Qualities of leadership which appears in many research lists

Drawing upon the qualities of leadership approach

Some researchers concede that leaders do have to possess the qualities expected or required in their working groups - the coxswain of the lifeboat, for example, clearly needs to exemplify the qualities of a good lifeboat man. But are there more general or universal qualities of leadership ? Most people accept that leadership implies personality. Enthusiasm and warmth are often demand to be especially important. There is also an impressive testimony in history that character, incorporating moral courage and integrity, matters enormously.

An understanding of leadership in terms of the qualities of personality and character which one person has to a greater degree than his fellows is still relevant, but it is far from being the whole story.

Such words as consistency and flexibility take us back to the concept of leadership qualities. In functional leadership, however, you can begin to see them in a new light. They can be interpreted as helping ( or hindering ) the three areas - achieving the task, building of maintaining the team, and developing the individuals.

First, you should apply the three circles to all those lists of qualities of leadership in order to pick out all the essential ones, those that can be developed. Then some leadership qualities will begin to disclose functions and specific behaviours, while some functions and outward actions will imply or express of leadership qualities.

Some leadership qualities are especially important because they apply to all three circles - enthusiasm is an excellent example. Some enthusiasts are not leaders, but if you have the gift of enthusiasm you almost always will spark it off in other people. It produces greater commitment to the task, creates team spirit and enthuses the individual. Other qualities are most talent.

They can be called out and express themselves in behaviour in any of the three areas. Moral courage and humility, to give two examples, are both required in certain situations. But it is important to be as specific as possible in defining when they are needed.

Humility may seem an odd word because it implies to many people a cringing self-abasement quite at odd with the self-confidence, even egoism, which marks many leaders.

Qualities can be interpreted in functional terms as well. Do they help you to achieve the task ? Do they contribute to unity or are they disruptive ? But the emphasis on leadership does not carry the assumption that all should be left to one "leader".

By necessity leadership itself has to be something of a team effort, especially as you move into the higher levels of leadership. Or, to put it another way, your team becomes one which is composed of leaders within the organization.

For leadership does consist mainly of doing some relatively simple and straightforward things, and doing them extremely well. This view has been rejected by academics.

They emphasize the lack of agreement among researchers on what constitutes these distinctive qualities of leadership.