of organizing leadership. The first, the so-called theory X, is based on the assumption that individuals are usually passive, as opposed to the needs of the organization, and therefore need to be directed and "motivated." The second, theory Y, is based on the assumption that people are already motivated and committed to responsibility, so they need to be organized and directed in such a way that they simultaneously realize their goals and the goals of the organization. These two theories reflected, in fact, two stages in the development of the organization.

S. Argiris also pointed out the existence of a conflict between the organization and the individual. In his opinion, the nature of an organization implies structuring the roles of its members and control over the fulfillment of their obligations. In human nature, there is a desire for self-realization through the manifestation of initiative and responsibility. This means that effective leadership qualities should be based on this knowledge.

Within the framework of this theory, R. Blake & J. Mouton were able to depict leadership graphically: on the abscissa - concern for individuals, on the ordinate - concern for the result. The higher the values ​​of these coordinates, the more developed the relationship of trust and respect in the organization.

Conclusion

On the whole, having noted the conditional "humanism" of these theories, we conclude: it was still a step forward in leadership theories compared to its predecessors. The humanistic approach is leadership psychology based on an in-depth analysis of the personality-psychological roots of the leadership phenomenon.

Good Leadership Essays: Example 4 (600 words)

According to W. Stone, a motive is a kind of learned "obsession" based on an internal need to competently handle the environment you live in. And the motive of controlling the environment is a stepping stone for leadership. Regardless of the initial need (power, prestige, self-expression), motivation depends on the person's perceived possibilities. Naturally, too strong motivation can distort perception. For example, an overly motivated candidate who objectively has little chance of success may blindly believe in his victory. However, more often than not, an individual expresses his leadership qualities when he realizes that he has enough skills and knowledge. As D. Schlesinger noted, "ambition often develops in a specific situation as a response to the opportunities that open up". The "theory of ambition" assumes a rational assessment of the situation. J. Stern proposed the following motivation formula: motivation = f (motive x expectation x incentive).

This means that the candidate's leadership ambitions are a function of three variables. First, on his personal motives (power, success, respect). Secondly, on his expectations regarding the position. Third, from the "value of the prize". An individual's expectations are determined by his attitude, future opportunities, assessment of his own abilities, and likely support. In other words, three things - future prestige, power, and salary - determine an ambition.

Motivation, according to J. Atkinson, is subdivided into two types: success motivation (SM) and failure avoidance motivation (FAM).

So the level of satisfaction in case of success and the degree of humiliation in case of defeat depend on the subjective expectations of the individual regarding the possible consequences of both. If in the motivational model of an individual, failure avoidance motivation exceeds success motivation, the individual chooses either a situation with one hundred percent success or very risky ventures (to easily justify his failure). If the SM is equal to the FAM, then effective motivation is practically absent. Finally, the more SM compared to FAM, the higher the subjective probability of success, since the relative strength of motivation affects this probability and shifts it up. The anxiety about failure grows stronger the less the chance of success approaches the 50/50 border.

So, for leadership, motive plus the possibility of its realization is important, since motive without such an opportunity is equal to movement without direction. 

The well-known supporter of humanistic psychology A. Maslow, in his theory of hierarchical needs, argued that the roots of motivation arise in the process of transformation of human desires (motives emanating from feelings) into needs, social aspirations, collective expectations, and political demands, that is, into motives that depend from the environment. In the hierarchy of needs, physiological needs are at the lowest level, security is at the middle, and affective needs are at the highest level. The low level of fulfilled physiological needs increases the motivation to satisfy them. The leader's task is to prevent frustration, apathy, neuroses, and other forms of "social disorders" through the transformation of peoples' needs in a socially productive direction. Leader skills should include those skills that help to convert hopes and aspirations into sanctioned expectations. The chain controlled by the leader is as follows:

needs => hopes and expectations => demands => action.

As for the leader himself, A. Maslow distinguished between two types of power needs:

1. the need for strength, achievement, autonomy, and freedom;
2. the need for domination, reputation, prestige, success, status, etc. Most researchers are of the opinion that the main power motive is the desire to satisfy one need - in domination.

D. Berne believes that the main element of leadership ambitions is the need for respect (at the same time, high self-esteem and high appreciation of others).  All famous leaders have demonstrated this need. A vivid example is a leader with flawed self-esteem (W. Wilson, according to 3. Freud). According to D. Burns, the desire for respect is not a pathology, but only an increased need for self-realization. Self-realized people are potential leaders.