Running head: POLITICAL LEADERSHIP Political Leadership POSC 440 3/31/2019 1 POLITICAL LEADERSHIP 2 Introduction: The History of Leadership What is leadership? What makes a leader? These two questions may seem simple to answer but they may require complex answers especially in terms of clearly defining what leadership entails and who a leader is in our current times. Many people would like to be successful leaders and, as such, we ask ourselves; what qualities do good leaders have? Leadership is not something new, rather it has existed for centuries and the world has seen the rise and fall of great men and women who served as leaders. Some leaders were excellent, and they left a wonderful legacy as a result of their pleasant actions which surprised people in a good way while others were undesirable men and women who did not accomplish as much as was expected from them. Great scholars, like Xenophon and Plato, have tried to explain the meaning of leadership and define a leader in society. Xenophon argues that a leader is a person who is able to lead in such that the people of their city are happy with the leadership and that a bad leader is one who creates enemies and cares for diplomacy and relationship with a stranger (Xenophon). On the other hand, Plato explained that a leader needs to have education and that a leader without education is like a person who is in a cave full of darkness (Socrates & Gaucon). However, times have changed, and we are living in the modern era which is totally different from historical times and as it is leadership has become complex in the sense that not everyone who is being led can be happy with the leader and that some people may prefer harsh leaders while others need charismatic leaders. Moreover, some leaders in the world are not educated but they have great qualities of a leader. Due to this, the explanations and definitions of leadership by people like Plato and Xenophon lack the important aspects that POLITICAL LEADERSHIP 3 are contained in the current leaders and leadership in our present-day world. As such, we have to focus on definitions that are relevant to our time. According to Niccolo Machiavelli, leadership is achievable through the free will of a leader to act unjustly or justly depending on the situation and focusing on the fulfilment of their self-interests which in the long run protecting the welfare of the state and the betterment of their lives of the people (Machiavelli, 1998). As such, a political leader is a virtuous person, who in some instances acts without virtue, with unique skills or abilities and is ready and willing to act, whether in a just or unjust manner to secure the interests and protect the welfare of the state (Machiavelli, 1998). There are leaders in different levels and areas of life. One area in which we are familiar with which is associated with leadership is the political field. A good political leader influences the citizens to unite for a common purpose which they intend to obtain. In our world today, we have many famous political leaders who have left a legacy because of their wonderful actions. This paper will discuss the various qualities of good leaders which make them successful and endear them to the people, compare successful leaders with other ordinary leaders, and finally outline the various ways of how to make a good leader. Qualities of Good and Successful Leaders Whenever someone mentions the name of a successful leader, we immediately associate the person with their legacy; the great action which they did on behalf of the people. For example, when someone mentions Nelson Mandela, we immediately have a mental image of the independence of South Africa from the Apartheid rule From the book, “Leadership in Turbulent Times”, one of the qualities of successful leaders is having a hard-working personality. Good leaders strive to achieve what they do not have by putting a lot of effort into their work. Lyndon Johnson was one of the hardworking POLITICAL LEADERSHIP 4 people to become the president of the United States. He was “the first to arrive in the morning and the last to leave at night” and he worked so hard for his success. He was always walking fast, and he loved to organize things. No matter how late people worked, Johnson was always the last to close the door (Goodwin, 2018). It is impossible not to love Johnson just from how he is presented in this description. Everybody appreciates a hard worker, and most of the best political leaders in the world are known to be enthusiastic about work and they push themselves beyond the average set limit. The more effort the leaders put in their endeavours, the better they become as they attain their political ambitions and overall improve the quality of lives of the people in the society. Another quality of successful leaders is being bright and knowledgeable. Most of the successful leaders in the world have expanded their minds by studying. Such leaders are continuously in search of knowledge to better themselves and their leadership role. Theodore Roosevelt loved knowledge and he had a wonderful memory and mental capabilities. He was able to describe the things that he had read years before as if he had just read them a few minutes ago because he would have a good mental picture of the pages (Goodwin, 2018). Such people become excellent leaders because they can use their minds to reason and apply their knowledge to solve the problems that people face in their lives. Most leaders are known to be successful in terms of academics or are better in the application of knowledge to improve their lives and those of others. Personally, most of the leaders I know are highly educated including Vladimir Putin of Russia and Manmohan Singh of India among others. Nowadays, the top leaders in many states are required to have great academic qualifications to run for these top political posts. They need to be learned and it helps in equipping the leaders with the abilities to act correctly in different situations of governance. However, there are exceptions to these as we also have great leaders who are not much successful in terms of academics but are still well-endowed in terms of leadership skills. An example of such a POLITICAL LEADERSHIP 5 person is my advisor called Mrs. Robbi. I really like the way she leads in a professional manner and has her own ways to get people to do what is required. I noted that she has many years of experience as a leader and she has become an excellent in her managerial work with time; making her ability to motivate students to become successful in their academic and social lives. She gained leadership skills without having to study in a school about how to lead and all the approaches that she uses in leading people is from her experience and she developed some of the best ways to deal with students and to get her work done. In addition, most successful leaders advocate for the interests of other people. This means that they put the welfare of the people before themselves; they sacrifice themselves for the betterment of others. Nelson Mandela sacrificed himself and to be jailed for the freedom of his people. Saudi Arabia’s new U.S. Ambassador, Princess Reema bint Bandar, is a strong advocate for women in her country, especially since women in the Middle East face many gender inequality issues (BBC News, 2019). Princess Reema is also reported to be interested in general sports activities nationally where she focuses on increasing women participation in sports and exercise. Another woman who is an advocate for the people is Muna AbuSulayman. She is known for having established projects that focus on the provision of education, health, and creating employment for women and families through various partners like the Carter Center, UNHCR, Oxfarm, and Deworm the World. Muna has been instrumental in creating and supporting various programs focussing on bridging the gap between the Western nations and Islam through various means including the media, legal field, and philanthropic sectors (Global Teacher Prize, 2019). Obviously, there are many qualities of a successful leader. Other qualities include punctuality, good work ethic, integrity and honesty, courage, persistence to help others, love for the people, motivation, and many more; as demonstrated by the leaders discussed in the POLITICAL LEADERSHIP 6 book “Leadership in Turbulent Times” (Goodwin, 2019). Successful leaders exhibit such qualities and they endear them to the people whom they lead. Comparison between a Successful Leader and Other Ordinary Political Leaders Successful leaders are different from ordinary leaders in our world because they view, reason, and act differently. From the book, “Leadership in Turbulent Times”, I have learned that successful leaders have various characteristics which stand out mostly because of their family background, upbringing, or life experience. Most of the successful leaders have gone through hard times in their lives and this made them strong in the end. Ordinary leaders may rely on fortune to overcome their hardships. What is unique about successful leaders is that they always found a way to persevere and keep their determination through their hard times and this made them successful. Mahatma Gandhi remained calm and positive even when the British soldiers arrested him and put him in jail. Rather than getting worried and anxious about how he will deal with the jail life, Gandhi took the time in jail to write down the things that were in his mind and reflect on the future of the people (Gandhi, 1982). Nelson Mandela was sentenced to jail for most of his life, for 27 years, in Robben Island after being tried in a court of law in Pretoria due to his actions of encouraging the Black people to fight and overthrow the government which had discrimination (Mandela, 2013). Another quality of successful leaders is having ambition. Ambition is something that an individual hope for or aspires to achieve in life. Abraham Lincoln had the ambition and felt it right in himself to help in freeing the Black people working as slaves (Lincoln, 2012). Having an ambition acts as a guiding principle and a target that someone yearns to fulfil in his or her lifetime. As a leader, ambition acts as the driving force and the motivation for one to work hard. Lincoln’s ambition to abolish slavery in the United States was one of the POLITICAL LEADERSHIP 7 ultimate objectives that he had as a leader and he was willing to do everything it takes to accomplish it (Lincoln, 2012). Successful leaders always have a plan for their future. Having a plan ensures that one works objectively to achieve every goal. Theodore Roosevelt was a good planner. He was a good analyst as he always looked for suitable opportunities; he planned how to react to them and finally executed his plan to achieve success (Goodwin, 2018). Having a plan ensures that there is no confusion and no working randomly without end goals. Moreover, successful leaders seize every opportunity to learn. Leaders interact with other people to gain a lot concerning what they do not know. Franklin Roosevelt loved interacting with people and he always found chances to talk to everyone. He had a relaxed conversational style, and he was good at making friends everywhere he went. Through interacting with people, he was able to learn things that he did not know. Franklin actually enjoyed debating and considering an issue from different points of view that demonstrated that he had a great ability to reason with other people (Goodwin, 2018). Other factors that differentiate successful leaders from ordinary leaders include the ability to adapt and accept change, remaining positive throughout, being a risk-taker, and holding steadfast to one’s word or promises as well as being able to act at the right moment, as it was exhibited by Theodore (Goodwin, 2018). How to Make a Good Leader? There are many arguments concerning whether leaders are born or they are made. While we have various leaders who were born to become leaders, for example, those who are born in royal families or those who inherit kingdoms, other successful leaders were made as a result of their family background, upbringing, or life experience. Not everyone was born to POLITICAL LEADERSHIP 8 lead. There are various strategies, which may be utilized to make a leader, and one of these is learning through the experience of others. Most leaders were not born with all the skills and abilities and as such, they get to sharpen their skills through learning from renowned people who act as mentors. There is a lot to be learned through mentorship programs. Another way to make a leader is through advocating for the provision of good upbringing for the young generation. This can be through by setting up seminars or workshops where various professionals teach parents and guardians of children about the importance of good family care and guidance of their children. Parents and guardians need to provide support to their children and motivate them to choose the right path in life, even in their professional careers. They need to encourage children to take up leadership in young age. There should be the establishment of institutions that encourage creativity and nurturing of ideas of young people who feel like they can become leaders in the future. Such institutions encourage communication and interaction, and building of successful relationships with other people by enhancing the exchange of knowledge and experience. Other methods to create leadership skills include promoting the development of listening skills, argumentative skills, and other non-judgemental skills that enhance good reasoning and appreciation of ideas from different points of views to create reasonable leaders like Franklin Roosevelt who had sharp argumentative skills. In addition, children or young people should create with avenues where they can lead including clubs, organizations, or groups where young people get to nurture their leadership skills. Finally, yet importantly, no one should be forced to become a leader, rather it should be from self-drive and interest. People who voluntarily want to become leaders make the best leaders possible. POLITICAL LEADERSHIP 9 In my opinion, leadership refers to the aspect of being in authority, having the power to guide, and the ability to manage people. It entails having an excellent strategy and plan to execute roles effectively, being able to organize and allocate resources that are necessary, and having effective development and management systems. Therefore, the act of leading people and good leaders have specific characteristics that make them successful in their role. Also, it refers to the act of being the head of a particular group of people. Leadership involves planning for the future while managing the present. This can be through successful creation of awesome relationships with people who have a contribution in the leadership role, having an efficient use of time and the resources available, and setting a clear objective that is attainable coupled with hard work to achieve these objectives. There is a need to have a good personal degree of motivation, having ambitions and dreams, and the ability to see the whole picture when it comes to dealing with a variety of issues. Leaders do not only have the right motivation but they also motivate other people, directly and indirectly, to work hard and achieve their goals. In general, leadership is about being the agent of change concerning how things are run within the community and that comes with the price of having to be against some people. They also face a lot of resistance in their work and since not everyone can be impressed, they should strive to do their best for the people and be an agent of change and other good initiatives that are beneficial for everyone. Poor leadership is very undesirable because it does not improve the quality of lives of people in the community. Poor leaders focus on themselves and they are just there for the sake of enjoying the popularity and other benefits associated with being in power. They do not care about the lives of those who elected him. They are less motivated to create change in society and they do not motivate or inspire others to become better. Most importantly, rather than leaving a positive legacy for people to remember them and appreciate their good work, bad leaders are always remembered for their short-comings and they serve as a lesson to POLITICAL LEADERSHIP 10 other incoming leaders. Their exit from power is most often due to impeachment or through forceful removal from power. Lastly, in addition to not motivating people and not creating societal change, these bad leaders lead to crucial detrimental effects to a state including poor economic progress and political instability because people would be demonstrating and protesting their removal from office, nation-wide anxiety and tension in the international community. Conclusion All in all, as it has been discussed; a leader is defined as someone who applies influence on a group of people and guides them towards the achievement of a particular goal. Leadership is achievable through the free will of a leader to act unjustly or justly depending on the situation and the fulfilment of their self-interests which in the long run brings positive change to the lives of the people. In our world, political leaders have existed for centuries now. We acknowledge and appreciate most of these leaders due to their service to the people by leading them to achieve something that was crucial for them at the time. Such successful leaders have various qualities or principles that are unique from an ordinary political leader. While most of the people have innate leadership abilities, many leaders had to learn and acquire leadership skills from their upbringing or life experiences. It is, therefore, possible to make a person become an accomplished political leader. POLITICAL LEADERSHIP 11 References BBC News (2019, February 24). Saudi Arabia announces princess as U.S. ambassador. BBC News. Retrieved from: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-47346887 Gandhi [Video file]. (1982). Retrieved from https://bobmovies.us/837-watch-gandhi-onlinefree.html Global Teacher Prize (February 28, 2019). Muna AbuSulayman. Retrieved from: https://www.globalteacherprize.org/es/person?id=1752 Goodwin, D., K. (2018, September 18). Leadership in Turbulent Times. Simon & Schuster Publisher. English. First Edition. ISBN10: 1476795924. LINCOLN. (2012). Retrieved from www1.hdeuropix.com/movies2/lincoln-online-free-hdwith-subtitles-europix Machiavelli, N. The Prince (1998). Pg. 1-43. Retrieved from: https://www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/about/staff/publications/paul-nation/PrinceAdapted2.pdf Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013). Retrieved from: http://www3.fmovies.sc/watch/mandela-long-walk-to-freedom-2013-online.html Socrates and Glaucon. The Republic. P193-200. Retrieved from: file:///C:/Users/dell/Downloads/20181005151828plato_s_republic_education.pdf Xenophon. “Hiero or Tyrannicus.” p3-21. Retrieved from: file:///C:/Users/dell/Downloads/20181005151847xenophon_s_hiero.pdf
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